The non-standard14er Podcast

The most remote 14ers in Colorado are up for discussion in this crowded episode of the Non-Standard 14er Podcast: Eolus, N. Eolus, Sunlight and Windom.  We talk about non-standard routes into the Chicago Basin, animals at your camp sites, and tips for riding the train.  We also talk about a rite of passage of the 14er journey: the leap of faith on Sunlight.  

David Witte, 14er finisher and author of the book "World War II at Camp Hale," rejoins the Non-Standard 14er Podcast to chat about the site's latest designation as a National Monument.  We get to learn about the 10th Mountain Division, why they chose the Leadville area, and how they utilized the 14ers in the Sawatch Range for training. 

Short-Rope Stiffler got the trail name “Nugget” while hiking the 486-mile Colorado Trail over 5 weeks this summer. Wangler, another CT hiker whom Stiffler met on the trail, joins the podcast along with the Exiled Michigander.  We talk a lot about the camaraderie of fellow hikers, what it’s like to hike for 35 days straight, trail names, motivation, gear and the prettiest sections of the trail. If you’ve ever contemplated hiking the Colorado Trail, hearing our magical and transformational experiences will hopefully tip you into the “yes let’s try the CT” camp.

What's Wetterhorn like in winter?  What's the winter route on Holy Cross?  Will_E is back on the podcast to talk about hiking the 14ers in calendar winter.  He is two 14ers shy of completing them all as snowflakes---and most of them he's done solo. 

Will_E joins the Non-Standard 14er podcast to talk about his recent solo Winter ascents of the Chicago Basin 14ers---Eolus, N. Eolus, Sunlight and Windom.  We talk about the summer routes vs winter routes, avalanche danger, the Purgatory approach, winter camping, and climbing to the summit block of Sunlight in crampons. 

Snowmass Mountain was the topic of discussion in the latest episode of the Non-Standard 14er Podcast.  Recent 14er Finisher and longtime listener NatDog joins JacerJack, TayJack, Short-Rope and AWOL Pat to talk about his experience on the S-Ridge and the Geneva Lake Side.  We compare the standard route from Snowmass Lake to the S-Ridge in an attempt to influence TayJack’s decision on the best way to tackle Snowmass.

After both spending 43 days connecting all of Colorado’s 14ers in one self-supported wheel-less thru-hike and winning a bout against rhabdomyolysis, Pawel Szafruga joins the Non-Standard 14er Podcast.  His record-breaking journey started at Barr Trail and ended at the bottom of Longs Peak.  We got to learn all about his ultra-lite gear, his route-planning, some unique connecting ridges, road hiking, and his re-supply methods.

With JacerJack's recent completion of the 14ers a few weeks earlier on Handies Peak, a "Finisher" episode was in order. Mike Phelps, host of the Return's Mandatory Podcast, joins us with our discussion about the 14er finisher journey.  Amongst a bunch of laughs and 14er stories, we talk about the "finisher blues," the highs and lows, and life lessons we've learned climbing the 14ers.  

In part two of our conversation with Andrew and Andrea, our discussion starts with their “rock bottom” moment on their Centennial Peak record adventure.  How and why they did the Blanca/Lindsey group the way they did and getting a car battery jump deep in the Ten Mile Range were just a few of the stories on this podcast that the pair enthusiastically tells in tandem.  You’ll understand why the saying “every ridge goes right?!” applies to this duo. 

A few weeks removed from doing Colorado’s highest 100 peaks in under 23 days, the team of Andrew Hamilton and Andrea Sansone join the Non-Standard 14er Podcast to talk all about it.  We learn why they started the record-breaking Centennial Peak challenge on Culebra, got details on their Elk Centennial Traverse, heard about the trouble accessing the Decalibron and got to hear what it’s like running out of food in the San Juans and still needing to summit Eolus, Sunlight, Windom and Jupiter before getting resupplied.  We also got to learn about how the couple motivates each other when one of them is at a mental and physical low point. This is part 1 of our conversation