The push to Bierstadt

This is the final 3 months (approx) to the lead up training for this years 14er attempt. I considered a lot of things in selecting Bierstadt this time and the most important are:

I am only considering class I or II climbs before I get more experience/training.
I don't want to put myself in a position to make safety decisions at altitude where pride and ego are involved. I'll decide before hitting the trail that a class III route is beyond my capability right now rather than think at 13,700 "If I can just pass this one tough section I might be able to make it". I'm not ready for technical passes yet.

After the shelf road last year :O I wanted a trailhead with 2WD access. Our next vehicle will be a 4WD jeep or Land Cruiser...something like that and tougher access trailheads will be easier to access. I didn't love having to go back on the shelf road after Handies when we could have taken a serious short cut if we only had a proper of road mountain vehicle. 2WD access this time. :(

Angie is going to take a crack at bagging her first 14er peak and Bierstadt offers something that others might not. Not far from the trail head most of the route is visible to you straight to the summit. I think that will be a big psychological advantage to see everything ahead of you have the ability to make constant evaluations/calculations.

Bierstadt is a 7 mile round trip hike (plus some extra if you hike down and back up to gain an additional 200' elevation) and I will be doing that...not sure if Angie will bother or not but I'm doing it to make sure I have the official 3,000 elevation gain. It's probably a minor detail really....but I'm doing it. ;)

Training shifted into (OMG, THERE IS ONLY 12 WEEKS LEFT TO GET READY) mode yesterday and I the focus from here until the trailhead is going to be walking, stair climbing, walking with a pack, stair climbing more, walking some 9mile and 14 mile hikes, more stairs, and more walking with a double weight (50#) pack. I will try to mix in some core and upper body when I can but time is short now and I will be more prepared this time because I know all too well how hard it is to show up under trained.

Bierstadt by all accounts is a little "easier" than Handies and I will be better trained, more prepared, and will execute my climb 10X's smarter than I did to bag Handies so I think it's going to be a fun day on the mountain when we hit it barring the one thing we never get to control the weather. I want to allow a back up day in the itinerary in case the weather is bad so that we have a second shot if needed.

Bierstdat will be my 2nd 14er and turning the corner to the heavy training is bringing the excitement now. In addition to training I've started planning the nutrition, water options, I will be getting a new pair of shoes soon, we will start going over gear and making lists now... It shifts from the future to the now. Big fun!

Big fun!