3 "Fourteeners" for Beginners

Whether you live in Colorado or just love to visit, climbing a “fourteener” — a mountain of 14,000 feet elevation or more — is a huge and exciting feat. There are 54 fourteeners in Colorado, ranging from “easy” to incredibly difficult. The views from the top are unbeatable, and you’ll be proud to say you’ve summited a 14,000-foot mountain. We’ve got a great list of the three fourteeners you should start with if you’re looking to get above 14,000 feet, and some helpful information as you plan your trip!
Grays & Torreys – the “Two for One”!
Grays Elevation: 14,270 feet (gain of 3,000 feet)
Torreys Elevation: 14,267 feet (gain of 3,000 feet)
Roundtrip length: 8.5 miles
Getting there: Take I-70 to the Bakerville exit (exit 221). Leave the highway and drive south to the dirt parking area near the start of Forest Road 189. From here, it's about 3 miles to the trailhead; a fairly rough road for low-clearance vehicles. You’ll reach a junction after 1 mile, stay straight and follow the sign 2 miles to the trailhead.
Grays and Torreys peaks are right next to each other, making it a perfect opportunity to climb two fourteeners at once! The trail is fairly short and gentle, and it’s very well-traveled, making it easy for moderate hikers to accomplish both peaks in one day. The hike starts in a perfect location right off I-70, and it’s not too far from Denver or Summit County. The hardest part is making it up to the peak of the first one, then you’ll take the saddle over to the second one before heading back down.
Quandary Peak
Elevation: 14,265 feet (gain of 3,450 feet)
Roundtrip length: 6.75 miles
Getting there: From Breckenridge, drive eight miles south on Colorado 9. Turn right on Blue Lakes Road (FDR 850). Drive approximately .1 miles, then turn right on McCollough Gulch Road (FDR 851). This trailhead can get crowded, so many hikers end up parking along the road and hiking to the trailhead.
Quandary Peak is a very well-marked trail that takes hikers on a relatively tame ascent. One thing to be prepared for is the numerous “false peaks” (rises that you’ll think are the top of the mountain, but aren’t) as you approach the summit, but it’s all worth it when you reach the top and take in the spectacular views!
The first two miles of the trail are mostly boulder free, but there is a boulder field as you approach the summit that you’ll want to take slowly. Make sure to keep an eye out for mountain goats on this trail; you’ll most likely see a lot of them!
Mount Bierstadt
Elevation: 14,060 feet (gain of 2,850 feet)
Roundtrip length: 7 miles
Getting there: Take I-70 to Georgetown (exit 228), then follow the signs to Guanella Pass. Take Guanella Pass Road, an easily passable but bumpy dirt road, 11 miles to the top of the pass. The trailhead is marked clearly on the left.
Mount Bierstadt is known to many hikers as Colorado’s easiest fourteener due to a mostly gentle climb. Although there are still several steep sections, this is a great option for the whole family to enjoy. The trail is mostly free of scree and boulders until the top. Mount Bierstadt’s proximity to Denver is another reason this is one of the most popular fourteeners around!
More fourteener tips
As you prepare to climb your first fourteener, there are a few things you’ll want to keep in mind. No matter how warm it is in the summer, it’s going to be a lot colder at 14,000+ feet! Don’t forget to dress in layers — we highly recommend bringing a windbreaker with, too! You’ll want to pack a lunch to eat at the top, specifically something filled with protein. You’ll be burning a lot of calories, so bringing a lot of snacks is going to help you tremendously with keeping your energy up.
Also, make sure to check the weather closely before you leave for your hike. If there are any chances of rain, you may want to hold off, as lightning is very dangerous at the top. You’re going to want to leave very early in the morning, so keep checking the weather and looking around during your hike. Last, remember to bring LOTS of water and a camera — and most of all, have a blast!

Colorado Ski Country's Most Challenging Mountain Bike Trails

If you've been practicing your mountain biking skills all summer, you might be ready to tackle these extremely challenging downhill and cross-country biking trails at Colorado ski resorts.

Winter Park Resort

At Winter Park Resort, expert mountain bikers head for Rainmaker, the signature jump trail of Trestle Bike Park. The jumps may start small, but by the end, you’ll feel like you’re flying as you hit the doubles. This trail is ranked #1 at Trestle Bike Park and is the most famous of the advanced mountain biking terrain at Winter Park.

