“If I am in the mountains — here in Colorado, in Nepal, it doesn’t matter — I can go places where I have never been and feel at home,” Jornet said Tuesday in Denver on the eve of embarking on an uber-adventure in the Rockies. “If I’m in a town, 30 minutes from where I live, I would not feel at home. It����ap foreign. When I am in the mountains I can express myself and I can imagine things. It feels like where I’m meant to be.”

Even as his 72-year-old father is in the middle of a solo trekking trip in Peru — climbing 20,000-foot peaks along the way — Jornet’s newest adventure starts this week on Longs Peak. Over the next month, he intends to link as many fourteeners as possible in the lower 48 states from Colorado to the Pacific Northwest, a .” To make the entire trip “human-powered,” he will travel from peak to peak via bicycle or on foot.

“Colorado, California, they are not that close,” Jornet said wryly. “That’s what scares me the most, these long bike rides.”

There are nearly 70 fourteeners in Colorado, California and Washington. Exact numbers are open to debate, depending on the criteria used, because fourteeners with sub-peaks can be counted as one or more distinct peaks. The Colorado Mountain Club and Colorado Fourteeners Initiative put the state’s number at 54.

Jornet has long been with a lengthy list of wins. Five times he won Colorado’s grueling Hard Rock 100, a high-altitude loop in the San Juans via Telluride, Ouray and Silverton with more than 33,000 feet of climbing. He won the Pikes Peak Marathon twice. Last year he climbed the 82 peaks in the Alps that reach 4,000 meters in elevation (13,100 feet) or more in 19 days, traveling from one to the next only by cycling and running.

Although he spent much of his career based in Chamonix, France, and lives now in the most mountainous region of Norway, he is no stranger to Colorado. He has done Longs “a few times” and several other fourteeners including Mount Elbert, La Plata Peak, Mount Sneffels and Handies Peak. He’s also climbed California’s Mount Whitney, the highest peak in the lower 48 states (14,505 feet).

He won’t climb every fourteener in the lower 48 on this trip. He will skip Culebra Peak in Colorado’s Sangre de Cristo range, for example, because it is located on private land. He also plans to run ridgelines that will take him over 13,000 feet many times.

He’s not looking for the easiest way up and down all those peaks, rather the most “aesthetic.” Instead of taking the normal route of descent from Longs Peak, for example, he will follow the so-called “LA Freeway,” a 30-mile high-altitude ridge route with lots of exposure on the Continental Divide which connects Longs to the Indian Peaks at Brainard Lake.

“It����ap not about doing the fastest time possible, it����ap about finding a nice (route), too,” Jornet said. “LA Freeway, it looks so nice, and so many friends here say, ‘You need to do it.’ Yeah, it����ap not the fastest, but it is the most aesthetic. All of this project, it����ap with this kind of mindset, to find the aesthetics of what the mountains have to offer.”

He has a roughed out a route through Colorado, then to California and on to the finish on Mount Rainier, but he knows he’ll need to be flexible.

“I have a spreadsheet with a lot of things, but it never works that way,” Jornet said. “If everything goes well — if it����ap perfect weather, if I feel good, if there aren’t any setbacks, if I don’t get lost — but it never happens. Especially in projects like this.”

It all started in that mountain hut in the Pyrenees near the border of Spain and France, where Jornet proved to be a little too adventurous as a boy for his mother’s liking. To rein in his wanderlust, she enrolled him in a ski mountaineering school for some mentoring.

“My mother saw that I needed to put my energy into something not too dangerous, because when I was 10, 12 years old, I loved to go out into the mountains,” Jornet said. “It was just by myself. I’d take my bike, with skis and a backpack, and say to my mother, ‘I just go for a quick loop’ and spend like, six, seven, 10 hours in the mountains. She said, ‘It����ap good you have this energy, it����ap good you like that, but put some control on that,’ so I started training and competing in ski mountaineering.”

That led to trail running and ultras. For the next few weeks, his playground will be the highest peaks of the American Rockies.

“I will start to run around and have hopefully a great experience, facing ups and downs, good weather and bad weather, moments of highs and moments that I will feel miserable,” Jornet said. “But it����ap also for me to discover the landscapes of the west — that����ap what����ap going to be for me for the next month or so.”

An estimated 265,000 people visited Colorado fourteeners last year, an increase of 1.9%. As usual, Mount Bierstadt and Quandary Peak were busiest with an estimated visitation of 25,000 to 30,000 each. CFI said the best estimate for Bierstadt is 28,000, with Quandary coming in at 26,500.

