Difficulty Ratings - Choosing Your First Fourteener

Now that you know what to eat, drink and carry, it's time to make the big decision: Which peak to try first?

 

You’ll obviously want to start with one of the easier fourteeners, but keep in mind that “easy” is a relative term here. All of Colorado’s highest peaks are physically demanding, but the technical difficulty of their standard routes varies dramatically.

 

Difficulty Ratings

 

The most commonly used rating system for climbers is the Yosemite Decimal System (YDS), which identifies five “classes” that range from walking a trail to scaling a sheer rock face.

 

The following article on outdoorswithdave.com provides a good overview of the YDS:

 

Class 1: Walking, on an established trail.

 

Class 2: Hiking, up a steep incline, possibly using your hands for balance.

 

Class 3: Climbing up a steep hillside; a rope is not normally used.

 

Class 4: Exposed climbing, following a ledge system for example. A rope would be used to belay past places where a fall could be lethal.

 

Class 5: This is where technical rock climbing begins. 

 

I agree with most of these assessments, but can offer a bit more detail based on my experience.

 

Class 2 is often used to describe a route without a defined trail. You might be hiking over talus (large pieces of broken rock) or scree (smaller pieces of broken rock). Here is an example of class 2 terrain on Antero:

To me, class 3 involves a lot more than “climbing up a steep hillside.” The class 3 routes I’ve done (Longs, Wetterhorn, Lindsey) required me to use my hands for a good portion of the route. Foot- and hand-holds were easy to locate, but it wouldn’t have been possible to simply “walk” up. 

Here is an example of class 3 terrain on Longs:

I’ve only had a tiny taste of class 4 so far. In my limited experience, the main difference between class 3 and 4 is the availability of holds. 

The consequences of a fall on class 4 terrain would also generally be greater than on class 3, but the exposure and relative danger of a climb isn’t necessarily correlated to its class rating. However, contrary to the outdoorswithdave article, most people don't use rope on class 4. 

 

So when you’re choosing your first fourteener, look for class 1 or 2 routes and shorter hikes with less elevation gain. In my opinion, Bierstadt, Sherman and Quandary are the easiest.

 

To see how all of the fourteeners stack up, check out this guide on 14ers.com.