Telluride

Telluride’s most difficult mountain biking trail, World Cup Downhill, features multiple mandatory airs, steep descent and advanced level features top to bottom. The Prospect Trail is Telluride’s most difficult cross-country trail as it gains over 1,000 feet with technical climbing sections along a narrow, single-track trail system with natural and unmarked obstacles scattered start to finish.

Steamboat

For cross-country mountain biking at Steamboat Resort, expert riders flock to Creekside, which has a constant and steep gradient with multiple creek crossings and many natural obstacles and flow-type features.
Downhill mountain bikers in the Steamboat Bike Park practice for Rawhide, a technical trail that incorporates natural features like rocks, roots, stumps and other challenging obstacles. The trail is steep and tight, requiring the bike handling skills of an expert rider.

Purgatory

Purgatory re-opened a double black diamond expert trail this summer, the World Cup Downhill Trail, which is the original 1.8-mile World Cup Downhill course that was first established for the 2001 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup races.

Powderhorn

Powderhorn’s Pinball Alley is the toughest trail with step sections, rock drops, and jumps that will make any advanced rider challenged.

Granby Ranch

At Granby Ranch, Stranger is a rocky technical downhill trail suited for expert riders.

Crested Butte

At Crested Butte, Psycho Rocks is the most challenging mountain bike trail. The name says it all, right? Psycho Rocks is the Evolution Bike Park’s most technical trail and starts with a series of technical features and then fast and flowing trail until riders must be prepared to select lines through massive boulders and extensive bridging.

Aspen Snowmass

Valhalla is the most difficult bike trail located in the Bike Park on Snowmass. The trail includes jumps, steep declines, technical turns and fun, dynamic terrain.

Uphilling

A few years ago I started a brief telemark career. Really it was never going to be a career but I was hoping to add another dimension to my skiing. I wanted to maybe try side area skiing, or possibly a ski tour option.  What I really enjoyed was the ability to go uphill. What I really didn't enjoy about this new set up was falling over the handlebars, at a high velocity and getting beat up.
The one backcountry lap I did was at Pioneer, a ski ghost area just south of Crested Butte on Cement Creek. We read of Pioneer in a great book entitled Powder Ghost Towns. My wife and ski partner Kristen and I successfully located the old ski area, the first in Colorado to be served by an aerial lift and easily found the uphill trail. Prior skiers had broken the trail and the trek up was a nice walk. We were only planning on one lap and started around 1:30 and we got to the top of the trail about 45 minutes later, warmed up and ready to transition off the climbing skins and point the boards downhill. A split board snowboarder came up behind us, put his board back together and with a wave floated down the old lift line in deep, spring softened snow.  It was our turn.
The next 90 minutes ended my telemark experiment. First, you can do the math, 45 minutes up, 90 minutes down.  How does that happen?  Pick your favorite ski lift and think how long it takes to do a lap from lift line back to lift line. Most laps I can think of last 2/3 of the lap time riding the lift and the remaining 1/3 skiing down. Maybe half and half; never less time up than doing down.
Second, I have never fallen or crashed so many times on one run. I was not able to string more than two turns together in the thick, heavy, ever-increasingly cold snow before I went right over the tips of my skis. Wow, a humbling experience to say the least and my last day on tele gear.

What I have not given up is the walk up.

I love the endorphins, I love seeing the steep pitch and love watching downhill skiers from a different perspective. Fortunately many Colorado Ski Country areas have Uphill ski routes for your enjoyment.  Some of them are as follows:

If you need a change of muscle groups, perspective, or just want a good sweat consider uphill travel at your favorite Colorado Ski Country resort.  My only advice if not a telemark skier, use a All-Terrain (AT) set up which allows for free heal when going up and a locked in heel for your alpine turns on the way back down the mountain.  You will thank me when you are not headed directly for the medicine cabinet or hot tub for pain relief.

