I'm a teacher from Washington currently living in the midwest and entertaining different options for winter break this year. Rather than heading back to my home state and watching storm after storm roll off the Pacific and slam the Cascades, I was thinking Colorado might be a better bet, with your bluebird winter days. Some winter scrambles of 14ers (or any fun peaks) during January are what I had in mind. I have a couple questions for the locals:

Is it cold enough that I should bring plastic mountaineering boots?
How is the winter access to your mountains in general?
Are there many routes with minimal exposure to avalanche terrain? The hard-to-read and predict continental snowpack scares me a bit.

It's also not too late to convince me just to go down to central america for some good waves instead.

See this thread!

http://www.summitpost.org/phpBB3/how-to-get-into-winter-14ers-t65847.html

Check out the book "Colorado Snow Climbs."

Also check out the "14 er" forum for recent winter conditions, climbs, and discussions.

Matt Lemke wrote:See this thread!

http://www.summitpost.org/phpBB3/how-to-get-into-winter-14ers-t65847.html

I guess I just missed this thread.

Maybe this is a stupid question, but as far as peak bagging and scrambling go, do Coloradans tend to stick mainly to 14ers?

Maybe this is a stupid question, but as far as peak bagging and scrambling go, do Coloradans tend to stick mainly to 14ers?

No, but the 14ers do typically get more attention.

mountainsandsound wrote:
Maybe this is a stupid question, but as far as peak bagging and scrambling go, do Coloradans tend to stick mainly to 14ers?

Just to second what Scott said: I have lived in Colorado a total of 34 years, climbing for about 30. Before this past summer, I think I had climbed 4-5 Colorado 14ers. (I did more this summer due to hiking with a friend with a young son who wanted to do 14ers.)

mountainsandsound wrote:Maybe this is a stupid question, but as far as peak bagging and scrambling go, do Coloradans tend to stick mainly to 14ers?

When I first moved to Colorado Springs, I put up an ad for a climbing partner in a local climbing shop. I got a reply from a guy who claimed to have climbed "every single peak in the state of Colorado."

We met for coffee and to talk climbing. He reiterated that he had climbed "every single peak in the state of Colorado." He started climbing as a child with his parents, and had managed to climb "every single peak in the state of Colorado" by the time he was 30 years old.

I was amazed. What an accomplishment! I said, "WOW! Every single peak? There must be THOUSANDS of peaks in Colorado!!"

He gave me a puzzled look, and said "No... There are only fifty-four."

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^oh what a classic!