The non-standard14er Podcast

Justin Ibarra----guide, avalanche educator and founder of Colorado Snowboard Guides, joins the podcast to discuss avalanche safety.  We pick his brain about avalanche classes, beacons, airbags and skiing 14ers.  We also get tips about educating yourself if you’re getting into backcountry skiing, and we get to hear stories about life as a winter guide in Summit County. 

The TornadoMan and Short-Rope chatted with Matt Payne (climber, Centennial Peak Finisher, photographer and podcaster) in the latest episode.  We talk about the pros/cons of a website Matt used to run that detailed and discussed Colorado mountain accidents.  We also got to learn a bunch of mountain photography tips from Matt and hear stories about capturing those rare mountain shots when the light...

What are creative backpacking trip plans that link 14er Peaks and Centennial Peaks? That was the question of this episode of the Non-Standard 14er Podcast as Tornadoman, Walk-Mode Patrick, JacerJack and Short-Rope competed with Ellen as the judge to find out who could design the best trip.  How do you get Hagerman and Snowmass?  Can you get Castle and also soak in Conundrum Hot Springs?  What’s th...

Three CO-14er-Finishers join the podcast to talk about their successful summits of Mount Rainier (14,410’): MonGoose, Exiled_Michigander, and Walk Mode Patrick. The conversation was centered around comparing Colorado 14ers to Washington’s Rainier and offering a Colorado climber’s perspective.  We learned about Camp Muir, what it’s like to be in a roped team, and the rope skills and preparation rec...

In anticipation of the Winter Welcomer, we sat down with Britt Jones who is one of the organizers of the annual hike of Quandary Peak.  The event was started by Steve Gladbach (sgladbach) and Jim DiNapoli (dancesatmoonrise), who both had a desire to help others learn to hike safely in winter conditions and have fun. Britt has climbed all the 14ers, the Centennials, and the 50 state high points. We...

The 4 Great Traverses between Colorado 14ers (El Diente/Mt. Wilson, Crestones, Maroon Bells, Little Bear/Blanca) was the topic of discussion on this episode of the Non-Standard 14er Podcast.  Josh Collman re-joins the podcast to chat with Short-Rope, JacerJack and Ellen, who is our latest guest to the podcast.  Ellen climbed the 4 great traverses this summer along with 46 different 14ers.  You sho...

We sat down with Seth Linden whom many might know from the popular Facebook group “Seth’s Weather Report” in the latest Non-Standard 14er episode. We learned how a passion for tracking and skiing powder can turn into a career, what exactly you study in meteorology school, and how you apply that to enjoying Colorado’s high country.  Seth also taught us the difference between El Nino and La Nina and...

A full crowd showed up for this podcast to tell stories of their experience climbing arguably the hardest 14er in Colorado:  Capitol Peak.  Johan joins the podcast for the first time with Short-Rope Stiffler, the Exiled_Michigander, Walk-Mode/Colorado Trail Patrick, JacerJack and TayJack.  We hear stories of loose rock falls, dodging hail on the descent from K2, and troubles with bear canisters. ...

Joining the podcast in this episode are David, Mark and Dennis Witte—a father and two son trio---who wrote Surviving the Colorado 14ers: A Family’s Journey from Quandary to Capitol.  The book details their 24-year journey climbing Colorado’s highest peaks. We got to learn about what the 14ers were like in the 1990's compared to today and what it's like planning out 14er trips when you don't live i...

We talk with Mark Scott-Nash, author of Colorado 14er Disasters in the latest episode.  Mark is the author of four books, Forty Demons: One Man’s Astonishing Vision Quest to Save the World, The Insolent Guide to Northern Colorado Mountains, Colorado Fourteener Disasters: Victims of the Game, Playing for Real: Stories from Rocky Mountain Rescue.  We got to chat about what you don’t hear in the news...

Short-Rope Stiffler and the Exiled_Michigander welcome Josh Collman to the podcast to talk about his near-death and life-changing fall from Crestone Needle in August 2017.  We got to hear all about the table-sized ledge that he landed on and the story of his rescue from the 14er on a Blackhawk Helicopter.  We also learned how he transformed his mind set from getting his summit-fever-fix to really...

Mark Obmascik, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and bestselling author who wrote Halfway to Heaven: My White-Knuckled—And Knuckleheaded—Quest for the Rocky Mountain High, joined the Non-Standard 14er Podcast to chat about how, as a forty-four-year-old father of three, he climbed all of Colorado’s 14ers in a single summer. We got to ask Mark all about his inspiration on writing the book and the...

