| Learn More: | www.thenextsummit.org |
| Location: | Denver, Colorado |
| Pronouns: | He/Him/His |
For 53 years, when a rescue outgrew one county — needing a helicopter, a dog team, or crews from neighboring counties — the volunteer-run Colorado Search and Rescue Association coordinated it. Two dozen trained volunteers who know exactly how to get a Black Hawk moving fast.
On Aug. 1 that role shifts to the state, and CSAR has signaled it won't bid to keep it. Can decades of that knowledge be rebuilt overnight, right at peak season?
Full story: https://zurl.co/JsMdd
Turned around on Uncompahgre Peak last weekend, 45 minutes from the top. Rotten spring snow, cornices still hanging on, wind picking up. Solo. Made the call to head down. 🏔️
Curious where the rest of you draw the line: hard turnaround time, weather, gut feel, or something else? 👇
What's the heuristic that actually works for you in the moment — versus the one that sounds good on paper?
Mt. Democrat (14,148 ft) viewed from the west — a side almost no climber sees, with the Climax Mine in between. After this 14er and four others were closed due to landowner liability concerns starting in 2021, the Fix CRUS Coalition (49 organizations, 4,500+ individual supporters) led the effort to update Colorado's Recreational Use Statute.
SB-58 was signed into law by Governor Polis in March 2024. Every previously closed 14er has since reopened to free public access.
Four eroded social trails, fanning across alpine tundra. Photo from a Colorado 13er near Quandary.
This is what "natural" trail formation actually produces at scale.
Wrote an essay this week on why "natural" keeps failing us in outdoor debates:
Colorado's 14er season is starting 3-6 weeks early this year — the consequence of the worst snowpack on record.
Front Range & Sawatch leading. Elks, Sangres, San Juans following.
But early access ≠ safe access. The remaining snow has been through a record-warm March, and rotten snow doesn't care that the basin index is 12%.
Full range-by-range breakdown:
https://thenextsummit.org/colorado-14er-season-2026-early-start-by-range/
What the trailhead looked like on Mt. Elbert, April 15.
What the upper mountain looked like, same day.
Spring 14ers fool people. The trailhead is summer. The summit is winter. Plan for the upper mountain, not the parking lot.
What to know before you go: https://thenextsummit.org/hiking-14ers-in-spring-what-you-should-know/
Most of us didn't figure out the mountains alone. Someone taught us. Showed us. Let us borrow their gear. Drove us to our first trailhead.
Who taught you how to hike, camp, or climb, and what's the best thing they passed on?
It's Friday. The forecast is (mostly) cooperating. The week is almost done.
Where are you hiking this weekend... or where do you wish you were?
Drop your plans or your dream trail below. 👇
Every hiker has one. A closet, a garage corner, a bin in the basement, full of gear you bought, used twice, and never touched again.
What's the biggest outdoor purchase you regret, and what did you learn from it?
📍 Four Pass Loop, Colorado
🌎 It's Earth Day! So I'm asking:
What's one wild place that's shaped who you are, and what do you do to protect it?
🏔️ For me, I’ll never forget my first fourteener experience, Mt. Bierstadt.
While many avoid this crowded peak, my climb was a perspective-shifting experience that changed the trajectory of my life.
Protecting peaks like this is why I blog and built The Next Summit.
Share yours below! 👇
📍 Mt. Bierstadt, CO
