Mt. Evans: A Fine Summer Outing on One of America’s Fourteeners

My Friends and Me at Some 14,000 Feet

There’s a lot of talk about fourteeners in Colorado, especially in the summer when some people make it a goal of hiking a bunch of them. Fourteener refers to a mountain at least 14,000 feet tall. Colorado claims fifty-three of them and yes, there are folks that miraculously manage to climb them all. Some are known to be fiercely challenging, characterized by scree fields and dramatic precipices that have proved to be many mountaineers’ demise, especially on the descent.

I’ve always thought I’d like to climb one some day, however, I think I need to hone my hiking skills more for such an endeavor. (A six-hour climb to the summit of a fourteener is about what’s required for even the easiest.)

So when my hunny expressed his desire to go to Mt.Evans, one of the Rocky Mountain state’s most renowned fourteeners, last weekend, my ears perked up. It didn’t matter that a stop at this Front Range mountain would require a significant detour from the rest of our itinerary. I was mainly happy that he wanted to visit something since he’s the kind of guy that would much rather hike, ski or climb a mountain. Touring in the most touristic sense of the word typically eludes him.

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