My First 14er

If you want to get technical, mountaineering terminology in the United States defines a fourteener as a mountain that exceeds 14,000 feet above sea level. A rule commonly used by mountaineers in the contiguous United States is that a peak must have at least 300 feet of prominence to qualify. There are 546 fourteeners in the world. Most of the North American fourteeners reside in Colorado, where there are 53 (give or take 1).

Cliff and I, along with Greg and Sarah, decided a long hike up a fourteener would be a great way to wrap up the trip. Greg and Sarah had experienced several fourteeners in the past, but Cliff and I were new at this. We all agreed on climbing Quandary Peak, about 5 miles outside of Breckenridge. Quandary's elevation measures out to 14,265 feet. The main trail was a class 1 hike, and fairly easy...as long as you can handle the gusty winds, big rocks, and cold temperatures once you get out of the tree line!

We took plenty of photos along the trail, so that anyone thinking we went on a "nature hike" could easily be proven wrong. The complete hike (up and down) took us approximately 4.5 hours.

Interested in finding a fourteener for yourself? Check out http://14ers.com/.

Just the beginning...

One of many water/snack breaks...

I think this is what hell looks like...

It's official! We're on the list!

We made it!

WARNING: swollen hands might occur.