A Big Month: 70 Peaks in January

Steve Knapp on Pyramid Peak. Photo by Jeremy Mattingley

Last year, Steve Knapp climbed 406 ranked peaks in Colorado. (Ranked, in this case, means at least 300 feet of prominence.) Then, in January, Knapp climbed 70 peaks in a single month. Think about it: That’s more than two peaks a day, in the middle of winter. It was a mild month along the Front Range, but still. We were impressed…and curious.

Mojo: OK, first the basics: Where do you live, how old are you, what do you do for work, and do you have an immediate family?

Knapp: Highlands Ranch. 42 years old, married with two kids. I’m temporarily unemployed, one reason I’ve done so many peaks recently. Previously I was a regional sales director and account manager.

Mojo: How long have you lived in Colorado, and when did you start climbing peaks?

Knapp: I moved to Vail from Michigan in 1990, so I’ve lived in Colorado almost 20 years now. I met my beautiful wife in Vail, and we moved to the Denver metro in 1993. I started climbing 14ers with my friend Beau as soon as I moved to Colorado, and I completed the 14ers in 1995 on Capitol Peak. After that I slowly picked away at the centennials, finally completing the 100 highest in 2008 on Jagged Mountain.

Mojo:. When did you start going for peaks in high volume, such as all the peaks in a county?

Knapp:  After the centennials were done, I decided there would be no more cherry picking. Any peak became good enough. Once I tried some of the lower county peaks, I found them to be a lot of fun and close to home. I had passed up many great peaks on the long drive to distant mountains. The county lists are perfect to work on when the high alpine peaks are snowed in. In an uncertain economy, climbing peaks is one thing I can control. It’s also a great way to stay in shape!

Mojo: How much of this is competitive, seeing who can do the most?

Knapp atop Independence Monument, outside Fruita. Photo by Dave Gibson

Knapp: Though not a primary motivator to getting out, I’ll have to admit that is part of it. Lists of John is the best peakbagging website out there, and it’s fun to see how I compare to my climbing peers in all the statistics. [Editor's note: Click here to read an interview with Lists of John founder John Kirk.] Lately I’ve been battling Brian Kalet in the total peak count. He gets out twice as much as me, so in the end I’ll never keep up with him, but it’s fun trying anyway. Brian’s a great guy—we climbed the Grand Teton together last September. Mostly I just like spending time outside and climbing as many peaks as possible in the limited time I have.

Mojo:  What counties have you ticked? We saw you had completed Jeffco in January.

Knapp: I’ve completed all the ranked peaks in Jefferson, Douglas, Clear Creek, and Gilpin counties. Jefferson was a great county to work on, close to home with many different types of challenges. It took about a year. I climbed all but 10 of the 98 Jeffco peaks in 2009. Chair Rocks is by far the hardest peak in the county and perhaps the entire state—the easiest route is a 5.10b offwidth crack climb. I have my friends Jason Halladay and Chris Orwat to thank for getting me up that one.

Mojo: How many days of climbing in January did it take to reach 70 peaks?

Knapp: That was a great start to the new year! 70 is my new personal record for peaks in one month. I got out 10 days in January and averaged seven peaks per day. The most was 12 peaks in one day in Park County. There were a couple other 10-peak days. I usually climb dawn to dark with very few breaks. I don’t always keep track, but a typical day might be 15 to 20 miles of total hiking with over 5,000 vertical feet of gain.

Mojo: On the big multi-peak days, are you able to link them all on foot, or do you have to drive between trailheads?

Knapp: It is rare to find enough peaks convenient to one trailhead, though it can be done. Usually it involves driving between multiple starting points. As you can imagine, GPS is an essential tool in finding the proper roads and getting as close to each peak as possible. Not to mention route-finding in the woods during a snowstorm!

Mojo: Any big setbacks during the January climbs?

Knapp: Well, I did get chased by an angry gun-toting guy on an ATV on Table Mountain in Fremont County. It was a misunderstanding. Turns out we were on a privately leased state land trust area. The public access was on the other side of the mountain. Never a dull moment!

Mojo: What other lists are you trying to complete in Colorado?

Knapp:  My primary goal is to climb all the Colorado 13ers. I’ve done 164 out of 584 so far. I expect that will take years (if not a lifetime) to complete. I’d also like to complete El Paso County (20 out of 37 completed), Boulder County (44 out of 87), Park County (90 out of 231), the Lost Creek Wilderness (36 out of 37), and Rocky Mountain National Park (22 out of 91).

Mojo: Of the 406 ranked peaks you did in 2009, how many were repeats?

Knapp: I did  388 unique peaks. While I don’t mind an occasional repeat, I prefer to climb peaks I’ve never been on before.

Mojo:  What are your peak-climbing goals for 2010?

Knapp:  The biggest mountain I have to climb is finding a job! Otherwise, just enjoy every peak I’m able to climb in this beautiful state of Colorado. I highly doubt I’ll match last year’s total, but I’m off to a good start! I’d also like to thank all the great partners I hike with. They continuously challenge me to new heights, and I enjoy their company.

Mojo: Good luck!