 In the word of mountaineering and climbing a 14er is what you would call a mountain that's at least 14,000 feet high. Here in the United States there are 96 14ers with Colorado being the one state with the most 14ers, 53 of them and then Alaska being number two on the list with 29 14ers. If climbing a 14er is on your bucket list this video is going to provide you with a lot of helpful tips to make it to the summit and back successfully and safely. This video today is brought to you by Journal My Hike, the best hiking journals to document your adventures on the trail. More on that later on in the video. Not all 14ers are the same, each mountain has its own difficulties or challenges and you want to make sure that you are choosing a 14er that aligns with your level of comfort, your level of experience and if you are doing this for the first time it's probably a good idea to go with something that's a bit more manageable. Now there is a system that classifies all of these different 14ers and mountains following the Yosemite decimal system and it goes from class one up until class five and then beyond class five there is a different type of classification. Class one being the type of hiking where you are pretty much walking on a maintained trail you're not going to be doing any scrambling with your hand you're not going to be on your knees. When you choose in a 14er for the first time you're probably better off with class one, class two and then when it comes to class five this is the type of climbing when the climb is going to be pretty exposed in some sections there will be a lot of scrambling with your hand you will need rock climbing skills and you are likely to be using ropes so unless you have the skills to go for class five it's definitely not something that you want attempt by yourself and then class three, class four are kind of in the middle. Now for example in Colorado Mount Albert being the highest peak in Colorado and it's known for being the most difficult of the easy 14ers and I've done Mount Albert in the past and I can tell you that that one was classified class two and the trail was really well I mean the hike itself was still strenuous and demanding physically and mentally but the trail was pretty straightforward you can find your way easily and there was no scrambling at all from what I remember. Pike's Peak also in Colorado America's Mountain that's what it's known for is also class two a strenuous hike again but the trail was straightforward very well maintained. Now alongside with choosing the right 14er is doing enough research online reading about that specific climb maybe engaging with the community in public forums or even reading reviews on the mobile application all trails if you're not familiar with all trails it's a great mobile app for beginners. I have a full review about it right here you can check that out but I personally would go to all trails at least and then read the trail description and then read reviews from hikers who had done the same climb before and just try to read through what they have to say is there anything that you should be paying attention to on the trail is there any specific wildlife to expect on the trail and then doing some reading online to make sure that you are well informed because this is going to help you to plan and prepare you want to make sure that you have a map with you and you want to make sure that you have general information about the trail or the profile of the trail what it looks like at what elevation you're gonna be starting how much elevation you're gonna be gaining or losing throughout that climb how long is the trail in and out how many miles you're gonna be covering and what is the duration of time on an average that you're gonna be spending on that mountain before we go any further let's talk about today's sponsor journal my hike brought to you by yours truly trekking pals journal my hike is a brand providing a variety of hiking journals for hikers and outdoorsy adventurers introducing another hike in the books the best hiking journal to document your adventures on the trail and capture memories that last forever link in the first comment to grab your copy today and don't forget to follow journal my hike on instagram with that out of the way let's get back to our list the next tip is to train for the climb there are definitely times where i went from being physically inactive for a long period of time and then just attempting a big mountain but there were also times where i trained three months leading to a climb and i can tell you that it makes a huge difference when you are training because you are not exhausting yourself you had already trained and prepared for this physical effort when you are training for a big climb like this for a 14er you want to make sure that you are focusing on strength endurance and cardio and better yet if you can go on on hikes they don't have to be 14ers but longer hikes where you get to walk for an extended amount of time you get to carry your backpack with you and just get your body in the habit of walking for an extended amount of time there are so many reasons why it's important to start early in the morning and number one is being able to find parking because some of these 14ers are very popular and everyone wants to to hike these 14ers in a specific time frame during the year and a lot of times you would get to the trail head and there is no spot for you to park your car and then you gotta spend hours or i don't know how much time to find parking for your car that's reason number one reason number two when you start early in the morning and here i'm saying three a.m four a.m five a.m when you start very early in the morning you are giving yourself enough time on the mountain if you are a slow hiker and you know that you need to take it one step at a time and you need to take your time to make it to the summit it gives you enough time to make it to the summit and back and not have to to stay late on the mountain the third reason is the risk of lightening and thunderstorms at this very high elevation it's very common for thunderstorms to roll in and people would usually say noon is the time when you want to start heading down and leaving the peak between 12 between 12 and 2 p.m you want to leave the peak or at least be on your way down and make it below the tree line because this is the time