The twin peaks of Grays and Torreys saw a decline from the previous year, dropping below 20,000 to an estimated 18,400 combined. Mount Elbert, the state’s highest peak, also dropped below 20,000 to an estimated 17,200.

Those declines were offset by increased visitation at the “Decalibron Loop,” a cluster of fourteeners north of Fairplay near Alma that includes Mount Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln and Bross. The loop was closed for half of the 2023 season and saw only 7,000 to 10,000 visitors that summer. Visitation doubled there in 2024 to more than 15,000 as Mount Democrat became public land and an electronic liability waiver system was implemented by a landowner on Mount Lincoln to make hiking on the peak legal, rather than constituting trespassing.

Mount Blue Sky saw visitation estimated to be in the 20,000 to 25,000 range. That number is sure to plummet this year because the road to Summit Lake is closed for road repair.

CFI began issuing its annual estimates in 2015. Over those 10 years, the record number for Colorado fourteener visitation was 415,000 in the pandemic summer of 2020. Since then, visitation has “returned to the mean,” according to a CFI news release. Use dropped to a record low of 260,000 in 2023, which was a 6.8% decrease compared to 2022. Visitation increased by 5,000 in 2024.

“Several factors could be influencing CFI’s estimated hiking levels,” according to the CFI news release. “The State Demographer’s Office noted much slower population growth recently than in prior decades, with additional demographic changes that could affect the population hiking fourteeners. The population aged under 18 declined in absolute terms. Those between 25 and 44 grew at a considerably reduced rate, while those over age 65 increased significantly.”

CFI also noted that the Colorado Tourism Office recently reported a decrease in overnight visitors in the mountains last summer. Still, the statewide economic impact of hiking Colorado fourteeners in 2024 was $71.9 million, based on historic fourteener hiking-use expenditure studies.

CFI uses several metrics to compile its annual fourteener visitation report. On some peaks there are automated counters along trails. It also employs other data sources and mathematical models to extrapolate its estimates.

“Stunning views of wildflower-filled meadows, dense forests, and the pristine Lost Lake itself, which mirrors the surrounding peaks,” one wrote on , a website and app that provides user-generated reviews and photos of campgrounds and RV sites all over the country.

Rocky Mountain National Park’s largest campground reopens after two years

“Beautiful and peaceful. This is a great campground -- the lake is beautiful and there are several trails that leave from here. Friendly hosts and clean/well-maintained," wrote another.

Located 16 miles west of Crested Butte, off Kebler Pass Road, was ranked number one on . The company compiles the list using reviews and ratings from "its vast community of campers," according to a statement.

Calling it "a serene alpine retreat where a camping trip almost feels like a reward just for becoming a camper," The Dyrt compared the lake on a clear day to a "postcard come to life."

Lost Lake, at $20 a night, is first-come, first-served. There are 18 sites (including RV sites), each with fire rings and picnic tables. It is open from mid-June through September.

"Visitors can enjoy a variety of activities, including fishing in Lost Lake and Dollar Lake, hiking the Three Lakes Trail and Beckwith Pass, and observing the vibrant wildflowers that bloom for just a few weeks in July and August," The Dyrt wrote.

A second Colorado campground also made the top ten list: , which is located near Mount Elbert in the Pike-San Isabel National Forest.

"White Star is situated at 9,200 feet and offers stunning views of Twin Lakes Reservoir and easy access to outdoor activities," the Dyrt wrote. "The campground features three loops: Sage, Ridge and Valley. Sage Loop offers limited shade, while Ridge and Valley are shaded by ponderosa pine and spruce trees. Each site is equipped with a picnic table and fire ring. Firewood is available for purchase but there are no hookups or showers.

"There are hiking and biking trails aplenty, including the Continental Divide Trail, and fishing, boating and paddleboarding are among the popular activities for campers. The area also offers opportunities for wildlife viewing and stargazing," it concluded.

The two hikers from New York called for help just before 5 p.m. Thursday, after they wandered off a route on Kelso Ridge while headed up Torreys Peak, according to the Evergreen-based Alpine Rescue Team.

Rescuers directed the pair back to the summit by phone. Minutes later, the team got another call from the New Yorkers reporting that they had just been struck by lightning, .

