Your favorite nonstandard routes and weirdo linkups

Colorado peak questions, condition requests and other info.
Forum rules
  • This is a mountaineering forum, so please keep your posts on-topic. Posts do not all have to be related to the 14ers but should at least be mountaineering-related.
  • Personal attacks and confrontational behavior will result in removal from the forum at the discretion of the administrators.
  • Do not use this forum to advertise, sell photos or other products or promote a commercial website.
  • Posts will be removed at the discretion of the site administrator or moderator(s), including: Troll posts, posts pushing political views or religious beliefs, and posts with the purpose of instigating conflict within the forum.
    For more details, please see the Terms of Use you agreed to when joining the forum.
User avatar
chicagostylehotdog
Posts: 221
Joined: 4/22/2015
14ers: 58  1  1 
13ers: 9
Trip Reports (0)
 

Re: Your favorite nonstandard routes and weirdo linkups

Post by chicagostylehotdog »

Look at Justiner's (Justin Simoni/The Long Ranger) self-powered centennial tour for some inspiration:
https://justinsimoni.com/tour-of-the-highest-hundred/
User avatar
Jorts
Posts: 1232
Joined: 4/12/2013
14ers: 58  4  2 
13ers: 122 22 5
Trip Reports (13)
 

Re: Your favorite nonstandard routes and weirdo linkups

Post by Jorts »

I love this linkup from Andrew Hamilton. Hope to repeat it if things line up.

https://fastestknowntime.com/route/weminuche-wipeout-co

Some unusual ones I've done and would recommend:
LMNO
QRST
Traveling light is the only way to fly.
IG: @colorado_invasive
Strava: Brent Herring
User avatar
Wentzl
Posts: 1135
Joined: 7/29/2008
14ers: 58  22 
13ers: 55
Trip Reports (49)
 

Re: Your favorite nonstandard routes and weirdo linkups

Post by Wentzl »

El D West Ridge gets not nearly enough love:

https://www.14ers.com/php14ers/triprepo ... m=tripmine
User avatar
Marmot72
Posts: 431
Joined: 9/2/2007
14ers: 58  2 
13ers: 621 17
Trip Reports (43)
 

Re: Your favorite nonstandard routes and weirdo linkups

Post by Marmot72 »

I forgot one - taking the ridge south from Huron to grab the Three Apostles makes for a much more interesting day. Alternately, you could go up from the Rockdale Trailhead and hit Pear, then take the ridge north over the unnamed whatever and onto Huron. Either way, plenty of class 3 and spats of class 4, with some avoidable class 5, on a delightfully solid ridgeline.
I have phenomenal route-finding abilities. Specifically, I have an uncanny knack for selecting the path of most resistance.
User avatar
Chipmunk
Posts: 23
Joined: 11/8/2020
14ers: 58  3  26 
13ers: 411 29 12
Trip Reports (5)
 

Re: Your favorite nonstandard routes and weirdo linkups

Post by Chipmunk »

sunbleached wrote: Mon Jun 16, 2025 12:29 pm Thanks for any suggestions! Really curious in particular about suggestions for stuff like Redcloud and Handies, as I'm not too sure how to make them "interesting" just yet.
I did a big loop starting with Sundog, over to Sunshine, Redcloud, and the two unnamed centennials before descending back to the standard Silver Creek/Grizzly Gulch TH. Alternately, if you have a way to shuttle yourself, you can descend from the unnamed peaks to the Williams Creek Campground. This is apparently really nice in the fall with a golden aspen canopy over the trail.
User avatar
ericahlstedt
Posts: 5
Joined: 2/15/2020
14ers: 26  6 
13ers: 63 11 3
Trip Reports (0)
 

Re: Your favorite nonstandard routes and weirdo linkups

Post by ericahlstedt »

A few ideas not mentioned yet and fairly obscure, scrambly, longish, loop days

-Wilsons Grand Slam - West Ridge El Diente via Elk Creek approach, continue traverse to Mt. Wilson, traverse to Gladstone/climb Gladstone west couloir, finish with ridge traverse to Wilson peak and exit via Rock of Ages

-Uncompahgre to Matterhorn ridge direct traverse to Wetterhorn

-Belford, Oxford, Missouri east ridge direct, plus Pecks pk, Waverly Mtn, Iowa pk, Emerald pk

-Mt Columbia SE Ridge, rabbit ear ridge traverse to Harvard, to UN 13570

-W Ridge Direct Blanca, traverse to Little Bear, ridge run out and back to Hamilton pk, traverse to Ellingwood, down SW ridge Ellingwood

-Mt.Sherman via West Ridge of Dyer mtn to west dyer to gemini to sherman to sheridan
User avatar
SchralpTheGnar
Posts: 1923
Joined: 2/26/2008
14ers: 52  49  1 
13ers: 51 39
Trip Reports (23)
 

Re: Your favorite nonstandard routes and weirdo linkups

Post by SchralpTheGnar »

I met someone last weekend hiking peak 1 who said they were doing all the non standard routes on the 14ers starting with doing quandary is the tenmile traverse, I was like dang dude that’s extreme!

I recommended the FrontRangeInsaneathon, Pikes to Evans to Longs, you can see most of that route from DIA, have at it!!!
User avatar
ejfred
Posts: 48
Joined: 7/25/2011
14ers: 36 
13ers: 23 1
Trip Reports (1)
 

Re: Your favorite nonstandard routes and weirdo linkups

Post by ejfred »

Love this topic! My favorite was the SW route up La Plata. Especially once you get to the saddle, you have a really cool view of Sayres Benchmark, and get to see why Roach calls it a "Bad Idea" from that aspect!
User avatar
jfm3
Posts: 317
Joined: 8/2/2016
14ers: 58 
13ers: 39
Trip Reports (13)
 

Re: Your favorite nonstandard routes and weirdo linkups

Post by jfm3 »

Here is one of my favorite trip reports on this site: https://www.14ers.com/php14ers/triprepo ... trip=16437. Approach West Maroon Pass from the south, West Maroon Pass to North Maroon Peak via the ridge, descend North Maroon standard route, up Pyramid standard route, Pyramid Ridge back to West Maroon Pass, descend back to the start. A brutally huge day on absolute dog crap rock. As mojah himself says in the report, this could be made even harder by descending the northwest ridge of North Maroon to the Gunsight, then (somehow?) staying on the ridge over Sleeping Sexton to Buckskin Pass. This route is probably a rare example of Type 4 fun: you know it will suck before you start, you know it's terrible while you're out there and when you're done you never forget how brutal it was.
Strava: https://www.strava.com/athletes/2596507" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamie.mothersbaugh.3rd/
Garmin inReach Map: https://share.garmin.com/jfmiii