The non-standard14er Podcast

While car camping outside the gate of the Cielo Vista Ranch, TayJack, JacerJack and Short-Rope welcome Pikabark, a new friend that was among the 20 individuals who had reservations to climb Culebra Peak the next day.  We learn about our new friend’s weight-loss feat via the 14ers, we discuss JacerJack’s successful skiing of the Emperor Couloir on Torreys Peak this Spring (the daunting gulley visible from I70) and we learn all sorts about snow conditions, avalanche risk, and avalanche-condition report reading in the Nonstandard 14er Podcast’s Trailhead Talk episode.

TayJack, JacerJack, and Short-Rope welcome a new guest known as the MonGoose to talk about Grays Peak, a good beginner peak.  A 14er-Finisher and staple in the 14er community for more than a decade, MonGoose gives frequent presentations at outdoor/climbing shops entitled “Intro to the 14ers.”  We get to hear about what he tells people preparing for their first 14er including learning about the 10 essentials to have in your pack, the difference between hiking classes (class 1-class 5) and some general trail etiquette.  We start with the discussion question “what do we know now in our 14er career that we wished someone would have told us when we first started?” We also learn about the volunteer groups that perform trail maintenance on the 14ers in this episode of the Non-Standard 14er podcast.

Short Rope heads down to Manitou Springs to run the Manitou incline in preparation for his discussion about Pikes Peak with 14er-finisher, Nolan's-14-Completer and Incline-Record-Holder: Warg.  We discuss the Barr Trail, unafraid chipmunks, and summit donuts.  We also learn all about the incline’s history and the various speed records on the old railroad track that gains 2,000 feet in less than a mile.  If you thought the incline is rough, you should hear about the people who do it 13 times in a row and the crazy people who climb the incline more than 500 times a year---which we chat about at length in this episode of the Nonstandard 14er Podcast.

TayJack, JacerJack and Uncle Kunckel join Short Rope to discuss the remote 14er Red Cloud Peak down in the San Juan Mountains. We discuss dispersed camping, driving the mountain passes around Lake City and Silverton, and the amazing views from a very easy class 1 hike. In addition, we take a diversion into Colorado’s history to hear the macabre story of cannibalism in the Rocky Mountains by Alferd Packer and the legal theory that kept him from the gallows for the events in 1874 that occurred within miles of Red Cloud Peak.  

Short-Rope heads to Colorado Springs to chat with a new-comer to the Nonstandard 14er podcast by the name of “Warg” who has done all the 14ers twice and is on an elite list of people who have successfully accomplished the “Nolan’s 14”----which is a 100 mile thru-hike of 14 Sawatch Range 14ers in under 60 hours.  The challenge either starts or ends with Mt. Shavano.  We chat about what he ate and where his support crew met him along the way.  We discuss his sleeping strategy over the 60 hours and marvel that his drive from Colorado Springs to Buena Vista was shorter than the Nolan’s 14 route!   And we discuss some routes that aren’t listed in any standard guide book, which makes them perfect for the Nonstandard 14er podcast!  Find some information on the Nolan’s 14 here: http://mattmahoney.net/nolans14/

The Exiled Michigander and CTP join Short Rope for a discussion of an Elk Range 14er that is often characterized as one the most difficult: Pyramid Peak.  We chat about route finding on Pyramid's Northeast Ridge and argue about whether leaving ribbon on difficult sections of a climb is acceptable.  We debate whether camping on Pyramid is a better strategy than doing it all in one day from the car, and we discuss the rotten Elk Range rock and the infamous cliff traverse and green gulley sections on the standard route.  We also try to "re-build" the various sections on Pyramid with other similar features from other 14ers.  The "nah dude" jingle also found its way into this podcast.

Recorded after soaking in the Cottonwood Hot Springs, Short-Rope and the Exiled Michigander welcome another 14er Finisher to the podcast who we call CTP or Colorado Trail Patrick.  We discuss two non-standard routes on Missouri Mountain: a spring snow climb up the north face of Missouri’s C-Couloir and the West Ridge from Lake Clohesy.  We also chat about the river crossing on the Rockdale trailhead, the steep switch backs on the Missouri Gulch approach, tricks for cooking omelets over a camp fire, slow-energy-release trail food, and the most efficient way to climb Missouri, Belford, Oxford, Columbia and Harvard. We also introduce a new "jingle" when the conversation gets "off route."

Recorded in a yurt just above Lake City Colorado, The Exiled Michigander joins Short-Rope, JacerJack and TayJack to discuss Halo Ridge and the standard route up Mt. of the Holy Cross.  We discuss why the standard route up the North Ridge doesn't allow views of the famous Cross Couloir and the strange pull that lures hikers to descend the wrong route.  We also discuss the challenge of re-gaining the lost 1,000 feet of elevation over Half-Moon Pass and the need for bug spray and a water filtration system.

JacerJack and TayJack join Short-Rope to discuss the south slopes and the southwest ridge route on Mt. Sneffels.  We learn some Ouray history, discuss the best spots to get a post-hike slice of pizza and beer, and discuss a 14er hiker's first introduction to class 3 climbing. We also answer the question "why is it called 'Sneffels'?" 

Short-Rope Stiffler and JacerJack discuss their climb on Maroon Peak, chat about the loose Elk Range rock, debate Instagraming 14ers, compare Maroon to the Wilson Group, and detail how they celebrated a buddy's 14er finisher in Aspen in the first episode of the Non-Standard 14ers Podcast.