Torreys Peak is a 14,300-foot mountain about 40 miles west of Denver. It’s ranked variously as the 11th or 12th highest summit in Colorado and is less than 200 feet shorter than the state’s highest mountain, Mount Elbert.

Five rescue teams headed up the mountain after the lightning strike, while another team mobilized a Colorado National Guard Black Hawk helicopter, officials said.

One of the hikers was nonresponsive and in critical condition, rescuers said. He was flown off the peak first using a hoist at 11 p.m. Thursday.

The man was taken to a local hospital and then transferred to a Denver-area hospital with a burn unit, Alpine Rescue Team public information officer Jake Smith said.

The helicopter made another trip around midnight to fetch the second hiker with less serious injuries, according to the Alpine Rescue Team.

Both rescues took place at roughly 14,200 feet.

Rescue officials believe Colorado’s previous record for a helicopter rescue was 13,700 feet. Such rescues are challenging because thin air causes helicopters to lose lifting ability the higher they fly; the Black Hawk has an altitude limit of about 19,000 feet.

One man remained hospitalized Friday while the other was treated at a hospital and released. No updates on their conditions were available Sunday.

“It doesn’t sound like they had a ton of prior experience. I think it was probably just a lack of awareness,” said Smith, who was among the rescuers on the ground.

Kelso Ridge is “considered a highly challenging route, it should only be attempted by experienced adventurers,” according to AllTrails. It’s a popular way for hikers to summit two fourteeners — Grays Peak and Torreys Peak — in the same day.

“If you don’t know anything about rock climbing stay away from Kelso Ridge!!!” one hiker wrote on the website.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

The best Buffs will be running a 40-yard dash to the transfer portal in about 4.2 flat. Next thing you know, the best Buffs on the roster have Buckeye leaves on their helmets.

“I hope we can bring in another great coach who can keep the kids around,” former CU wideout Blake Anderson, one of the great Buffs legacies, told me last week. “Which is the scary thing, right? A coach leaves, kids leave. They can do what they want. It’s scary as heck in this day and age.”

Darn right. isn’t just CU’s sheriff. He’s the university’s front porch now. Coach Prime might run behind Ralphie on game day, but when it comes to the Buffs’ image, identity, trademarks and marketing, Ralphie runs behind him.

“Honestly, after this experience with a celebrity coach,” Fox Sports analyst Brock Huard noted, “it’s going to be hard to go back.”

Which is why you pay the man what he wants. College football is an eyeballs game, its conferences gerrymandered by television executives for profit. In five years, a CFB Premier League, as drawn up by the bean counters at Disney, may or may not want Ralphie at the party. They’ll scale Mount Elbert to ensure Deion Sanders has a seat at the head table.

The Raiders The Cowboys . But the NFL rumors are never going away. The downside of hiring a headliner as your head coach is that he becomes a colossally hard act to follow.

So what’s the succession plan?

T.C. Taylor was Jackson State’s offensive coordinator in 2021 and replaced Sanders as the Tigers’ coach after the 2022 season. Taylor’s gone 19-6 over the last two autumns and just won the Celebration Bowl.

Who’s the Taylor on CU’s current staff?

Not Shurmur, surely. Gary “Flea’ Harrell? Robert Livingston? Warren Sapp? Can CU’s new golden age be maintained in-house?

“Prime has shown you can win and recruit and the area is more than appealing,” Huard said. “Could an NFL coach kick down to CU now? (It’s) possible … we shall see what the sustainability truly is next (fall). But (Sanders) has made the job much more attractive and appealing. The candidates won’t be Bronco Mendenhall and Tom Herman the next time around.”

The Buffs’ 2024 formula was made for the basketball-on-grass Big 12: Take the league’s best quarterback and best receivers, protect the passer, and rocket yourself to a big lead. Then recruit the Big 12’s best pass rush and cornerback tandem, so that when the other team’s down 15 points and forced to throw, they’re rolling right into your wheelhouse. Rinse. Repeat.

That wouldn’t work every weekend in the Big Ten (see Nebraska), or against teams that can run at will behind massive offensive lines (see Kansas State, Kansas). But what was different about CU this past fall compared to, say, the Mel Tucker or Mike MacInytre eras was the sheer quantity of quality Jimmies and Joes — not the X’s and O’s.

The Buffs had a Heisman Trophy winner (Travis Hunter) and Johnny Unitas winner (Shedeur Sanders) anchoring the same scheme, something that had happened just two other times in college football over the previous 30 years, with USC in 2005 and Alabama in 2020.

