Guidebook Takes You to the Top

Boulder author hasn't met a summit he didn't like -- and he wrote a book about his favorite fifty plus a few

The names of Colorado's 54 fourteeners -- peaks of at least 14,000 feet in elevation -- are emblazoned on T-shirts, sweatshirts, neckerchiefs and water bottles. Some have technical routes, requiring ropes and real climbing skills, but every one has at least one hike-up route. There are, to my knowledge, at least four fourteener hiking/climbing guides, one of which has been in print since 1978. Coloradans set goals of climbing them all, climbing them all in one year, climbing them all in one summer and, in the case first of Lou Dawson and more recently Chris Davenport, climbing up and skiing down all of them.

In Best Summit Hikes in Colorado, Boulder author James Dziezynski wrote both about his favorite fourteeners and lesser peaks as well, including some that are nameless and/or do not even have a trail to the summit. He enjoys traversing ridges that link neighboring mountains or summits and their subpeaks. His book details (and I really mean details) the routes he has followed. Some do require serious scrambling or have significant exposure, but many others are simply walk-ups.

Dziezynski has included features in his guide that I have not seen in any other Colorado trails book. I like his upfront thumbnail descriptions of the terrain. He writes that Mt. Elbert is ascended via a "well-maintained trail," while Mt. Powell requires "tricky off-trail navigation to steep, challenging hill climbs." For most hikers, that immediate separates out the doable, the difficult and the impossible. I also like his Gear Advisor such as "gaiters, trekking poles or ice axe, GPS," "helmet, good grippy boots" or simply "normal gear" are needed under most conditions.

His intro to every peak and his Quick Facts about the story of each mountain are interesting and his Why Climb It? offers insights that most authors don't bother sharing. The meticulous route guide itself locate each trail feature by mileage and also keys it numerically to a map. Of course, there is information on reaching each trailhead and lots of relevant numbers, such as distance, lowest and highest elevation, total elevation gain, trail rating by difficulty and estimated hiking time. The extensive introductory material includes some basics on first aid, altitude sickness, weather, flora, fauna, human impact on the Rockies

The book was published toward the end of last summer, so for all practical purposes, it is new this year. I suspect that some of those remoted, unheralded summits will feel a few more footfalls from now on.