How to Store Your Ski Equipment for the Summer

As skiers trade skis and snowboards for mountain bikes and hiking boots, it's time to store all that snowsports gear. There is an art to properly storing and maintaining your equipment over the summer, from storage wax on the boards to buckling up your boots properly. When the snow starts to fly next season, you don't want to spend opening day catching your turns on rusty edges.
Follow these tips to prolong the life of your gear and make for a smooth transition next fall from flip flops back into your ski and snowboard boots.
1. Keep rust at bay: After the last day of skiing and riding, thoroughly wipe down your skis and snowboards with a dry cloth. In fact, if you do only one thing to maintain skis and snowboards throughout the season, it should be to dry off your boards after every day on the mountain. Rust is your enemy.
2. Spring is a great time to bring your boards to the ski shop for a stone-grind, which will clean up the bases, sharpen the edges, and reset your edge bevel. Do it in spring, and you'll be ready to go in the fall. The end of the season is a great time to take care of business because the tune shops aren't super busy. Most people bring their skis in at the sign of the first flurries in the fall.
3. Slather on the storage wax: If you're more of a DIY tuner, you should wax your skis to protect the bases during the off-season. Clean off your bases then use a stone to remove any rust on the edges. Apply a nice thick coat of a warm-temperature wax to the bases. Here's the key: Don't scrape it. Just leave it on all summer long. The wax will protect the bases and keep them from drying out. Tip: Don't forget to scrape your skis before you hit the slopes. (This seems fairly obvious, but I've shown up at the lift corral more than once with wax on my skis on that first day of the season.)
4. Store your boards in a dry place. A moist environment can promote rust. And the concrete of your garage can be a moist place. In a perfect world, your snowboards and skis would be propped upright in a nice dry closet indoors. Also, despite the design of many storage ski racks, don't hang skis from the tips. It can change the camber of the ski.
5. Thoroughly dry out ski and snowboard boots either by pulling out the liners or using a boot dryer.
6. Buckle or lace up your boots snugly for the summer. If you leave them hanging open, the boot material can take on a new shape and perhaps not fit properly next season. Store boots in a cool dry place.
7. Don't turn down the DIN on your bindings: You may have heard recommendations for turning down your bindings' DIN settings for the summer, in theory to protect the tension on the bindings springs. Today's binding makers say there's no reason to turn them down. Firstly, you'll forget you did it, and you'll likely release out of your bindings on the first run next season. Secondly, today's bindings are designed to function properly without periodic adjustment. Once bindings are adjusted and tested, they don't need to be cranked down and back up again from season to season. Plus, a certified binding tech should be doing any binding adjustments.

Take an Instagram-Worthy Scenic Photo at a Colorado Ski Resort

As we all know, you can't come home from a glorious day in the mountains without some glorious photos to show for it. And while it's hard to take a bad photo when you're surrounded by the beauty of the Rocky Mountains, we've compiled this list of the most scenic places to take a photo this summer at each of our member ski resorts. Follow this guide for the most incredible, Instagram-worthy scenic photos to make all your friends jealous of your summer mountain adventures.

Telluride Ski Resort

The most scenic place to stop for a summer photo at Telluride Ski Resort San Sophia Overlook, located at the mid-station of the free Telluride-Mountain Village gondola. The sweeping mountain views make a great backdrop for family photos and evidence of your summer adventures.

Sunlight Mountain Resort

Guests to Sunlight will find their best scenic photos are at the top of the resort.  The summit of Sunlight offers amazing views of Mt. Sopris and the greater Roaring Fork Valley that will make your friends jealous for years to come.

Steamboat Resort

During your visit to Steamboat Resort, don’t forget to visit the Oasis Sundeck for the best views in the Yampa Valley. A scenic photo from this location will include gorgeous mountain views from 9,000 ft. above sea level. While you’re here, enjoy a number of tasty bites from the grill, your favorite frozen drink or ice-cold beer.

Purgatory Resort

Purgatory Resort’s best location for a scenic photo also requires a breathtaking scenic chairlift ride. Once you’ve reached the top of the resort, you’ll be rewarded with incredible views of the San Juan Mountains and the iconic Needles Mountain range.

Powderhorn Resort

Sitting at the top of Stagecoach, Powderhorn guests can see the entire Plateau Valley. Another great spot for a scenic summer photo of Powderhorn can be taken from sitting at the base lodge on the deck, which gives a beautiful view of Powderhorn and all the aspen glades.

