King of the 14ers
Accomplishing something that has never been done before (in history) is not easy - and it gets harder every year. On January 22, 2006, Chris Davenport set out do do just that. His mission was to climb, and then ski from the summit, all of Colorado's 14,000+ ft. peaks. In one season. There are 54 such peaks in the state. 
Climbing and then skiing all of those peaks from the exact summit (with three exceptions) had been done once before, by Lou Dawson. Dawson did it during a 13 year span, from 1978 to 1991. Several alpinists have attempted to do all the peaks in one winter season - however, Mother Nature denied them.
On January 19th, 2007, Davenport skied from the summit of Longs Peak - his 54th 14er in a 362 day span. Davenport became the second person to do all of the 14ers, and the first to do it in fewer than 365 days. Davenport is not one to count days and accrue records - his mission, besides indescribable adventure, has been to raise awareness of Colorado's 14'ers and inspire more climbers/skiers/snowboarders to climb into that thin air.
Chris is writing and publishing a photo-intensive coffee table style book that will highlite each 14er from a winter/spring snowcover perspective and through the eyes of a skier. He also signed cinematographer Ben Galland to write, shoot, and produce a feature length documentary on the project. There is a comprehensive breakdown of the project, every climb and descent, at skithe14ers.com.
We are proud to add that Chris wore DeFeet socks to the top and back of every one of those mountains. This is a type of testing that can't be duplicated in any other fashion. The diversity that Chris faced, first by climbing and then another set of challenges on his way down, through winter, spring and early summer, isn't found in a lab. Congratulations, Chris.
"I put several hundred miles of skinning and over 200,000 vertical feet of climbing on the 54 fourteeners this year, all in DeFeet ski socks, without one blister or issue."
- Chris Davenport
Climbing and then skiing all of those peaks from the exact summit (with three exceptions) had been done once before, by Lou Dawson. Dawson did it during a 13 year span, from 1978 to 1991. Several alpinists have attempted to do all the peaks in one winter season - however, Mother Nature denied them.
On January 19th, 2007, Davenport skied from the summit of Longs Peak - his 54th 14er in a 362 day span. Davenport became the second person to do all of the 14ers, and the first to do it in fewer than 365 days. Davenport is not one to count days and accrue records - his mission, besides indescribable adventure, has been to raise awareness of Colorado's 14'ers and inspire more climbers/skiers/snowboarders to climb into that thin air.
Chris is writing and publishing a photo-intensive coffee table style book that will highlite each 14er from a winter/spring snowcover perspective and through the eyes of a skier. He also signed cinematographer Ben Galland to write, shoot, and produce a feature length documentary on the project. There is a comprehensive breakdown of the project, every climb and descent, at skithe14ers.com.
We are proud to add that Chris wore DeFeet socks to the top and back of every one of those mountains. This is a type of testing that can't be duplicated in any other fashion. The diversity that Chris faced, first by climbing and then another set of challenges on his way down, through winter, spring and early summer, isn't found in a lab. Congratulations, Chris.
"I put several hundred miles of skinning and over 200,000 vertical feet of climbing on the 54 fourteeners this year, all in DeFeet ski socks, without one blister or issue."
- Chris Davenport
posted by Paul Willerton at
10:55 AM
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