In another stay-at-home podcast, Short-Rope, JacerJack and CTP chat with blogger and 14er-climber Alex Derr whose blog The Next Summit can be found at www.alexmderr.com .  We debate a number of the topics discussed on the blog from the best first overnight 14er routes to the best non-standard routes. We also learn how Alex got into the 14ers and what inspired him to create the blog. 

What Colorado mountain passes are referenced in South Park episodes?  Where does Rocky Mountain National Park rank among the most visited national parks?  What 14ers are on U.S. coins?  What trailheads match with which 14ers?  These are among the questions asked as the RyGuy returns to defend his Non-Standard 14er Podcast Trivia Title against the Exiled_Michigander, TayJack and JacerJack. 

What’s the best way to climb Little Bear Peak---the hourglass route or the SW Ridge?  That’s the topic for discussion in this episode of the Non-Standard 14er Podcast.  JacerJack and Short-Rope are on Team Hourglass.  TornadoMan joins the podcast with Colorado Trail Patrick to represent Team-Southwest-Ridge. TayJack is the moderator.  We talk about rock fall, camping at Lake Como, and day-hiking o...

The logistics of climbing the Wilson Group 14ers (Mt. Wilson, Wilson Peak, and El Diente Peak) was the topic of discussion as Ryguy and Colorado Trail Patrick re-join Short-Rope on this episode of the Non-Standard 14er Podcast.  We debate the pros and cons of Kilpacker Basin compared to the Navejo Basin or the Rock of Ages approaches.  We talk about the crux moves on each peak.  We also discuss th...

Short Rope invited Colorado Trail Patrick and Ryguy to the podcast for the first edition of the Non-Standard 14er Podcast trivia episode featuring 14er and Colorado trivia.  The format includes 5 rounds with 3 questions per round, a midpoint question and a final question in which the contestants can wager the points they’ve earned throughout the game.  We cover topics from Woodrow Wilson to Alec B...

Thru-Hiker Cloud returns to the Non-Standard 14er Podcast for part 2 of our conversation about hiking the Pacific Crest Trail (2,650 miles) and the Continental Divide Trail (3,100 miles). We learn all about trail names, trail magic, trail angels, trail music, and trail etiquette.  Part 2 has more goofiness and even more acronyms than part 1. 

Short-Rope, JacerJack, TayJack, and Colorado Trail Patrick welcomed thru-hiker, conservationist, mountaineer, outdoor enthusiast, and blogger Jenny Gaeng to the Non-Standard 14er Podcast.  Better known by her trail name “Cloud,”  Jenny joined the podcast just 9 days after she finished hiking all 2,650 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) and three years after she hiked all 3,100 miles of the Con...

Short-Rope and Kunckel drove up to Kremmling Colorado to sit down with Shuei Kato to hear the story of how he got turned around on the Summit of Missouri Mountain and got lost in the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness Area for three nights in October 2017.  We chat all about what went wrong, what gear he had with him that allowed him to survive three nights alone, what he learned from his experience and...

TayJack, JacerJack and Short-Rope invite Brian Sargeant to the Non-Standard 14er Podcast to chat about his role working with the Colorado Fourteeners Initiative, a non-profit out of Golden that protects and preserves our 14,000 foot peaks.  We learn about CFI’s thermal counters that keep a tally of hiker counts.  We get an early glimpse of the updated 14er report card that grades each 14er on the...

Short-Rope, TayJack, and JacerJack welcome our first canine to the Non-Standard 14er Podcast.  We sit down with recent 14er finisher Elle and her husky Loki, who both climbed all of Colorado's 14ers and recently finished on Capitol Peak.  We talk about Loki's special training and how Elle and Loki work as a climbing team. We also hear some answers to popular questions that the 14er community insta...

RyGuy returns to the Non-Standard 14er Podcast to talk about his experience in a search and rescue mission on Crestone Peak. RyGuy reflects upon what went wrong, what he learned and what others should avoid when climbing snow-covered gullies like Crestone Peak’s Red Gully.  We discuss emergency beacons, the difference between north and south facing snow conditions, and what it’s like to be picked...

TayJack, JacerJack and Short-Rope welcome our first Centennial Finisher to the podcast: RyGuy.  With an extensive alpine resume (RyGuy has climbed 34 of the 14ers in Winter, summited over 150 of the 13ers, and is currently an administer of the 14ers.com Facebook page), we had a lot to talk about.  The topics ranged from Winter camping/climbing to summit signs to the 14er.com social gatherings. We...

While car camping outside the gate of the Cielo Vista Ranch, TayJack, JacerJack and Short-Rope welcome Pikabark, a new friend that was among the 20 individuals who had reservations to climb Culebra Peak the next day.  We learn about our new friend’s weight-loss feat via the 14ers, we discuss JacerJack’s successful skiing of the Emperor Couloir on Torreys Peak this Spring (the daunting gulley visib...