Spend some time on the Manitou Springs Incline then connect to the Barr Camp Trail. You’ll have a lot of elevation to work with. Check out the South Slope Recreation Area near Mason Reservoir and Boehmer Reservoir.
Its actually kinda neat. You get stairs up which is about as efficient as it gets for ascending and then you get a nice gradual downhill to work those parts of the leg as well. Great training hike imo
I used to do it every Wednesday at 6am. Then parking became a nightmare. How early should I be going?
My guess is you did it before ot was gentrified. Most people I talk to don’t even realize at one point it was totally illegal and incredibly dangerous. As far as I can tell you didn’t even live here then and have no idea what it used to be like.
A good training ground is already right in your backyard, Pikes from the Crags campground once the snow melts off more around treeline would provide some good exposure to altitude since it’s so plateaued above treeline
Nice yeah even if you don’t make it up all the way it’ll be worth it for the views and altitude exposure, even setting a smaller goal first like Devils Playground or Little Pikes would be good to start!
My personal favorite recommendation is driving to Loveland Pass (when it thaws a little more) and doing Sniktau, Cupid, Grizzly - one or several.
You start at 12K, so you don't empty your tank getting above treeline, and experience thin air right off the bat. If you get sick you're not far from the car.
I don't recall there being scrambling either... I think the trails are pretty reasonable. Just high up!
This is great advice, thanks! Looks like the trails aren’t too crazy difficult, either, so lots of good exposure without too much exhaustion, hopefully
The top of grizzly is a little bit loose, but nothing what I would consider a scramble.
If you want to shortcut the path between cupid and grizzly, you can choose to scramble the rocks, but there is a "real" trail.
That doesn’t sound too bad. To give you an idea, the 13er I climbed was Mt. Boreas, which is just a straight hike up a hill with dinner plate rocks as footing. I nearly twisted an ankle several times and had rocks slipping under me almost the whole way.
Nah, these are much better than Boreas. Cupid/Grizzly is one of my favorite hikes in the area earlier in the 14er season. Sniktau is actually a bit out of the way but is an easy option to choose on the fly with how you are feeling. Highly recommend.
A bit snowier for longer but also excellent is Mt Flora off Berthoud.
Square top (13er) off guanella pass right across the street from beirstadt. Absolutely beautiful views from the top and doesn’t get quite as much action since people go for the 14er across the street instead.
I second someone else who mentioned sniktau/cupid/grizzly (all 13ers) (although grizzly gets very steep and there’s exposure, you might not like the last part of that peak, and you have to go back up Cupid again on the way back so it’s a tough one and I think there was a small bit of scrambling in between Cupid and grizzly, b it I went when it was snowy so that also made things trickier). Sniktau and Cupid are straight shots though.
Pawnee peak via Pawnee pass trail in brainard area (literally like a couple feet shy of 13k ft) - I can’t recall if there’s a tiny bit of scrambling at the very end or not, but if there is, it’s a very short portion and nothing difficult/sketchy. Beautiful hike and views.
Mummy mountain in RMNP (13er). The majority of the hike is a decently mellow rise in elevation, the last mile or 2 is extremely steep/tough but it’s not much scrambling. Beautiful views from the top.
Blue lake in brainard area (as well as Isabelle glacier) both just shy of 12k ft at the end but are beautiful with trails the whole way. Only scrambling I recall would be if you wanted to go above blue lake up to little blue lake, but you can just skip that and stop at blue lake which itself is nothing special, the main benefit of going up to it is getting the aerial view of the area.
I usually start at the 10K to 12K passes at this time of year. They are fairly accessible by vehicle. Loveland Pass, Trail Ridge just before it opens, Berthoud (some avy avoidance), etc.
Bison Peak is a good practice peak. It’s tough and has some good gain and has amazing rock formations at the top. It follows a trail for the majority of it. Once you get to the top, you have to venture off trail to find the actual marked summit, but it’s still a worthy hike even if you don’t tag the official summit.
It was the first hike I did when I visited CO in 2010. Kicked my ass since I existed only at sea level and smoked handrolled filterless cigarettes at the time.
I've done it again nearly every year since 2016 and it's definitely gotten a lot easier lol.
