Mt. Bierstadt: The Best Fourteener in Colorado

On a whim, my husband and I decided to hike our first 14er over the Fourth of July holiday with our 11 month old. While it looked like a fantastic idea on paper, we learned a lot and realized what a challenge hiking a 14,000 foot mountain actually is!

The previous weekend while my husband participated in a half marathon from Loveland to Georgetown, I meet a woman who has hiked 28 of the 52 indisputable 14ers in Colorado. As we talked I asked what the best one was to start on as neither of us has hiked a 14er before. She claimed Mt. Bierstadt was one of the best to hike as a first. Later a friend of ours confirmed this as said while it is steep; it is a good one to start out on. In determining some of the specifics of the hike and how to get there I ran across a website, www.14ers.com, and found it was filled with fantastic information including a description of the hike with photos, a class system to determine the difficulty, and a round-trip length.

On the website there were two hikes that looked promising to us, but decided to stick with the recommendations and start out on Mt. Bierstadt. While I knew my husband was in top physical condition as he runs a great deal, I was questioning my own physical stamina and fitness level to hike this 14er. I figured it would be a challenge, but I could press through as the total round-trip length was 7 miles and 6 weeks ago I participated in a relay race where I ran just over 6 miles. Wow, was I ever wrong.

Trying to keep up with my husband, we skated through the valley of willows and the first section of the mountain. We kept up a stead pace only stopping briefly to take a few photos and readjust our daughter's hat that she kept throwing out of the pack that my husband was carrying her in. It wasn't until the first steep climb on the 14er that I really began to feel it, that burning sensation in your legs and tightness in your chest from the lack of oxygen. Pulling off of the trail, I had to take a quick break. I am not sure if this was the greatest mistake I made over the morning as I immediately felt deflated or if was a combination of this and keeping up with my husband, whom as I mentioned is in GREAT physical condition!

Over the next section of the trail, the gap between us widened as my pace slowed and my breathing quickened. As a good husband does, he would stop and wait for me to catch up only to press on as soon as I made it to him. I was extremely thankful when my daughter decided she was ready for a snack and a diaper change. We stopped for a few minutes and rested. I was thankful for the break and a chance to sit down, but sitting - I am guessing another mistake!

As we got ready to continue our hike, my daughter started to fuss and I realized I didn't bring any other clothes for us. We were all in shorts and t-shirts. The weather however changed as we hiked higher and higher. The wind picked up, the temperature dropped and despite the heat our bodies were producing, my daughter was cold just sitting on her daddy's back. Luckily I had a blanket to drape over her legs and her arms and face were shielded by the pack. With a snack, a clean diaper and a warm blanket, she quickly fell asleep with rhythmic steps of my husband's long stride.

Being out of shape and 8 inches shorter than my husband, I again immediately fell behind, despite my renewed sense of energy and stamina. The next bit of the climb was good and a little less steep than that which we just climbed. As we continued up the path, I had more and more hope and determination of reaching the top. Then a turn for the worse followed. The path became less visible as there were more rocks, less dirt, and more of a stair steeping climb. The people on the summit were visible, but still looked extremely small and seemed awfully far away considering we had been hiking for two hours and the total ascent of the 14er was 3.8 miles.

We entered a section that was studded with boulders and as I stepped aside for a man descending he whispered, "This is a rough bit, but it does get easier." I looked at him grateful for the brief break and asked how much further the summit was. "If you keep up a steady pace I would guess about an hour and a half. It's not much further than that section of snow." He said pointing up to a patch of snow that looked surrounded by huge boulders and loose rock. I thanked the man and encouraged him to have a great hike down on this beautiful Fourth of July.

I glanced up at my husband who was maybe 50 yards in front of me looking down waiting for me to catch up. I looked up to the summit I was trying to reach and watched the steady stream of people ascending and descending on the path. I started to hike, hoping my husband would stay put until I reached him. With every couple of steps I had to stop and steady myself. I was light headed and dizzy and the thought of another hour and a half overwhelmed me.

