Colorado's 14ers

I pulled my jacket out at 14,096 ft and this was in the pocket

Colorado has 53 peaks above 14,000 ft. I grew up next to a mountain I thought was the tallest in the world, yet it measures a mere 11,749 ft. Since we've moved here I've taken to "baggin 14ers". Here is my progress so far:

1. Mt. Yale (attempted - Sawatch Range, 14,196 ft): This was my first 14er attempt. We went up the wrong side and instead of an easy class 2 ascent, it was a class 3/4 scramble across loose shale at 13,000 ft. Most of us, myself included, decided to call it good on one of the many "false summits" (another plague of 14ers). Those who did make it to the top were greeted by 10 year-olds with Teddy bears who had climbed up the correct way.
2. Mt. Harvard (sawatch Range, 14,420 ft): My first true 14er. This one was really neat because it was extremely rocky, but people had actually carved stairs out of the rocks. The last 100 feet is a wild scramble up the side of a boulder.
3. Huron Peak (sawatch Range, 14,003 ft): This was the first part of a trip where we bagged five 14ers in five days. We started up the wrong trail and were at 12,000 ft before we realized we were trying to summit the wrong peak. We bushwacked (hiked without a trail) for about 2 miles before we found the trail. Barely made it to the top before the storms started rolling in.
4. Mt. Belford (sawatch Range, 14,197 ft): Because we were exhausted from the day before, this was actually one of the harder climbs. There was a lot of elevation gain on this hike as well, I believe the trail head was around 9,000 ft.
5. Mt. Oxford (sawatch Range, 14,153 ft): You reach this peak from the top of Mt. Belford by descending down a steep saddle. We had to jog this because the storms were starting to roll-in. On the way back up to Mt. Belford (yes, you end up summiting Mt. Belford twice, once on the way back) the lightning strikes started. We saw a strike about 200 yards from where we were. This was the closest I've been to lightning danger on any of the peaks.
6. La Plata Peak (Sawatch Range, 14,336 ft): This was a very long and rocky hike, but I think this has the greatest views from the top of any 14er so far. The surrounding cliffs are rich in some mineral that dyes them all red. It almost looks like you have summited a peak on Mars.
7. Mt. Elbert (Sawatch Range, 14,433 ft): This is the tallest peak in Colorado. It's also one of the easier ones. Just a steady walk all the way to the top, not rocky at all.
8. Torreys Peak (Front Range, 14,267 ft): I did this one with my Dad. A freak August snow storm covered everything above 12,000 ft in snow. Most of the trail and the top was covered in about a foot of snow.
9. Grays Peak (Front Range, 14,270 ft): You can hike down from Torreys Peak over and up to Grays Peak in about an hour.
10. Mt. Evans (Front Range, 14,264 ft): We picked a challenging 5 mile route up to the top of Mt. Evans. When we finally reached the top we collapsed in exhaustion. We were greeted by tourists in sandals. Yep, you can drive to the top of Mt. Evans, which kinda kills the drama of hiking it. We did see a huge herd of mountain goats though.
11. Mt. Bierstadt (Front Range, 14,060 ft): I did this one with my brother-in-law yesterday. It was a perfect day, probably one of the few days where you could hike a 14er at any time in the day (usually you have to be off the peak by noon due to lightning storms). I also had cell phone access and tweeted most of the trip.

Only 43 left to go. So far I have only done the 14ers you can hike or scramble. Some of them can only be summited with ropes. That will come later when my kids are older and my life insurance is larger.