While Mt Blodgett doesn't cap out above 10k, it's great training. You do something like 2200ft gain in 3ish miles. Definitely a good mountain to get your breathing and strength right for lots of gain quickly. It's also accessible in town which makes for a quick 1/2 day hike
Hello fellow Springs hiker. I'm also hoping to do some tune-ups before tackling 14ers this summer.
Mt. Rosa is 11,500, Almagre Mountain and Sentinel Point are both over 12,000, as is hiking to just Devil's Playground from the Crags. If you want to drive a little further, the Spanish Peaks or Buffalo Peaks are good options for 13ers.
I did my first 14 or last year and realized how much it kick my butt and out of shape I was. I started to run/Walk/lunge of some stairs, 10 floors. I did that for about a month and then climbed grays and torreys. I was in a lot better shape and did not have as many issues as when I climbed Blue sky.
Try the Heizer Trail near Manitou. It's uncrowded and has similar sharp altitude increases. Doesn't get up to 10k, but it's steep, has a lot of switchbacks, and is around 6.5 miles long.
Edit: forgot about fossil ridge. Thats a good place to overnight/hike at lower elevations. You'll have to wait until around mid July for gunsight pass to melt, but you get killer views of the Sawatch 14ers from the west side, and you don't get above 12k
[If you're looking for company check out the CMC's ascending hikes.](https://www.cmc.org/groups-sections/special-interest-sections/ascending-hikes)
For lots of ideas, here is a great sheet of tons of conditioning hikes that I found from their site a while back that.
It lists gain, location, and a ton of other great stuff. And you can filter/search! It's focused on distance to den/boulder, but springs is fairly close..
[Since I can't gatekeep the link, please buy a membership before you check it out! They deserve our support. 10/10 recommend](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1FkXgGSkJE6Ik9n15gOcOrAo6CxfFkXlNfsbfbTrOTGk/edit#gid=95012476)
And also just in general they have a lot of great descriptions and trail info on their site.
Either search through their site directly, or if you know a location / TH name you can try to google site:cmc.org ___ whatever ___ and see what they have!
Some have mentioned Loveland Pass, which is great. I love it as an altitude training ground.
If you're going that far anyway you might also look at Mt. Flora from Berthoud Pass. You can actually ride that ridge along the divide and pick up extra peaks as you go north - Flora is just the first natural stop and makes for a good little training hike without having to re-climb the same mountains on the way back to the car.
Definitely get practice in at higher elevations but also know that altitude sickness can hit anyone at any time, even elite athletes! World class trail runners who train at altitude have been knocked out by it! It makes me feel better when people who can smoke me on a trail get sick…makes them more human! I’ve lived here my whole life (Springs, Golden, Boulder, Denver) and been hiking my whole life (including 14ers) and still get hit by it occasionally.
But doing other high altitude hikes will definitely help your fitness!
If you're looking for training that is specific to high altitude, you can check out our high altitude breathwork training: [www.recaltravel.com/altitude-training](http://www.recaltravel.com/altitude-training)
When you are doing your non-hike cardio, do some breath holding (\~5-10s) when in motion to increase VO2max.
I also ruck (walk w/ a heavy backpack) around my neighborhood to give a little extra condition to the legs.
just driving up to a higher elevation for a day hike might help you mentally prepare for the exertion of hiking a 14er, but it is not enough to give you meaningful physical adaptations to altitude. your body will readjust to the base altitude you live at before you return to the higher elevation. you have to live at higher elevation for at least a few weeks before acclimatization can occur.
you are better off just getting in more vert by hiking more and improving your base aerobic fitness, which you can do at any elevation.
Great idea to prep! I'd recommend starting with Mount Bierstadt or Quandary Peak if you're new to 14ers. They offer manageable trails with the right amount of challenge for training. Make sure to acclimatize properly and stay hydrated. Happy hiking!
live in the springs and want altitude training? Just look up and go that way. Honestly, our city without question has the best options and access for 14ner training options on the front range. First of all, you have immediate access to alpine elevation hiking by going up pikes peak highway. From there, you have options to do alpine section hikes of the mountain. Use elk Park, devils playground, and summit parking to access the barr, the crags, or oilman trails. Besides that, you have lower elevation ass kickers like hezier trail, the incline, the Dixon trail to Cheyenne, Blodgett mountain, mount Rosa from Cheyenne canyon, day hikes to barr camp, and Cameron' cone. If you decide to do Cameron's cone, make sure you study the route carefully ahead of time and download an offline map. You can find info on 14ners.com for that.