As I reached my husband, who looked a little impatient, and my gorgeous daughter who was fast asleep, I claimed extremely out of wind, "I'm done!" While I was hoping to take my daughter and camp out while he ascended the remained of the 14er, he declared our daughter wanted to go to the top with him. He said just to hang out there, he would go tag the summit of his first 14er and the come back and we would descend together. I gladly kissed him goodbye and found a comfy rock to sit on and enjoy the beautiful view.

As I waited and contemplated my decision to do a 14er on a whim, I decided it was probably not the best choice. I knew I could summit this 14er eventually and claim the mountain as my first, but not at my husband's pace and not with my poor daughter being strapped into the pack for another few hours. I also thought about the lessons I learned that I can take with on the next attempt of a 14er.

First and foremost, this is not just a hike. Climbing a 14er, regardless of its class, is definitely something that should be trained for and planned for. It is a challenge and does take enormous determination and strength, both physical and mental! It is important to keep a steady pace that is comfortable for your level.

Second, take extra clothing. Despite the temperature being 95 degrees in town on this day. When we arrived at the base of the mountain at 9:30 it was a warm 66 degrees. As we climbed, the temperature fell and the wind picked up. As I waited for my family to come back down, I began to shiver uncontrollably for at least a half hour. My sweat soaked shirt was cold against my back and as I was no longer producing body heat from climbing the 14er, it got very cold with the wind at a height of approximately 13,800 feet!

The third lesson to keep in mind, which we did pretty well with, is make sure to have plenty of fluid and snacks. It is incredibly important to be well equipped for a hike of this magnitude. We did have plenty of water, but were short on the snack, food front. While it wasn't a big deal on this day, a longer hike or a different day it might have been imperative for us to have more sustenance.

A 14er is not something to be attempted on a whim. Should a storm have rolled in, we had no protective clothing or enough food to maintain us for long. While this specific 14er on the Fourth of July was quite busy with many other climbers, should something go wrong, it is essential to be well equipped. It quickly dawned on me how people get into tough spots and do not survive when the go into the wilderness unprepared.

About an hour after my husband dropped me and summated his first 14er, he was back at our meeting place. I was shocked. His pace was quick and his legs were sturdy. He came over the ledge above me with a smile on his face and a steady strong breath in his lungs. The man I previously encountered was right. It would have taken me an hour and a half just to summit the 14er, where it took my husband an hour to summit and return back to me!

As we descended the 14er, we exchanged stories of who we meet and what we saw during our time apart on the mountain. One couple that passed me shortly after my husband continued to the summit of the mountain had the comment of the day. The man, who looked in decent shape remarked to his wife, "he said that baby only weighs 20 pounds, MY pack weighs more than that!" His climbing partner, a woman, replied, "Yes, the BABY weighs 20 pounds, but who knows how much his pack weighs or what other equipment he has in it!" I chuckled as I wished I could hear the entire conversation. I am sure the woman commented on the strength and willpower of my husband and based on the man's appearance and statement, I am guessing he was feeling a little emasculated! A man my husband met on his climb was both surprised and impressed with the ability and strength he displayed on the ridge of the mountain. At the snow packed section just after summiting, my husband had to descend with a slide and a "snowboard" type stance as it was slick and he had our daughter on his back. The man said, "You must climb a lot of mountains," as he watched. "No" my husband replied, "but I do run a lot." They continued their conversation with the man inquiring whether my husband has done Pikes Peak. Thinking he was implying the Pikes Peak Marathon, my husband said he tried but that the race had closed just a half and hour after being posted. The man's precise comment that followed nailed my husband's personality, "That is crazy, I don't want to run up these mountains, I am content just hiking up them!"

We enjoyed the hike down along with each other's company and stories. As we reached the car, my husband commented on how impressed he was with me and what a good job I did. While I didn't summit the 14er, I did push myself and he was proud of me. Everything he does for the first time has to be big, and while the trip took a total of 4 hours and 20 minutes, much of that time was spent waiting for me to catch up!

Over the next few weeks and months, my goal is to get in shape and train. I not only want to attempt another 14er, but I want to climb Mt. Bierstadt and see the summit. On our future 14er hikes, I will be more prepared, physically and mentally, as well as well equipped with clothing, food, and water. I am excited to try again and to experience the summit of a 14er!