Granby Ranch

Granby Ranch’s best scenic photo spot is from the Vista Ridge Ceremony Site. The site offers unique mountaintop weddings and events year-round, with breathtaking views destined for Instagram fame.

Crested Butte Mountain Resort

Crested Butte’s Umbrella Bar at Ten Peaks offers incredible 360-degree panoramic views of the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness, Elk Mountain Range and Mount Crested Butte. Don’t miss this incredibly scenic location to get a bite to eat, have a drink and snap some gorgeous photos of the mountains.

Aspen Snowmass

Aspen Snowmass is home to the most photographed landmark in the United States, the Maroon Bells. The view from the top of Elk Camp Chair at Snowmass offers a breathtaking view of these iconic mountains.

Arapahoe Basin Ski Area

At the top of the Black Mountain Express lift, with your camera or smartphone pointed toward the Continental Divide, Arapahoe Basin offers one of the best views in the state. Bonus points for picking up a Bacon Bloody Mary on your way for maximum jealousy-inducing photography.

Skiing Powder for a Beginner

The tally of accumulating snow at your favorite resort continues to raise. Snow totals go up and up and up and your heart goes down, down, down despite all your friends' enthusiasm and stoke for fresh tracks. Perhaps you grew up on a coast without much true, dry, fluffy powder (not going to call out which one), or maybe you never had the time, money, or youth to learn how to float through seas of white, as they say. They also say that skiing fields of powder on a bluebird day or while more snow slowly floats to the ground is closer to heaven than most people are lucky to experience.
But how, how can I possibly let loose and surrender to the feeling of suddenly being less proficient at something I thought I was good at? Here are a few tips and tricks for skiing in powder:

GEAR

Fat skis and powder baskets, though the baskets get more flack for not being essential, they really do help when the going gets deep. If you don't happen to have an arsenal of ski choices out in the garage (cause let's be honest, that's expensive!), consider renting some for the day. If the stash is really that epic, it'll be worth the $30-$60 dollars extra. When and if money is tight, your normal skis will do just fine, though it will be more challenging to float on top of the snow than if you had a waist width above 100mm or so. Don't let lacking mm deter you though, shred on!

RELAXATION

Before ever dropping into a run with deep, fresh powder, you're going to want to take a few breaths. Consciously relax your shoulders, because I know they're tensed and hunched up around your helmet's ear flaps. Remember that not everyone can be good at everything, and even if you do take a tumble, you're falling into a soft pillow of clouds. What could inspire more confidence? Although, don't think floppy here; you will still need to maintain a tight core and control in order to navigate the fluff.

PATIENCE

When you muster up the courage to slide into the blanket of snow, you might fall at the outset, and that's fine! Realize that you're fine, it was actually pretty fun to fall, be patient with yourself, and that the rest of the run is waiting for you to try, try again. Powder skiing is very different from the on-piste skiing that we're all used to, and you'll need to slowly test out and master new styles and movements.

SPEED, STANCE, and STYLE

Powder skiing is slower, more graceful, and requires more speed than you would think in order to get moving. Point your skis further downhill than you would think with your skis a little closer together, positioning their surface areas in proximity for maximum surf capacity. One ski one turn! Make sure to rotate your trunk with each turn so that your body and widely-placed hands are always facing down the fall line of the run. With your hands in this more forward, wider position, it's easier to plant your poles before each turn and gives you more lateral balance, all the while helping your weight not fall behind.
To turn, you'll need to amp up your spidey-slope-senses, feeling the natural bumps underneath the snow. These places will naturally push you up, making it easier to stand up and unweight your skis to initiate your next turn. Skiing in powder is more like a dance with the snow than you've ever experienced before, and it's a passive art. Think slower tempo (but fast enough to gain sufficient speed for the conditions), round and natural turns, unweighting when the hill forces you to, and using your body weight and thigh angles to turn rather than forcing a turn on your edges. If you have to take a breather after every turn, look around at the view, think about the incredible day you get to have, and then gear up to try again! Powder skiing isn't rushed, you're just there for the epic experience, so soak it all in.
Good luck out there folks, and we at CSCUSA hope that these tips give you some insight, inspiration, and a little confidence to tackle this long-awaited powder.