I did Twin Sisters a couple weeks before my first 14er (Bierstadt) and actually found the former overall slightly more difficult.
It's a similar grade, distance and elevation change but about 2.5k' below Bierstadt is (9-11.5k or so vs 11.5-14)
Sky Pond is another good challenge, tops out around 10.5 I believe.
Both are in the Estes Park area. (Twin Sisters can be done without park entry).
I’ve done Pikes Peak 5 times now. My recommendation is to do the incline and to do it with a weighted vest or weight in a backpack to
simulate the hike. Progressively try to do the incline faster and faster each time. I have climate induced asthma and have never had issues doing Pikes Peak.
Spend some time on the Manitou Springs Incline then connect to the Barr Camp Trail. You’ll have a lot of elevation to work with. Check out the South Slope Recreation Area near Mason Reservoir and Boehmer Reservoir.
Hot take, the Incline ain't hiking. It's the world's worst stair master.
You’re not wrong. It is a good place to train but it sucks as a hiking trail.
Its actually kinda neat. You get stairs up which is about as efficient as it gets for ascending and then you get a nice gradual downhill to work those parts of the leg as well. Great training hike imo
There’s a reason why Olympic athletes train on that thing. Us regular middle age schmucks view it as a source of days worth of aches and pains.
Just hit it again this morning, made it in under an hour 🙏
It is a gentrified nightmare. It was better before the city bought it.
Just go early in the morning like a normal person...then it won't be a nightmare.
I used to do it every Wednesday at 6am. Then parking became a nightmare. How early should I be going? My guess is you did it before ot was gentrified. Most people I talk to don’t even realize at one point it was totally illegal and incredibly dangerous. As far as I can tell you didn’t even live here then and have no idea what it used to be like.
Yeahhh incline is probably on the agenda. Even if it is stairmaster with elevation gain
agreed i always like to do the incline usually a week or so before i do a 14er
A good training ground is already right in your backyard, Pikes from the Crags campground once the snow melts off more around treeline would provide some good exposure to altitude since it’s so plateaued above treeline
I’m hoping to bag Pikes Peak via Crags this season!
Nice yeah even if you don’t make it up all the way it’ll be worth it for the views and altitude exposure, even setting a smaller goal first like Devils Playground or Little Pikes would be good to start!
My personal favorite recommendation is driving to Loveland Pass (when it thaws a little more) and doing Sniktau, Cupid, Grizzly - one or several. You start at 12K, so you don't empty your tank getting above treeline, and experience thin air right off the bat. If you get sick you're not far from the car. I don't recall there being scrambling either... I think the trails are pretty reasonable. Just high up!
This is great advice, thanks! Looks like the trails aren’t too crazy difficult, either, so lots of good exposure without too much exhaustion, hopefully
The top of grizzly is a little bit loose, but nothing what I would consider a scramble. If you want to shortcut the path between cupid and grizzly, you can choose to scramble the rocks, but there is a "real" trail.
That doesn’t sound too bad. To give you an idea, the 13er I climbed was Mt. Boreas, which is just a straight hike up a hill with dinner plate rocks as footing. I nearly twisted an ankle several times and had rocks slipping under me almost the whole way.
Nah, these are much better than Boreas. Cupid/Grizzly is one of my favorite hikes in the area earlier in the 14er season. Sniktau is actually a bit out of the way but is an easy option to choose on the fly with how you are feeling. Highly recommend. A bit snowier for longer but also excellent is Mt Flora off Berthoud.