If you want to run with the Tide and the Trojans in the College Football Playoff, you need players who can run alongside them. Step for step.

Today’s recruits are year-to-year propositions, perpetual free agents. There is no “I” in “team,” but there are two in “name, image and likeness.” And those are the two that count.

Coach Prime is almost letter-perfect for this epoch of the college game, teetering in the limbo between a century of quasi-scholastic servitude and an inevitable future of unionization, contracts, collective bargaining and regulated talent movement.

“In this day and age of college sports, do the kids know the fight song? Are they committed to CU, or are they committed to Deion?” Anderson wondered. “That’s what will be determined. When and if it happens, we’ll find out how committed they are to CU or if they’re just trying to find the best program and more money.”

Anderson’s a proud Buff for life. He was a CU wideout in the early ’90s, most famously the tipper on The Miracle At Michigan. He’s BoCo royalty, the son of one Buffs Hall of Famer and nephew of another .

But he also knows the score.

“If he leaves, it’s going to be a crapshoot,” Anderson said. “We’re going to see how committed (players) are to the program, to CU, to their teammates. And you know how committed we were to our teammates. We’re brothers for life, forever best friends. But that was a different era.”

It’s not coming back. The camera crews? The networks? The podcasts? The NFL legends? The NFL scouts? The television ratings? The transfers? The five-stars?

Sorry, but none of them are here for you, CU. They’re here for Prime. If he rides off into a Flatirons sunset, so will they.

announced this week that Colo. 5, known as , will close on Tuesday to all motorized and nonmotorized traffic, including cyclists and pedestrians.

The is ready to begin a roadway construction project that will keep the beloved summit road closed until the spring of 2026, according to this week’s announcement.

Visitors still have an opportunity to reserve times to visit the byway and the summit of , but time slots are limited and in high demand. To make reservations to visit the summit, the Mount Goliath Natural Area or Summit Lake Park, visit . The areas are open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Reservations must be purchased before arrival due to a lack of cell service at the welcome station.

“As one of the most visited recreation areas on the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests, Mount Blue Sky draws visitors from across the world. So far, more than 45,000 vehicles booked timed-entry reservations for the 2024 season,” Forest Service officials wrote in the news release.

The roadway project will close Colo. 5 from the gate near the Forest Service welcome station up to the summit parking lot. If conditions permit, the road is expected to reopen for Memorial Day weekend in 2026.

During the interim, the Mount Blue Sky summit will only be accessible via hiking trails, Forest Service officials say.

A kiosk opened Tuesday at the north trailhead to Mount Elbert, the state’s highest peak at 14,437 feet, where hikers can pick up free bags designed to pack out human waste. Bags used on the trail can be left in a receptacle contained in the kiosk, 4,400 feet below the summit. The Clean 14 effort is a partnership involving the , the and that produces the pack-out bags.

Last year, Pact Outdoors participated in a program called Doo Colorado Right involving another of its products, Pact Lite, a tool designed to reduce human waste in the backcountry by burying it with a substance that accelerates decomposition. Through a grant from the Colorado Tourism Office, in association with the Tourism and Prosperity Partnership of Gunnison and Crested Butte, Pact Outdoors distributed thousands of free Pact Lite kits at ranger stations, Colorado visitor centers and trailheads. with new distribution partners, including the Steamboat Chamber of Commerce, the Aspen Resort Chamber, the Telluride Tourism Board and the Town of Vail.

Kits like those don’t eliminate all the problems presented by poop, though. In the harsh high-alpine environment above timberline on fourteeners, there is little or no soil. Digging holes is hard, if not impossible, and poop won’t decompose even with an accelerating agent.

Mount Elbert tops out at 3,000 feet above timberline. Fourteeners, as Pact Outdoors co-founder Jake Thomas puts it, “are really piles of rocks.” Thus the focus on fourteeners.

“Because there’s not as much of a soil base, you lack the microbial activity and retained moisture that is necessary for decomposition,” Thomas said. “Above timberline, temperatures are getting below freezing the vast majority of days throughout all seasons of the year, and because of their exposed nature, things dry out very quickly. Those key conditions – temperature and moisture that support decomposition – are not really present in the alpine. That makes it a particularly sensitive ecosystem.”

According to the Colorado Fourteeners Initiative, an estimated 20-25,000 people hiked Mount Elbert in 2022, the most recent year for which it has figures. On fourteeners statewide, CFI put the number that year at 279,000.

