Hiking Gear I Take to Climb a Colorado 14er: Typical Summertime Loadout

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Aug 9

Written By Jason Kolaczkowski

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Like I started the last blog post: 14ers, particularly in Colorado, “are a day hike.”

But a hike above 14,000 feet is a hike into a challenging environment, with temperatures that are typically 30 degrees colder than the temperature in the nearby town. In Colorado anyway, you can get snow any month of the year - so you better know your weather forecast. It is almost always windy because there is nothing left above you to block the wind. You breath faster due to the high altitude, expelling more water than normal, making you more prone to dehydration. You will burn 3000 to 4000 extra calories, to taking in food is a must - even if one of the effects of altitude is a loss of apatite.

And, if something should go really wrong, a typical search and rescue response time is about 8 hours to reach someone who needs assistance.

So, while it is a day hike, these added risks require the right gear to make your climb a safe one. And in the video, I laid out my typical set of gear for a summer climb up a 14er.

Now, gear needs to change based on conditions and objective, so I don’t take this exact loadout on every climb. However, it is what I take on a day with forecasted good weather and when I am going up a class 1, 2, or 3 route (I usually add a helmet due to rock fall concerns on many class 3 climbs).

The base weight for this set of gear is almost exactly 9 pounds, but could be more for a larger person (I wear a size small in most of my clothing).

Since I guess the whole point of a loadout video is to call out equipment, I wanted to share the links to this stuff that I’ve used for many, many years now. For non-technical 14ers, I’m usually not in my most specialized gear. So, you may find that this equipment is useful for all sorts of outdoors adventures; it’s just that the particular combination of it all allows for mitigating the specific risks that a 14er peak provides.

Inov-8 Roclite G 315 GTX trail running shoe: Men's Women's

Injinji Trail Midweight socks: Men's Women's

Seirus Soundtouch Deluxe Thermax Liner Gloves

Exofficio Give-N-Go Underwear: Men's Give-N-Go Sport 2.0 9" Boxer Briefs Women's Give-N-Go Sport 2.0 Mesh Boy Short

Eddie Bauer Guide Pro Pants: Men's Women's

Simms SolarFlex Hoody: Men's Women's

Eddie Bauer Cloud Layer Pro Full Zip Jacket: Men's Women's: N/A

Outdoor Research Helium Jacket: Men's Women's

Eddie Bauer Rainier Storm Shell Pants are no longer made; REI makes a full side zip rain pant at a comparable price point: Men's Women's

Outdoor Research Seattle Sombrero

Opticus Altice Venture Sunglasses

Lowe Alpine Ascent Superlight 30L Pack