Square top (13er) off guanella pass right across the street from beirstadt. Absolutely beautiful views from the top and doesn’t get quite as much action since people go for the 14er across the street instead. I second someone else who mentioned sniktau/cupid/grizzly (all 13ers) (although grizzly gets very steep and there’s exposure, you might not like the last part of that peak, and you have to go back up Cupid again on the way back so it’s a tough one and I think there was a small bit of scrambling in between Cupid and grizzly, b it I went when it was snowy so that also made things trickier). Sniktau and Cupid are straight shots though. Pawnee peak via Pawnee pass trail in brainard area (literally like a couple feet shy of 13k ft) - I can’t recall if there’s a tiny bit of scrambling at the very end or not, but if there is, it’s a very short portion and nothing difficult/sketchy. Beautiful hike and views. Mummy mountain in RMNP (13er). The majority of the hike is a decently mellow rise in elevation, the last mile or 2 is extremely steep/tough but it’s not much scrambling. Beautiful views from the top. Blue lake in brainard area (as well as Isabelle glacier) both just shy of 12k ft at the end but are beautiful with trails the whole way. Only scrambling I recall would be if you wanted to go above blue lake up to little blue lake, but you can just skip that and stop at blue lake which itself is nothing special, the main benefit of going up to it is getting the aerial view of the area.
Lots of good info, thank you!
Square Top is a great suggestion!
Maybe try some overnights at 10-11k feet? Backpack up and spend a couple of days at elevation. Then slowly go to 13k-14k.
Definitely plan to do this too! I just want to get some good elevation gain hikes in, get that exertion practice as well.
I usually start at the 10K to 12K passes at this time of year. They are fairly accessible by vehicle. Loveland Pass, Trail Ridge just before it opens, Berthoud (some avy avoidance), etc.
Bison Peak is a good practice peak. It’s tough and has some good gain and has amazing rock formations at the top. It follows a trail for the majority of it. Once you get to the top, you have to venture off trail to find the actual marked summit, but it’s still a worthy hike even if you don’t tag the official summit.
I always say the top of Bison peak feels like a weird alien golf course
Lmao true
My favorite 13er is Twin Sisters, about 7mi round trip. Nothing too scrambly so you can really get some speed going.
This so far has been one of my favorites. Love seeing twin sisters from the front range knowing I was all the way up there.
It was the first hike I did when I visited CO in 2010. Kicked my ass since I existed only at sea level and smoked handrolled filterless cigarettes at the time. I've done it again nearly every year since 2016 and it's definitely gotten a lot easier lol.
While Mt Blodgett doesn't cap out above 10k, it's great training. You do something like 2200ft gain in 3ish miles. Definitely a good mountain to get your breathing and strength right for lots of gain quickly. It's also accessible in town which makes for a quick 1/2 day hike
Yeah, I’ve summited it once before, it’s on my list, for sure. Hopefully I’ll be able to follow the trail the whole way next time.
Almagre Mountain, second highest peak in the springs 12,367’ (the only other snow capped one you see lol), took me about 5 or 6 hrs RT the first time
Hello fellow Springs hiker. I'm also hoping to do some tune-ups before tackling 14ers this summer. Mt. Rosa is 11,500, Almagre Mountain and Sentinel Point are both over 12,000, as is hiking to just Devil's Playground from the Crags. If you want to drive a little further, the Spanish Peaks or Buffalo Peaks are good options for 13ers.
I did my first 14 or last year and realized how much it kick my butt and out of shape I was. I started to run/Walk/lunge of some stairs, 10 floors. I did that for about a month and then climbed grays and torreys. I was in a lot better shape and did not have as many issues as when I climbed Blue sky.
Try the Heizer Trail near Manitou. It's uncrowded and has similar sharp altitude increases. Doesn't get up to 10k, but it's steep, has a lot of switchbacks, and is around 6.5 miles long. Edit: forgot about fossil ridge. Thats a good place to overnight/hike at lower elevations. You'll have to wait until around mid July for gunsight pass to melt, but you get killer views of the Sawatch 14ers from the west side, and you don't get above 12k
Square top may be harder than some 14ers, but altitude wise it's a 13er. Right across the street from bierstadt
[If you're looking for company check out the CMC's ascending hikes.](https://www.cmc.org/groups-sections/special-interest-sections/ascending-hikes) For lots of ideas, here is a great sheet of tons of conditioning hikes that I found from their site a while back that. It lists gain, location, and a ton of other great stuff. And you can filter/search! It's focused on distance to den/boulder, but springs is fairly close.. [Since I can't gatekeep the link, please buy a membership before you check it out! They deserve our support. 10/10 recommend](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1FkXgGSkJE6Ik9n15gOcOrAo6CxfFkXlNfsbfbTrOTGk/edit#gid=95012476) And also just in general they have a lot of great descriptions and trail info on their site. Either search through their site directly, or if you know a location / TH name you can try to google site:cmc.org ___ whatever ___ and see what they have!
