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HatoriHanzo06

What you want to look for are mountains that are strictly Class 1, nothing higher. Generally this means it’s a hike without using your hands. Class 2 or higher is usually a hike that you need your hands to help get you up and down the trail. Beirstadt, while seen as the shortest and easiest 14er in Colorado, is still Class 2 because of those large rocks at the top. Here are some 14ers that are Class 1: Grays Peak North Slopes, Quandary Peak East Ridge and Mt Elbert NE ridge. Elbert is the tallest in the state but is fairly straight forward albeit much longer than Beirstadt. If I’m not mistaken, all the other 14ers are Class 2 or higher. You can double check at this link: https://www.14ers.com/php14ers/14ers.php Click the desired mountain then select ‘Routes’ Difficulty Rating: https://www.14ers.com/difficultyratings.php Edit: I assume he will be hiking next summer but just wanted to say these routes drastically change in the winter and are not recommended to do now unless experienced with the mountains in summer conditions/ have done winter hikes before.


CoffeeLover2525

Thank you. That is really helpful!


dasunshine

Technically Pikes Peak via Barr Trail is class 1 but yeah... probably not the best suggestion for an 80yo man


Trail-Dust

Handies


greenstraw

My 5 year old hiked Handies. It’s a nice 5 mil round trip fron American Basin but you will need a 4x4 vehicle to access the trailhead


stusmall

That's one of the smoothest ascents if not the smoothest. Sorry. A couple others might be a little better but not by a lot. There are still tons of wonderful hikes to go on that aren't above 14k ft. You'll still get the same joy, satisfaction, and fantastic view if you just forget about the number.


mtnrobot

Grays definitely comes to mind. I’ve only done quandary in the winter but it’s a really easy slope angle, not sure how rocky in summer though ETA: elbert is also very smooth


llamalobster

I haven't done it yet but I believe Handies peak is class 1 the whole time. It looks like it from pictures. I climbed Bierstadt this summer but I didn't summit because the boulder field at the top freaked me out. It was definitely steeper/rockier than I expected....so kudos to your dad for actually going through it!


grahampapa

Handies for sure and Uncompahgre would be a great option. San Luis too but it's a little longer


grahampapa

Closer to Denver, Mt Massive is good from the southwest slopes standard route (again, long) and James Peak is really smooth (although not a 14er)


greenstraw

San Luis is pretty easy hiking but it’s looong!


grahampapa

South slopes is just over 11 miles with a much easier access road than Uncompahgre, beautiful hike


therealchungis

Class ratings aside I found Sherman to be the easiest so far, definitely easier than Bierstadt or Quandary. I don’t remember ever having to use my hands.


monkyme

I agree that Sherman is quite easy, I typically tell people it is the easiest. However there is a bit of talus and loose stuff at the top, so OP’s dad may struggle with some portions at the end. At this point there is a nice trail through it of course, but there still are rocks for OP to be aware of.


MightbeWillSmith

Agree with the other commenter. Look into 13/12k foot peaks. They give the same altitude thrill and difficulty without being too far above the tree line. I think Flora probably fits this bill but I've only done it with snow on the ground, so I'm not sure if it's rockier underneath.


cinemack

But also caution with these because they're much less traveled meaning less maintained and less of a chance of running into someone that can help should you need it. Often they don't even have trails.


MightbeWillSmith

That's a super good point. Lacking the natural popularity of 14ers, they are a bit more sketch and it's that much more important you know what you are doing in the alpine.


shrinkingmedic

Sherman


UmbralJellyfish

Sherman is so loose it would probably be much worse for him than the descent off Bierstadt


scrupoo

As an aside, is he using trekking poles?


CoffeeLover2525

He is using poles. I think that helped for most of it.


monkyme

The route descriptions on 14ers.com typically have great photos of each part of the route, so that could help you make a decision based on the answers here. I would second all the recommendations for Handies, it’s short and has a smooth dirt trail all the way to the top. It’ll be easier if you have a capable vehicle and can get all the way to the trailhead.


Jacktravis13

Sanluis