Roger J. Wendell
Defending 3.8 Billion Years of Organic EvolutionSM
 James Peak, June 2007 |
13ers Explained! Thoughts, notes, and pictures that relate to peaks between 12,999 and 14,000 feet (3,962/4267 metres) in height around Colorado... |
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Click Here for my 14ers page... |
The most popular climbs, in Colorado, are the "14ers" - mountains over 14,000 feet high. The problem is they're all pretty darn popular so the trails are deeply worn and solitude that much less frequent. So, many of us "locals" (because we have easy, regular access that visitors can't make time for) enjoy the less lofty pursuit of 13ers - peaks at 13,000 feet (3,962 metres), or higher, but less than 14,000 feet (4,267 metres).There are over 700 "13ers" throughout Colorado - they're much less popular than the 54 "big ones" but provide plenty of solitude while giving you an equally great climb! Although the 300 foot "saddle rule" probably applies to 13ers, there seems to be some flexibility in the 3,000 foot ascent requirement. This may be due to the approach, or start, being a bit closer to some of the 13er summits...
 Gemini Peak 1997 |
CMC Leader Ken Yarcho took us up to the top of Gemini Peak on July 20, 1997. That's Ken standng at the left. I'm next to him with the gray baseball cap. The others are Candice Skalet, Ed Wilkes, Dave Pitney, Steve Haymes, Bill Markley, Frank Kucler and Ray Miskines or Mark Mulligan (I'm not sure, so any help would be appreciated!). |
Mt. Kelso (13,164 ft)
Steve Farley and I climbed 13,164 foot Kelso Mountain on Saturday, August 2, 2003. Kelso is located in the Arapaho National Forest between Girzzly Gulch and Stevens Gulch, off I-70 west of Denver. In the first photo Steve's silhouette is standing between Grays and Torreys, two VERY popular 14ers. On that day there were well over 200 private vehicles parked at the trailhead, and along the road, yet we had all of Kelso to ourselves!
 Grays, Torreys and Steve |
 August snow field! |
 Roger loping |
 Steve is not a minor |
 Mine is over 12,000 feet |
 Mine shack |
Some of the 13ers I've summitted:
| Excuses, excuses: I didn't keep good records on 13ers due to a variety of reasons but mostly because I thought them to be rather common [There are over 700 of 'em in Colorado]. Also, it's sometimes difficult to obtain a full 3,000 feet of elevation gain, on some of them, while others were "summitted" on a trail that was leading to some other landmark or an even higher summit. Others were unnamed so I paid even less attention to them while others were a bit illusive with me just getting within a few minutes of the summit before being forced off by weather [Pettingell Peak and North Star Mountain come immediately to mind as "near misses" due to really bad weather. North Star was especially interesting with Park County out looking for us, due to a heinous snowstorm that had moved in, but ending in self rescue - April 22, 2000]. |
- Bald Mountain (13,684 ft) - May 13, 2000
- Hessel Peak (13,215 ft) - July 16, 2006
- Gemini Peak (13,950 ft) - July 20, 1997
- Grizzly Peak (13,427 ft) - November 08, 1997
- James Peak (13,294 ft) - June 02, 2007 (With Linda and Georgia)
- Mt. Kelso (13,164 ft) - August 02, 2003 [with Steve Farley]
- Mt. Parnassus (13,547 ft) - November 15, 2003 [led by Linda Jagger and Donna Brockman - bitter cold with lots of "post-holing...]
- Mt. Powell (13,534 ft) - October 03, 1998
- Mt. Sheridan (13,748 ft) - July 20, 1997
- Mt. Silverheels (13,822 ft) - May 29, 2000 [Me, Michael Clapper, CMC leader Keith Jensen, & JoAnne - photo by Dick Yost]
- Mt. Sniktau (13,243 ft) - August 24, 1997
- Point 13832 (13,832 ft) Elk Range - July 22, 2007 [with Aidan McGuire]
- Point 13930 (13,930 ft) Sawatch Range - August 26, 2007 [with John Aldag]
- Red Mountain (13,908) Sangre de Cristo Range - August 19 2007 [with Aidan McGuire]
- Rogers Peak (13,391 ft) - December 01, 2002 [led by Steve Bonowski]
- Spalding Mountain (13,846 ft) - June 25, 2000 [with Doug Bloom]
13er Waypoints
Just for the fun of it, I usually take a GPS "reading" on the top of each peak. WARNING: I can not guarantee the accuracy of these waypoints as my own GPS bounces around a lot or I simply take an incorrect reading! Please rely on a more accurate source for your Waypoints! That being said, I still enjoy "cataloging" Waypoints and I keep a bunch of other locations, from around the world, on my Waypoints page...
| Point 13930 (Sawatch Range) | N 38° 57.112' | W 106° 23.095' | 13,930 feet | 4,246 meters |
| Red Mountain | N 37° 06.741' | W 105° 10.868' | 13,930 feet | 4,246 meters |
| Unknown (climbed 07-22-2007) | N 39° 01.310' | W 106° 51.602' | 13,838 feet | 4,218 meters |
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Click Here for red, pink, and "Watermelon Snow" at the bottom of my Snow Day page... |
Links:
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| Warning! Climbing, mountaineering, and backcountry skiing are dangerous and can seriously injure or kill you. By further exploring this web site you acknowledge that the information presented here may be out of date or incorrect, and you agree not to hold the author responsible for any damages, injuries, or death arising from any use of this resource. Please thoroughly investigate any mountain before attempting to climb it, and do not substitute this web site for experience, training, and recognizing your limitations! |
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