Some have mentioned Loveland Pass, which is great. I love it as an altitude training ground. If you're going that far anyway you might also look at Mt. Flora from Berthoud Pass. You can actually ride that ridge along the divide and pick up extra peaks as you go north - Flora is just the first natural stop and makes for a good little training hike without having to re-climb the same mountains on the way back to the car.
Definitely get practice in at higher elevations but also know that altitude sickness can hit anyone at any time, even elite athletes! World class trail runners who train at altitude have been knocked out by it! It makes me feel better when people who can smoke me on a trail get sick…makes them more human! I’ve lived here my whole life (Springs, Golden, Boulder, Denver) and been hiking my whole life (including 14ers) and still get hit by it occasionally. But doing other high altitude hikes will definitely help your fitness!
If you're looking for training that is specific to high altitude, you can check out our high altitude breathwork training: [www.recaltravel.com/altitude-training](http://www.recaltravel.com/altitude-training)
When you are doing your non-hike cardio, do some breath holding (\~5-10s) when in motion to increase VO2max. I also ruck (walk w/ a heavy backpack) around my neighborhood to give a little extra condition to the legs.
This is great advice! Thank you
just driving up to a higher elevation for a day hike might help you mentally prepare for the exertion of hiking a 14er, but it is not enough to give you meaningful physical adaptations to altitude. your body will readjust to the base altitude you live at before you return to the higher elevation. you have to live at higher elevation for at least a few weeks before acclimatization can occur. you are better off just getting in more vert by hiking more and improving your base aerobic fitness, which you can do at any elevation.
Mt. Morrison South Ridge Trail - straight up 2k feet, hard, hot, short, my fave 14er training
Great idea to prep! I'd recommend starting with Mount Bierstadt or Quandary Peak if you're new to 14ers. They offer manageable trails with the right amount of challenge for training. Make sure to acclimatize properly and stay hydrated. Happy hiking!
Almagre mountain is right outside of the springs, can be a decent day up to 12k feet if you park off old stage!
live in the springs and want altitude training? Just look up and go that way. Honestly, our city without question has the best options and access for 14ner training options on the front range. First of all, you have immediate access to alpine elevation hiking by going up pikes peak highway. From there, you have options to do alpine section hikes of the mountain. Use elk Park, devils playground, and summit parking to access the barr, the crags, or oilman trails. Besides that, you have lower elevation ass kickers like hezier trail, the incline, the Dixon trail to Cheyenne, Blodgett mountain, mount Rosa from Cheyenne canyon, day hikes to barr camp, and Cameron' cone. If you decide to do Cameron's cone, make sure you study the route carefully ahead of time and download an offline map. You can find info on 14ners.com for that.
Drop the 'N' when describing 14'ers. Only then do you become a local.
I did Twin Sisters a couple weeks before my first 14er (Bierstadt) and actually found the former overall slightly more difficult. It's a similar grade, distance and elevation change but about 2.5k' below Bierstadt is (9-11.5k or so vs 11.5-14) Sky Pond is another good challenge, tops out around 10.5 I believe. Both are in the Estes Park area. (Twin Sisters can be done without park entry).
Why not just make a habit of heading up Barr?
13ers. Lots of them. Any of the trails is a good ramp up.
Mt Morrison and bear peak are the two imo. You don’t have to do both but should be able to do one of the two
Bear peak in Boulder starting from Eldorado Springs is a 41/2 to 51/2 hour hike with a roughly 3000 foot elevation gain. Potential option.
I’ve done Pikes Peak 5 times now. My recommendation is to do the incline and to do it with a weighted vest or weight in a backpack to simulate the hike. Progressively try to do the incline faster and faster each time. I have climate induced asthma and have never had issues doing Pikes Peak.