Pact Outdoors is not the first company to market pack-out bags for human waste, sometimes called WAG bags. The acronym was derived from “waste alleviation and gelling” by Cleanwaste, the company that developed the first WAG bags. Like Frisbee and Kleenex, WAG bag is a registered copyright but has come into common usage as the generic term typically used for products of its type. As the Cleanwaste website explains it, “Each bag is filled with ‘poo powder’ that gels and solidifies waste, as well as acting as a decay catalyst, using natural enzymes to break down waste and  neutralize bacteria and odor.”

Burying human waste is still acceptable for backpackers at lower elevations. As part of last year’s Doo Colorado Right campaign, Pact Lite kits were distributed at trailheads to the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness, where the accumulation of human waste and other resource damage had already moved the forest service to impose quotas and require permits for backcountry camping.

“We will take absolutely all the help we can get in any way with managing human waste in all of our wilderness areas, and especially in the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness,” said Kevin Warner, head ranger for the Aspen-Sopris Ranger District. “Any product that works with the concept of burying your human waste is a great product when you can actually get a six-inch hole dug and then adequately cover your waste in that hole. In situations where there’s not enough soil, packing out human waste in most instances is the better sustainable practice.”

One of the prime attractions in the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness is the . It typically takes hikers three to four days to complete.

“I started my career as a wilderness ranger working for the forest service, and it was always amazing to me how many individuals I would contact that didn’t have a plan for how to deal with their need to poop while being out for multiple days in the backcountry,” Warner said. “Outside of water and food, it����ap probably one of the most important things that a person can do for the longevity of the land in these high-use areas.”

There are other challenges causing public land managers to impose restrictions, including the sheer number of visitors overwhelming sensitive ecosystems, but Thomas believes the problem of human waste can be solved through public awareness and acceptance of the need to handle it responsibly.

“Land managers are forced to respond by increasing regulations,” Thomas said. “We convert dispersed camping into fee-based, we reduce the number of backcountry permits we’re giving out. All of these changes that are being made actually make access to the outdoors more difficult. We support land managers all the way — they don’t make these decisions lightly — but our stance is that human poop should never be a reason we have to limit access.”

At the Mount Elbert kiosk, Clean 14 will be conducting a study to see if that kind of approach encourages hikers to adopt proper backcountry poop etiquette.

“Our test is, if we build it, will people use it?” Thomas said. “We have a researcher from Penn State at the base of Mount Elbert for the next three weeks. This person will be collecting survey data from users as they come down the trail. That data will be aimed at understanding, did you use a WAG bag, did you have to go, what were your barriers to usage? It will determine if physical infrastructure like this helps users to learn and follow better practices when they are on fourteeners or (elsewhere) in the alpine environment.”

RELATED: Many of Colorado’s favorite fourteeners just had their elevation figures changed

