Which states have fourteeners

Leisurely Lifestyle shares life and travel hacks, as well as cheap luxury travel. Menu Skip to right header navigation Skip to main content Skip to primary sidebar Skip to footer. How many 14ers are in Colorado? Autumn sunrise from high up on Mt. The trail to Grays and Torreys Peaks. Photo by Jason. Views from the summit of Pikes Peak. Photo by John Fowler. Views of Mt. Bierstadt from Guanella Pass. Photo by Michael Kirsh. The hike to Quandary Peak.

Photo by detroitstylz. Mosquito Range 14ers Mt. Lincoln — 14, feet 8th Class 2 Mt. Cameron — 14, feet 17th Class 2 Mt. Bross — 14, feet 23rd Class 2 Mt. Democrat — 14, feet 30th Class 2 Mt. Sherman — 14, feet 49th Class 2 The Mosquito Range runs north-south for about 40 miles in central Colorado.

Lincoln as part of the DeCaLiBron loop. Photo by David Wilson. Sawatch Range 14ers Mt. Elbert — 14, feet Tallest peak Class 1 Mt. Massive — 14, feet 2nd Class 2 Mt.

Antero — 14, feet 11th Class 2 Mt. Shavano — 14, feet 18th Class 2 Mt. Princeton — 14, feet 19th Class 2 Mt. Belford — 14, feet 20th Class 2 Mt. Oxford Peak — 14, feet 28th Class 2 Mt. Hiking to the summit of Mt. Photo by Michael Mangin. View of the Collegiate Peaks from afar. Photo by Brit Allen. Views of Capitol Peak. Photo by Tom Wilberding. Photo by enjoisKate8. Views from the summit of Redcloud Peak. Photo by Pierce Martin.

Wilson from afar. Photo by Bryant Olsen. Shavano 14, ft Mt. Princeton 14, ft Mt. Belford 14, ft Crestone Needle 14, ft Mt. Yale 14, ft Mt. Oxford 14, ft Mt. Sneffels 14, ft Mt. Eolus 14, ft Challenger Point 14, ft Mt. Mount Rainier 14, ft Mt. Rainier 14, ft Point Success 14, ft Liberty Cap 14, ft. Outdoors Geek has the gear you need to safely hike a 14er. That clearly then speaks to mountains in countries that usually state their height in that unit of measure, i. Consequently, when we talk about fourteeners or 14ers if you prefer , we talk mainly about mountains fitting the category in North America and more specifically, the United States.

Furthermore, the criteria for qualifying as a fourteener are different in Alaska than in the other three states that have them Washington, California and Colorado. It is not just the elevation above sea level that counts, however; it is the topographic prominence that also plays a role and that is what differentiates Alaska from the other three states.

Alaska uses the foot prominence rule whereas the others use the foot rule. By this rule, the state of Colorado has by far the most fourteeners, 53 in all although it has 60 named mountains over 14, feet — more than the other states combined.

Alaska has 16, California has 12 although, depending on the source, one is not quite 14, and one is one foot under the prominence criteria and Washington has two which are actually two separate summits of the same mountain, yet with enough prominence to qualify.

This results in a total of 83 fourteeners in the United States. In each of the four states, the highest mountain is also the most prominent, as well as being ultra-prominent: Alaska Denali , California Mount Whitney , Washington Mount Rainier and Colorado Mount Elbert.

So why are fourteeners so popular? I have climbed 17 of them, several more than once, and although I would like to climb some others, I now leave that to those who are younger and more energetic than I am these days.

Alaska is like a different planet. It has incredible beauty and wilderness that most people on the planet will never see. While it has the highest mountains in the country, its average elevation ranks only 15th of the 50 states, whereas Colorado ranks first. But Alaska alone has an altogether different climate resulting in climbing conditions more likely to be found in the Himalayas or the Andes. It is truly an arctic environment with resulting climbing conditions suitable only for experts who are trained and equipped to do serious ice and snow climbing.

Even then, there are accidents despite the best preparations. Therefore, these mountains are definitely not for recreational hikers, and those that try despite these constraints are not likely to survive.

Many of these highest mountains in the state are massive, have major prominence and look stunning — when they can be seen. Those on the Pacific Coast are immense in terms of their vertical relief, since they seem to rise right from the shoreline. Since PeakVisor is focused mostly on recreational hiking and climbing, we will leave discussion about specific climbing routes in Alaska to others. The northwestern state of Washington is not known for its fourteeners. Mount Rainier and its sub-peak Liberty Cap are in fact the only ones in the state.

Yet its climbing conditions more resemble those of Alaska than any of the other fourteeners in the country, of which it is the most topographically prominent mountain. It is considered one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world due to its large amount of glacial ice. In the event of a major eruption, it could produce massive lahars thus endangering a major population center, where 80, people could be at risk.

Climbing Mount Rainier is dangerous to say the least, with all climbing routes requiring technical climbing skills. Whereas you can climb most fourteeners in Colorado in less than a day, climbing Rainier will take two to three days — if the weather cooperates.

Most failures to reach the summit are due to weather and lack of physical conditioning or experience. There are regulations for all climbers, including a requirement for permits. Experience in glacier travel, self-rescue and wilderness travel are obvious prerequisites for climbing teams and solo climbers.

Mountaineering deaths are an annual occurrence on this mountain. So needless to say, this one is not for casual hikers. But that is not to say that casual hikers cannot enjoy Mount Rainier. There are many miles of hiking trails on the lower slopes surrounding the mountain, even one trail, the Skyline Trail, which encircles the entire mountain. The Paradise area on the south side of the mountain is particularly popular, offering many hiking options for all levels of skill and conditioning.

Therefore, hikers should not be discouraged from coming to this mountain just because the upper slopes are so dangerous. Mount Rainier , along with the national park of the same name, is a very fine visitor destination that affords so many hiking opportunities that most visitors would not even think of attempting to climb this monster of a mountain. Just looking at it is a feast for the eyes and will give many of us ample pleasure and satisfaction as we tramp along the many trails.

Ranked numbers one and five in elevation, these two mountains are miles apart, thus in somewhat different environments. Shasta is a potentially active volcano while Whitney is basically a solid block of granite with extremely steep eastern slopes.

Ten of the fourteeners are in the Sierra Nevada range which means this is where most climbers will gravitate to. Mount Shasta is in the southern part of the Cascade Range and White Mountain Peak is in the — you guessed it — the White Mountains , not one of the better-known ranges in California.

We will confine our hiking descriptions to the two best known and most popular fourteeners, Mount Whitney and Mount Shasta.