サウォッチ山脈の絶景の山頂・トップ20

To be honest, it's a bit disappointing that they haven't managed to install a decent summit cross or other special marker on Colorado's highest mountain. Arizona, Texas, and New Mexico are much better at that on their highest mountains.

The switchbacks on the southwest ridge of Mount Columbia are steep, rocky, and sandy. Going up usually isn't an issue besides being steep and tiring, but his can be a quad busting decent. Trekking poles can be helpful on these unrelenting steeps. On a positive side, the switchbacks near the bottom of the mountain are not nearly as steep, and there are wide open views of Bear Lake and Mount Harvard nearly the entire climb.

At 14,428 feet, Mount Massive is the second highest peak in Colorado. It is a popular summit due to having multiple routes and mainly only requiring class 1 and class 2 moves to reach the top. Like all 14ers, the weather can change fast, and it's best to try to get below treeline as early in the day as possible during the spring and summer months. The ridge and summit involve some fun rock hopping, but the lower trails offer great running through meadow and basin trails.

Mount Princeton is an often underrated 14er in terms of difficulty. At 14,196 feet, Mount Princeton is located in the heart of the Sawatch Range and is one of the rockiest peaks in the range. The final two miles up to the peak heavily consists of talus hopping and steep scree hiking. There is not much exposure, but making progress on this peak is tedious. The views from the top are great, like any other Colorado 14er. Don't plan to make up a lot of time on the initial downhill from the peak (or along the ridge until you hit the road). The talus and scree move underfoot a bit, and it's easy to fall through some of the cracks.

Mount Yale is 14,200 feet tall and is one of the highest mountains towering over the town of Buena Vista. The summit can be tackled from multiple directions, but the southwest route offers the most runnable terrain without sacrificing the fun class 2 scramble at the top.

Mount Harvard is the highest mountain in all the Collegiate Peaks at 14,421 feet. Its steep, rocky slopes are similar to that of many Sawatch 14ers, but the high alpine pools and vegetation make it one of the greener high summits. This mountain can be easily paired with the nearby 14er Mount Columbia, but this is a long, tedious traverse. Don't plan to be running a lot after 13,000 feet. With that being said, the lower elevation miles in the basin are great for running when they aren't covered in snow.

At 14,203 feet tall, Mount Belford is one of three 14ers attainable from the Missouri Gulch Trailhead. The mountain is infamous for its steep switchbacks traveling up it's northwest slopes. It is the 19th highest peak in Colorado, and the views from the top are special, sharing the high elevation with many nearby high peaks. It's easy for this "run" to turn into a slow walk as you come up the switchbacks, but it's almost impossible not to run down the mountain with how steep the trail gets.

There is a bit of up and down on the trail, but this connector trail is more of just a ridge hike between Mount Belford and Mount Oxford. The initial descents off of both of the peaks are sandy and washed out dirt, but the middle of the trail is sturdy talus and packed dirt. There isn't a lot of running to be had on this ridge, but you can pick up some speed on the downhill portions.