# Colorado 14ers
What basic gear do you need to hike a Colorado 14er?
Raised and still living in Colorado’s high-altitude hamlets, I first started hiking the state’s 14,000-foot peaks when I was a college student more than a decade ago. Today, I’ve climbed more than 40 of the 58 fourteeners that I aim to ascend on foot including official and unofficial peaks.
How to hike your first Colorado 14er
Descending the North Ridge of Ellingwood Point.Photo by Morgan Tilton. Colorado 14ers are the highest peaks in the nation and reach 14,000 feet above sea level or more. Across the state, there are 58 officially named 14,000-foot peaks that are clustered together in seven different subranges of the Rocky Mountains.
What are Colorado 14ers? And why are they a big deal?
Author Morgan Tilton on the summit of Castle Peak.Photo provided by Morgan Tilton. A smattering of the country’s highest-reaching peaks decorates each quadrant of Colorado and stands 14,000 feet or more above sea level. Those summits are colloquially known as fourteeners or 14ers.