Colorado Fourteeners Initiative at Work

Did you know there's an organization in Colorado that looks after the Centennial State's 54 14,000–foot peaks?

Known as the Colorado Fourteeners Initiative, the non-profit organization has built 24 sustainably located, designed and constructed summit routes on 22 peaks. Its work has garnered honors and awards from Congress, the US Forest Service and the National Forest Foundation.

The organization was formed in 1994 after a 1993 study noted significant environmental impacts due to rapidly expanding recreational use on Colorado’s 14,000–foot peaks.

The mission of the CFI is to:

1. Create a structure for engaging local communities in the protection of Colorado’s highest peaks

2. Build and maintain sustainable hiking routes on the Fourteeners to accommodate hiking use while minimizing damage to native alpine ecosystems

3. Stabilize and restore trampled and eroded areas to protect sensitive alpine plant and animal communities

4. Educate Fourteener hikers about Leave No Trace principles and sustainable recreational practicesdesigned to lessen ecosystem impacts

Here is an overview of the Colorado Fourteeners Initiative at work:



For more information/trip reports/photos on a couple of fourteeners we've hiked, you can visit these pages:

* Mt. Elbert

* Quandary Peak

* Huron Peak



Jeff
RockyMountainHikingTrails.com