The reaction was different to Andrew Hamilton’s two proud records set in the Colorado mountains.
One in 2015 had him summit all 54 of the state’s 14,000-foot peaks in a single push faster than anyone before. Later, in 2021, he called it the Centennial Record: A dash across the state’s 100 highest points. They included points above 13,800 feet that fell just shy of the esteemed “fourteener” label.
“When I did the fourteener record, there was all kinds of publicity, like everyone cared,” Hamilton says. “When I did the Centennial Record, it was like nobody gave a (expletive). And it was so hard!”
So it is for Colorado’s thirteeners: a lot of pain but little gain in the popular conscience of mountaineering here.
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Chances are you’ve heard of the lowest fourteeners. The heavily trafficked hub 14ers.com lists them as Sunshine Peak (14,004 feet), Huron Peak (14,006) and the more recognizable Mount of the Holy Cross (14,007). No? Then definitely you’ve heard of the Maroon Bells (North Maroon Peak is the sixth lowest fourteener at 14,022 feet).
But have you heard of Grizzly Peak? Another trusted web source for all things alpine, ListsofJohn.com, puts the peak at 13,997 feet — meaning it misses fourteener fame by a few cairns.
Or have you heard of Stewart Peak? Or Columbia Point? Both fall about a dozen feet shy of the much more heralded status.
The Colorado man behind ListsofJohn, John Kirk, is a big fan of Pigeon Peak at 13,977 feet.
“The climbing on Pigeon along with the remoteness and scenery of the Needle Mountains are unparalleled,” he reports.
Chances are you never knew about it. And that has to do with the subtle whims of nature.
There are both simple and complicated explanations for why the highest thirteeners missed the fourteener cut. Any explanation regards millions of years of uplift and erosion.
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To one degree: “The uplift of a region is never uniform, so some areas are simply higher,” says David Gonzales, professor of geology at Fort Lewis College in Durango.
Differences are also due to rock makeup, he explains. The more quartzite, for example, the more resistant to erosion. The more shale and/or micah, the more prone to shedding height. Other factors are cracks and fissures and how ice and moisture settles, Gonzales says.
“It gets more interesting and challenging when the rock type and environment are similar,” he says.
Take, for example, Chicago Basin in the San Juan Mountains.
“Around the basin there is a cluster of 14,000-foot peaks, including Mount Eolus, composed of similar granite,” Gonzales says. “But surrounding these high peaks are many that are 13,000 and some like Pigeon Peak that missed the 14,000 mark by tens of feet. In this case, subtle differences must have been involved.”
Subtle differences have meant big differences in experience.
Climbing the thirteeners “is probably what doing the fourteeners was like 50 or 60 years ago,” Hamilton says. “Much more adventurous. You don’t see any people out there.”
That makes sense, considering the greater hype and accessibility around fourteeners and the bevy of helpful information out there for hiking them. Thanks to trails blazed by countless feet, most fourteeners are, indeed, hikeable. Meanwhile, many of the highest thirteeners require a more expansive skillset.
The thirteeners are “rugged and tough, not what a fourteener is at all,” says Alyson Kirk, John Kirk’s wife and mountain partner. “The thirteeners are a different ball game.”
They include Vestal Peak, the peculiar, swooping promontory that lingers in the imaginations of the few who witness it deep in the Weminuche Wilderness. The wilderness, considered the most remote reaches of Colorado, is also home to Jagged Mountain. Renowned world climber Gerry Roach has called that thirteener “the best peak bag” in the state.
That, he has said, is for “a magic combination of hard-to-reach solitude and a tough climb.”
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The combination can be said for many of the mountains chronicled in Roach’s guide, “Colorado’s Thirteeners.” The definitive book covers several routes on 59 of the state’s highest peaks between 13,800 feet and 14,000 feet.
Here’s a brief look at the top eight— the “almost fourteeners,” you might call them:
1. Grizzly Peak, 13,997 feet
Colorado’s highest thirteener “carries the honor well,” Roach writes, “being on the Continental Divide in the center of the state, and being one of the most rugged peaks in the Sawatch Range.” Despite its prominence, Grizzly manages to hide from view off Independence Pass — a nod to its isolation.
2. Stewart Peak, 13,988 feet
Alyson Kirk calls this “a giant, gentle gem tucked away in a secluded part of the San Juans.” Stewart’s broad shoulders loom high over the La Garita Wilderness. The mountain is home to pyroclastic rocks, Roach notes, some of which “are reminiscent of Devils Tower in Wyoming.”
3. Columbia Point, 13,986 feet
A neighbor of fourteener Kit Carson Peak, this is the highest thirteener across the Sangre de Cristo Range. It’s situated amid “complicated terrain” that “confuses many people on a first visit,” Roach warns. He notes it was nicknamed Kit Carson for a while before taking on the name in honor of the Columbia space shuttle tragedy.
4. Mount Ouray, 13,979 feet
No, this isn’t the postcard mountain welcoming you to the town of Ouray. This one christened for the storied Ute chief finds itself on the southern edge of the Sawatch Range, seen in the distance around Salida. Writes Roach: “Mount Ouray saw more climbers a hundred years ago, when railroad trains huffed over Marshall Pass, than it sees on today’s busiest summer weekend.”
5. Pigeon Peak, 13,977 feet
At the right angle, it appears very much like the namesake bird standing guard from its nest, or a perfect, narrow triangle. “The best view,” Roach notes, “is reserved for the wilderness traveler.” It is no easy trek in the heart of southwest Colorado.
6. Pacific Peak, 13,965 feet
Roach writes of an expected remark by drivers on Interstate 70 near Summit County: “Wow! What is that?” Lucky for them, the pyramid-looking mountain can be realized via relatively easy routes, though lengthy, via the well-known Spruce Creek and North McCullough Gulch trailheads.
7. Ice Mountain, 13,960 feet
Ice Mountain is steeper, rougher and generally meaner than its Sawatch Range neighbors. One of the mountain’s faces is marked by the Refrigerator Couloir — but one marker of extreme danger. Roach considers this one of the most deadly of all thirteeners.
8. Cathedral Peak, 13,952
Kirk recalls the challenging journey up the peak worth it for the 360-degree views of the Elk Range. Cathedral lies north of the similarly regal Castle Peak. Giving Cathedral its name are towers that test the strongest alpinist.
(Elevations are the most up to date according to ListsofJohn.com.)
Driving to summit of Pikes Peak to require reservation, additional cost