FAQ and threads for those just starting to hike the Colorado 14ers.
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John619 wrote: ↑Sat Sep 05, 2026 9:41 pm
Class 3 gets harder when you turn 70...
Ha! Well, I'm 68. In a few weeks, I plan to try Matterhorn, then Wetterhorn if that goes well. I will try to avoid doing anything really stupid that gets SAR involved.
OTOH, maybe soloing Wetterhorn at 68 when I don't have any sustained Class 3 experience is by definition stupid. OTOOH, I've never heard of anyone falling off Wetterhorn, tho' I'm sure it's happened.
John619 wrote: ↑Sat Sep 05, 2026 9:41 pm
Class 3 gets harder when you turn 70...
Ha! Well, I'm 68. In a few weeks, I plan to try Matterhorn, then Wetterhorn if that goes well. I will try to avoid doing anything really stupid that gets SAR involved.
OTOH, maybe soloing Wetterhorn at 68 when I don't have any sustained Class 3 experience is by definition stupid. OTOOH, I've never heard of anyone falling off Wetterhorn, tho' I'm sure it's happened.
Wetterhorn does get steep enough that you could conceivably fall to your death from the final class 3 stretch, but it's such a perfect stairstep kind of climb (albeit with some really big steps) that it's an unlikely place for a fall, unless you just get careless.
Because of this, Wetterhorn is often a default recommendation for one of the best places to start to get into class 3 scrambling.