Mountain, elevation

Mount Elbert, 14,437.6 feet

Mount Massive, 14,423.9 feet

Mount Harvard, 14,421.7 feet

Blanca Peak, 14,348.5 feet

La Plata Peak, 14,343.0 feet

Uncompahgre Peak, 14,315.8 feet

Crestone Peak, 14,296.8 feet

Mount Lincoln, 14,290.6 feet

Grays Peak, 14,275.5 feet

Castle Peak, 14,272.3 feet

Torreys Peak, 14,270.1 feet

Quandary Peak, 14,269.9 feet

Mount Antero, 14269.0 feet

Mount Blue Sky, 14,266.1 feet

Longs Peak, 14,255.9

Mount Wilson, 14,254.1 feet

Mount Cameron, 14,245.9 feet

Mount Shavano, 14,228.3 feet

Mount Princeton, 14,200.1 feet

Mount Belford, 14,199.6 feet

Mount Yale, 14,197.0 feet

Crestone Needle, 14,194.8 feet

Mount Bross, 14,177.9 feet

El Diente Peak, 14,173.2 feet

Kit Carson Peak, 14,165.2 feet

Maroon Peak, 14,161.5 feet

Tabeguache Peak, 14,157.0 feet

Mount Oxford, 14,156.3 feet

Mount Sneffels, 14,153.3 feet

Mount Democrat, 14,152.3 feet

Capitol Peak, 14,136.3 feet

Pikes Peak, 14,107.0 feet

Snowmass Mountain,14,101.7 feet

Windom Peak, 14,087.0 feet

Mount Eolus, 14,085.0 feet

Challenger Point, 14,084.6 feet

Mount Columbia, 14,072.6 feet

Missouri Mountain, 14,069.2 feet

Humboldt Peak, 14,066.6 feet

Mount Bierstadt, 14,064.5 feet

Sunlight Peak, 14,059.0 feet

Handies Peak ,14,055.9 feet

Ellingwood Point, 14,054.9 feet

Culebra Peak, 14,053.2 feet

Mount Lindsey, 14,053.2 feet

Mount Sherman, 14,040.4 feet

North Eolus, 14,039.8 feet

Little Bear Peak, 14,039.5 feet

Redcloud Peak, 14,036.0 feet

Conundrum Peak, 14,034.7 feet

Pyramid Peak, 14,027.1 feet

Wilson Peak, 14,020.4 feet

San Luis Peak, 14,020.2 feet

North Maroon Peak, 14,019.9 feet

Wetterhorn Peak, 14,018.9 feet

Mount of the Holy Cross, 14,005.2 feet

Sunshine Peak, 14,004.5 feet

Huron Peak, 14,004.1 feet

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The GDS measured the height of Colorado’s 58 peaks of 14,000 feet or higher with high-tech GPS technology, down to fractions of feet, and it . No peaks were added to the list, and none lost their standing as fourteeners, but their rankings were shuffled.

“I was very happy that we didn’t lose any. It could have been an interesting ‘Pluto moment,’ where we demoted one of them, and people were mad at us because we got rid of one of their fourteeners,” van Westrum said, referring to  in 2006. Some got close, but are still at least four feet above the threshold, “so they’re safely there.”

While there are 58 named 14,000-foot peaks in the state, the Colorado Mountain Club only recognizes 54 on its official list of fourteeners. The others — Cameron, Challenger, North Eolus and Conundrum — are subsidiary peaks connected to higher fourteeners nearby, according to that organization.

Mount Elbert is still No. 1 on the list, but it measured 14,437.6 feet, three feet shorter than its elevation on the previous GDS survey. Huron Peak is now last on the fourteener list at 14,004.1 feet. Previously it was listed at 14,010 feet and Sunshine Peak was at 14,001. The GDS now puts Sunshine’s elevation at 14,004.5 feet.

Grays Peak, a popular summit in the Front Range near Georgetown, moved up on the list from 10th place to ninth with an elevation of 14,275.5 feet, switching places with Castle Peak (14,272.3). The peaks ranked 24th through 30th had been Kit Carson Peak, Maroon Peak, Tabeguache Peak, Mount Oxford, El Diente Peak, Mount Democrat and Mount Sneffels. Now they are El Diente, Kit Carson, Maroon, Tabeguache, Oxford, Sneffels and Democrat.

Of course, the elevations of those seven peaks are within 21 feet of each other.

Previously, mountain elevations were measured by using survey scopes and triangulating summits from known elevations below. The figures released Thursday come from super-sensitive GPS technology.

“You can go to the top of any peak and bring, I would call it a fancy GPS antenna, a real surveyor’s antenna,” explained van Westrum, who is a physicist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Boulder. “You can set that at a location, like the top of a fourteener and let it run for about four hours. It will tell you your position to about a centimeter, horizontally and vertically.” A centimeter is equal to 0.39 inches.

That information is then adjusted for corrections in the shape of the earth and other factors to arrive at final calculations.

As much as van Westrum enjoys fourteeners, the purpose of the project wasn’t to give peak baggers more accurate information. It was part of a multi-year project measuring elevations across the nation, and there are significant financial implications. According to a GDS news release, the mapping update will lead to about $8.7 billion in “social and economic benefits” over the first 10 years.

“It allows you to do water engineering projects, to know which way water is going to flow,” van Westrum said. “That’s critical in places like southern Texas, where it’s flat but you have subtle (elevation drops) where it’s really hard to predict which way water is going to flow. For FEMA, floodplain maps are critical. That’s one of the main reasons we’ve done this for the whole country. There are more subtle things, like ports in New Orleans. If you’ve got low tide, you don’t want a boat to hit the bottom of the river there.

“In Colorado, there’s not a lot of economic benefit in knowing where the top of a fourteener is,” van Westrum acknowledged, but it allowed researchers to test the accuracy of the system with amazing precision.

“We were thrilled to see the final number is between six and seven centimeters, say two to three inches,” van Westrum said. “That’s about 10 times better than it was before.  As we were doing it, we realized, ‘We’re going to get really good estimates for all the fourteeners, I’ll bet people are interested in this,’ so we published the list.”