usually when the thunderstorms start rolling in and because you are exposed you are not protected it's a little bit risky so when you start early on in the morning you have enough time to make it to the peak by noon or even before noon and the other important thing of course is to check the weather forecast that's very important because based on that information you know what to expect on the mountain you know how you are supposed to dress and what to pack with you and when you are checking the weather forecast it's not enough to just check in the city or the town that's near the mountain you want to check the weather forecast in the mountain because it's different when you are at that elevation when we get to a thousand feet this is when the human body can start experiencing symptoms of high altitude sickness when you are hiking at elevation there isn't enough oxygen in the air and so it becomes a bit difficult for your body to adjust to these changes in elevation now especially if you are coming from sea level or you're coming from a city with an elevation of 1,000 feet and then the trailhead or your start point is let's say at 7,000 feet and you're gonna be climbing up to 14,000 feet for example you would usually not climb that much within a day let's say you are gaining 5,000 feet throughout that hike that is a big change in elevation in your one day that your body has to go through that's why it's important to take your time to acclimatize if you can make it to the town that's close to to the hike where the 14er you are going for a day before or even two days before and maybe try to camp nearby or stay in a hotel whatever accommodation works better for you that's going to give your body enough time to adjust to these changes in elevation so at this elevation or at high altitude you can start experiencing some symptoms of high altitude sickness that can be dizziness that can be nausea sometimes sleepiness and it's just because there isn't enough oxygen for your body to use usually with the headaches it's a good idea to take some painkillers before you start your hike that's something that I personally like doing if you notice or you learn when you attempt your first 14er that your body is really struggling there is medication that can be used here in the US it's known as a diamox you have to talk to your doctor to make sure that it's something that would work for you usually this medication it just helps your body handle the changes in elevation better but the first time I used diamox was on Mount Kilimanjaro because it was pretty high it was really steering with over many days and I didn't want to not make it to the summit because of high altitude sickness pack the 10 essentials of hiking that goes without saying not just for a 14er but for any hike that you go for you want to make sure that you are prepared and you have all of the necessary gear to keep yourself safe I'm not going to list all of the 10 essentials of hiking but I'm going to leave a link in the description box that you can read through and I also have an older video in which I share some basic tips for beginner hikers you can check it out up here but basically tips around making sure that you let someone know where you are going you are well prepared you have a way to start a fire to build a shelter and things like that dress in layers when you are climbing a 14er chances are you are going to be spending many hours on the mountain during that period of time the weather can go from beautiful and pleasant and sunny to rainy maybe thunderstorms maybe it's hailing and you want to make sure that you are dressed properly you want to make sure that you have enough layers to keep you warm you want to make sure that you have a rain jacket and you also want to make sure that you have a rain cover for your backpack to make sure that your gear is also dry the day before your climb don't skip your dinner and then the morning of your climb you want to make sure that you have a solid breakfast to provide you with all of the energy that you need when you are hiking you want to make sure that you have enough snacks with you on the mountain you are also going to be using a lot of salt through sweat and you want to make sure that you are replenishing. So maybe you can pack some electrolytes. We like to pack noon tablets and just throw them in our water bottle. We find them to be really helpful. Or you can pack some salty snacks. I personally like olives in little packets. It's one of my favorite snacks. And then you also want to make sure that you are eating and keeping yourself hydrated after your climb, because your body is going to be burning a lot of calories. You and I got into hiking. I didn't appreciate the importance of trekking poles, but right now I take them with me pretty much everywhere, especially on trails where I know that there is no scrambling necessary. Trekking poles are helpful when you are making your way up the mountain, but also when you are descending. And they say that most of injuries happen when you are walking down the mountain. Now when you are walking down, you have your feet. That's your main point of contact. And then with the trekking poles, that's two additional points of contact that will help you to stay safe on the trail. Practice the seven principles of leave no trace. If you're not familiar with leave no trace, this is a set of principles to make sure that you are enjoying the outdoors responsibly. And it's about planning ahead and preparing, traveling and camping on durable surfaces, disposing of waste properly, leaving what you find minimizing campfire impacts, respecting wildlife and being considerate of others. And finally, enjoy your time on the mountain. Knocking off that first 14er can be the beginning of more adventures to come if you happen to enjoy that first experience. And if you make it successfully to the summit of your first 14er, take some photos and tag us over on Instagram at trekkingpells. We would love to see you checking it off of your bucket list. I hope that you guys enjoyed today's video. And if you did, please give it a thumbs up. It helps me tremendously to grow this YouTube channel and subscribe to the channel for more videos about adventure, traveling and hiking here in the United States and beyond. My name's Habiba. This is trekkingpells and I will see you very soon on a new adventure.