Introduction
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Written by Rick Trujillo and edited by Cave Dog
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The Rocky Mountains reach their highest
elevations within the geographical area known today as Colorado.
In comparison to other great mountain ranges of the world, it is interesting
that in Colorado there are no one or two dominant summits, but rather
there are many hundreds of summits at elevations between 12,500 and 14,400
feet. There are 55 specific summits that surpass the 14,000 foot
elevation contour, and which are universally recognized as being fully
accredited "Fourteeners". In addition, a dozen or so lesser summits
also surpass 14,000 feet, but are generally considered minor summits
of their parent peaks. Challenger Point, traditionally regarded
as a minor summit of Kit Carson Peak, has become regarded as a true Fourteener
in recent years.
As the highest, the Fourteeners are a natural
attraction to those who feel the call of the mountains. Climbing
all of them has become an increasingly popular goal for mountaineers
of all types. The Fourteeners pose a variety of challenges.
Many are simple hikes along well defined trails, while for others the easiest
routes are potentially dangerous semitechnical climbs. Some have
easy road access to their bases and even summits, while others are isolated,
requiring hours of rough road driving and/or walking just to reach their
bases. One is usually accessed by train followed by a rigorous hike
to a base camp. Whatever their settings and slope profiles, all are
real mountains with all that the term implies, including altitude and hostile
changeable weather.
Human nature being what it is, if there
are 55 Fourteeners in Colorado or anywhere else, there will be a speed
record for climbing them and attempts will continuously be made to better
that record. This record has recently been dubbed "The Mighty Mountain
Megamarathon(M 4
)".*
*Megamarathon is a continuous
or series of ultramarathons where the course record exceeds five days.
This term has arisen both because of the physiological changes that
one tends to experience after many days of incredibly intense exercise
and the many more logistical requirements such as scheduling sleep
and eating, running a support crew, route finding, or driving that
do not have such a significant role in a race that lasts for one or
two days.