And it was a labor of love for a native Coloradan with a soft spot for fourteeners.

“I love these mountains,” said van Westrum, who received his Ph.D. from the University of Colorado. “If you had told me, even in grad school, that I would be an author on a paper where we have the definitive best height estimates we can get, I would have been like, ‘Really? How is that possible?’ It����ap just been such a fun thing to be a part of.”

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And cold. Very, very cold. Only the hardiest skiers, snowboarders and snowshoers dare tent camp in this frigid landscape. But what’s a skier to do if they’ve spent all day riding untracked powder and want to get right back at it the next day?

The 10th Mountain Division hut system is a popular option for powder hounds looking to stay close to untracked stashes in the backcountry. Its “huts” range in opulence from restored historic cabins to modern chalets. Some even have saunas. However, reservations for this winter opened a year ago, so nearly all of the weekend stays are booked, although some weekdays remain open. (For weekday stays and more information, see .)

Fortunately, Colorado also has a plethora of backcountry yurts, which generally are a bit more rustic than the hut system’s cabins, but are often cheaper and much easier to reserve. They are also a great option for folks who don’t book their weekend trips a year in advance.

Essentially wood-framed domed tents, yurts date back to nomadic cultures of central Asia, popular because they are quick to set up and take down. In the last few decades, as the popularity of backcountry skiing has skyrocketed, yurts have evolved into a comfortable way to go winter camping and skiing in Colorado. Reservable yurts around the state sit on wooden platforms and come equipped with wood stoves, basic kitchens and bunk beds.

The yurt experience

It’s an amazing feeling when you round that last corner on the trail and the yurt comes into view.

You’ve been grunting your way up through the snow on skis, splitboard or snowshoes, appreciating anew how much more strenuous wilderness travel is in winter than in summer. You’ve been sweating and now you’re starting to feel the cold. Maybe the water in your pack has frozen. The shadows are getting long.

The humble yurt might not look like much from the outside, but your cozy stay is about to begin.

Your group walks inside and everyone happily drops their backpacks to the floor. Someone starts a fire. Others start filling buckets with snow – your only water source in this landscape. You pull out cups for hot cocoa or tea. Maybe someone starts prepping a meal in the simple kitchen.

The more energetic among your group might decide it’s time to hunt some fresh powder before dusk. Many yurts have excellent backcountry skiing on the hills and ridges above them. Others in your group may be content to sit on the wooden platform and enjoy the view.

As the sun sets and the temperature outside plummets, you chop wood and stoke the fire that will be your only source of heat. Dinner likely will be a communal affair. Afterward, you might play one of the board or card games that you’ll find in many yurts. Or maybe your group will pour some hot beverages and talk about the day’s skiing or your plans for the next day.

Most yurts sleep four to six people, which makes it easy to divide costs and chores. Your biggest decision may be who claims the top bunks.

As your friends or family members drift off to sleep one by one, the last one standing gets the fire roaring. Whenever someone gets up to use the outdoor latrine, they add more wood to keep the fire going. It can be so cozy inside that you forget about the freezing weather beyond the canvas walls.

Yurt stays are an intimate camping experience, with sleeping, eating and lounging in one small space, so be sure you like the people in your getaway group.

This is your guide to winter trips to some of the best-known yurts in Colorado. These yurts include kitchenettes equipped with basic cooking and dining gear, and beds with basic bedding. Yurts on this list that are equipped with a propane stove or refrigerator also are stocked with propane. Guests are expected to replenish chopped wood that is used to heat the yurt. Be sure to leave the yurt ready for its next visitors.

Other yurts are available to rent around the state, including at a half-dozen state parks.

Jon Wilson Yurt

This yurt near Lake City is the easiest to reach on this list and makes a great first trip or a first time out with the kids. As you step onto the path off Colorado 149 it’s initially a steep climb, but the trail to the yurt soon levels out for a relatively easy approach. There’s no avalanche danger here. Opportunities abound for exploring the area or just sitting on the porch taking in the dramatic views of the San Juan Mountains.

This is one of the few yurts around the state that allows dogs. While the kitchen setup and bunks are rudimentary, this yurt features large windows for comfy gazing into the forest.

