Colorado fourteener visitation dropped nearly 7% in 2023 as compared to 2022 and represented a 37% drop from the peak of 415,000 in the pandemic summer of 2020, according to figures released on Tuesday by the Colorado Fourteeners Initiative.
CFI, which uses automated infrared counters on several peaks and statistical modeling estimates on others to develop its annual estimates, said the number of 260,000 in 2023 was the lowest since 2015 when the nonprofit began its annual estimates.
The closure of the Decalibron Loop, which includes three popular fourteeners near Fairplay, was one factor in the decline, but numbers fell in several other areas as well.
“Hiking Colorado’s fourteeners last year was like stepping into a time machine and coming out in 2015,” CFI executive director Lloyd Athearn said in a news release. “After six seasons of increasing use, it has been all downhill since 2020. Closure of the Decalibron loop for half the season was the biggest factor, but use was down last year in three of Colorado’s seven ranges containing fourteeners, including the popular Front Range closest to the Denver metro area.”
The Decalibron loop was closed in 2023 due to landowner liability issues, which have largely been resolved with the passage of Senate Bill 58 this year. That legislation provides legal protections for landowners who allow the public to recreate on their land.
Athearn said it’s hard to know what is driving the decline, but he has two theories: Slower population growth in Colorado and changing age demographics.
Colorado’s population grew nearly 15% from 2010 to 2020, according to census figures, but the influx of newcomers slowed over the past two years. Also, Athearn suspects that the baby boomers who popularized backpacking and peakbagging are aging out of the fourteener culture.
“My Millennial colleagues — another massive generation — are buying houses, having kids and taking on more work responsibilities,” Athearn wrote in a follow-up email. “That likely translates into less time or money to get out to play regularly. Meanwhile, my son is in that Gen Z age group. While his friends are all pretty athletic and outdoor-oriented, I know many of his peers are not.
“We may be in a period of shifting age booms and busts,” Athearn added, “where those who have been large cohorts of active folks with time, money and health to be out climbing peaks are now facing lack of time, money or compliant bodies to do this physically demanding stuff.”
As usual, the two most popular fourteeners in 2023 were Mount Bierstadt and Quandary Peak, both of which were estimated to be in the range of 25,000 to 30,000. Bierstadt’s number usually comes from an infrared counter, but it was stolen last year, for the second year in a row, after being in operation for only six days. Quandary’s counter recorded more than 29,000. CFI’s “best-guess” numbers put Mount Elbert at 22,000, with Grays and Torreys at 21,000.
The Decalibron loop, which was in the range of 20,000 to 25,000 in 2022, fell to something between 7,000 and 10,000, CFI said.
The Colorado Fourteeners Initiative, which is based in Golden, was created in 1994 to protect and preserve Colorado’s 14,000-foot peaks through stewardship and education.
Originally Published: September 3, 2024 at 12:18 p.m.
