They're majestic, rugged, remote and romantic. They're the tallest mountains in Colorado. And the paths that take you there are falling apart, according to a report issued by the nonprofit group Colorado Fourteeners Initiative.
After a three-year inventory and study of 42 trails that reach some of Colorado's 54 14,000 foot summits, the report found that 39 are in need of significant improvement, to the tune of $24 million.
The trails are deteriorating under the weight of visitation, poor planning and construction. Many hikers try to find alternate routes as well, damaging surrounding landscape.
The report card-style review put the San Juan Mountains at the bottom of the five mountain ranges, with an average grade of a D+. The Sangre de Christos were given a B, the Elk Mountains a C+, the Front and Tenmile Ranges a C-, the Sawatch and Mosquito Ranges a C-, followed by the San Juans.
CFI's executive director, Lloyd Athearn, who visited the San Juan's earlier this spring, said in a press release that while a few peaks have yet to be inventoried, some areas are challenging at best to access. He said the Chicago Basin one of the most logistically complicated areas they monitor.
"It's a farther corner of the state, and we don't get down there that often," he said.
That doesn't mean they don't see traffic. Based on sensors placed on 14,034-foot Redcloud Peak near Lake City, one day in early August there were 300 visitors to the summit. CFI gave the peak an F, estimating somewhere between $500,000 and $999,000 for improvements. Other San Juan 14ers such as Handies and Sunshine saw huge numbers as well.
Uncompahgre Peak and Mount Sneffels both got C- grades, requiring up to $250,000 to bring up to par.
The report was funded by grants from Great Outdoors Colorado, Colorado State Trails program, Colorado Mountain Club Foundation, Recreation Equipment Inc., The Summit Foundation, Aspen Skiing Company Environments Foundation and others. It was based on an analysis of 10 key components, ranging from visitation, erosion, location of trail, trail widening, complexity of new trail features, for example, and how far the summits routes have come since earlier CFI recommendations.
"This report card is a sobering reality check regarding how much progress has been made toward achieving CFI's goal that every 14er has a sustainably designed; durably constructed summit route," Athearn said. "Properly built and maintained trails are vital to protecting the rare and fragile alpine tundra ecosystems found on the 14ers and the outstanding recreational opportunities these peaks offer to hikers across the country."
He described the work needed as slow and difficult, but with the report cards in place, the group has an outline of where to focus its efforts,
He said that, armed with that knowledge, they can begin to work with a network of support crews and address the summit route issues across the state.
The CFI, founded in 1994, has established 29 appropriately constructed trails on 26 14ers and has logged more than 10,350 days of volunteer stewardship on those trails since 2001.