The hike: 1.25 miles with 200 feet of elevation gain

Capacity: 8

Cost: $130/night weekdays, $150 weekends

Details:

Leadville Backcountry Yurts

These two yurts sit above timberline near the namesake city, offering dramatic views of the Mosquito Range from their porches. And if the view isn’t enough, you’ll find endless skiing in the treeless tundra. A short hike up the nearby ridge reveals the panorama of the Collegiate Peaks and Arkansas River Valley.

This is one of the more difficult locations on this list to reach, so be sure to get an early start. These yurts feature propane cook stoves.

The hike: 5.5 miles with 1,200 feet of elevation gain (keep in mind that Leadville is at 10,158 feet elevation)

Capacity: 5

Cost: $115 a night

Details:

Old Baldy Yurt

It’s a short but steep ski-in to this yurt near the town of Meeker on the edge of the Flat Tops Wilderness. It’s part of a collection of cabins known as Ute Lodge, though it’s far enough away from the other accommodations that you’ll feel alone. The interior resembles a cabin and the yurt features a sizable wooden deck, perfect for those bluebird afternoons.

Dogs are allowed at this yurt for $10 a night.

The hike: 2 miles with 800 feet of elevation gain

Capacity: 7

Cost: $150/night, two night minimum (for 2 people, each additional person costs $8-$15)

Details:

Phoenix Ridge Yurt

This yurt in southern Colorado is perched on a 1,000-foot cliff overlooking the old mining district in Creede. Creede was the last great Colorado boom town, its ruin brought on by the silver panic of 1893. The remote La Garita Mountains fill the skyline.

A large deck welcomes you to pull up a seat and sip a coffee while you enjoy the view. Inside you’ll find pine floors and both a propane refrigerator and a stove.

The hike: 1-4 miles, depending on how far the snow plows have reached, with some steep sections. The yurt‘s hosts recommend that all guests prepare to hike the entire 4 miles.

Capacity: 4

Cost: About $180

Details:

Southwest Nordic Center

The Taos-based Southwest Nordic Center operates four yurts on Cumbres and La Manga passes in extreme southern Colorado. Like the name implies, these are great for cross-country skiers as the approaches are mostly on snow-covered roads and are rarely steep.

The Neff Mountain Yurt is popular with alpine skiers. It’s 2.75 miles to the yurt, and the ridge above the yurt offers excellent skiing and sledding.

If you’re looking to do a yurt-to-yurt loop trip, check out the Flat Mountain and Trujillo Meadows yurts. It’s 4 miles from your car to the first yurt, 4 miles between the two yurts, and 4 miles out to your car again, mostly on gentle roads.

The Grouse Creek Yurt is the most difficult to reach of the group – 4 miles and 1,000 feet of elevation gain – but you’ll be rewarded with long views of the San Luis Valley from the porch.

The Hike: 2.75 miles or more

Capacity: Six

Cost: $100/night weekdays, $145 weekends

Details:

Tennessee Pass Yurts

Staying at one of these two yurts operated by the Tennessee Pass Nordic Center is a luxury experience compared to stays at other yurts on this list. Staff members will haul your gear on the short hike to the yurt and they’ll even treat you to a four-course meal at the nearby cookhouse, if you choose. Don’t feel like getting chilled by the walk to the cookhouse? You can order room service.

The views of Mount Elbert and Mount Massive, Colorado’s two-highest peaks, are sublime. And, rare for a yurt in winter, there’s even drinking water.

The hike: 1.3 miles

Capacity: 6

Cost: $300/night

Details:

Wolf Creek Backcountry

Wolf Creek Ski Area is known for getting the most snow in Colorado, and at the Pass Creek Yurt you’ll have it all to yourself. You’ll start your trek to the yurt in the ski area’s parking lot and pass the chair lifts before entering a serene wilderness. This yurt is popular among alpine skiers because of the abundant snowfall and generally avalanche-safe terrain above. Still, groups planning extensive skiing around the area are highly encouraged to complete avalanche safety courses and carry and know how to use appropriate gear.

The hike: 3 miles, 200 feet of elevation gain

Capacity: 6

Cost: $277/night

Details:

What to bring on a winter yurt trip

• Cross-country or alpine touring skis and climbing skins, a splitboard or snowshoes
• First-aid kit
• Sleeping bag (some yurts provide a pillow)
• Flashlight/headlamp
• Warm winter-weather clothing
• Water filter
• Lighter or matches
• Map and compass

What not to bring

• Your dog, unless the yurt owner states otherwise. Nobody wants to find dog feces in the snow they’re melting for water.

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