Spotlight on James Just!

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Q: What was your first fourteener, and when did you climb it?
My first 14er(s) were the Decalibron.  I was on vacation with my family in August 2003 to determine whether or not we wanted to move to Colorado.  I took advantage of a free day to check out the mountains and thought that the loop of Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, and Bross would give me the most bang for my buck.

Q: At what point did you commit to finishing them all?
After our vacation, I returned home and finished the Idaho 12ers.  Although there are only nine of them, they are fairly serious scrambles and well worth the effort.  Since we decided to move, it seemed only natural to start working on the 14ers after completing the 12ers.  A friend of mine had already given me Roach’s 14er book, so I guess I committed to finishing them as soon as we made the decision to move to Colorado in August 2003.

http://www.justhiking.com/otherpages/id12ers.htm
http://www.justhiking.com/otherpages/co14ers.htm

Q: What is your favorite fourteener route?
This question reminds me of the Wasatch Brew Pub’s slogan for Polygamy Porter, “Why Have Just One!”  Although I have listed numerous routes that I enjoyed, if I had to pick a favorite it would be the Northwest Couloir on Crestone Peak.  It has trail hiking, some ridge scrambling, snow climbing, and a great finish in a narrow chimney (depending on snow conditions).  The views and environment on the entire route are very enjoyable.  First you see Crestone Needle on the approach, and then you can take in the northern Sangre de Cristos while crossing over to the Bear’s Playground, and finally when in the confines of the couloir, you can always look across Spanish Creek for great views of Challenger Point and Kit Carson Peak.

I like snow climbs.

Northwest Couloir:  Crestone Peak
Cross Couloir:  Mount of the Holy Cross
Y Couloir:  Pikes Peak
Conundrum Couloir:  Conundrum Peak
North Face Couloir:  Missouri Mountain
Hourglass Couloir:  Little Bear
Kirk Couloir:  Kit Carson Peak
Dead Dog Couloir:  Torreys Peak
Lost Rat Couloir:  Grays Peak

The four great 14er traverses were fun routes.

Little Bear to Blanca Traverse
North Maroon to Maroon Bell Traverse
Crestone Peak to Needle Traverse
Wilson to El Diente Traverse

A couple of other memorable scrambles.

Southwest Ridge:  Mount Sneffels
Southwest Ridge:  Ellingwood Point
North Face:  Longs Peak
Kelso Ridge:  Torreys Peak
Northwest Face:  Little Bear Peak
Northeast Ridge:  Capital Peak
S Ridge:  Snowmass Mountain

Q: What was your most delightful moment on a 14er?
Descending

Q: What was your most terrifying moment on a 14er?
My blood sugars sky rocketed on Mount Whitney in California, and I ended up bonking harder than ever and spewing on the trail a couple of times before getting back to camp.  My hiking partners were pretty freaked out, but I recovered quickly after taking an insulin shot and made it down the mountain safely. 

In Colorado, a partner slipped and fell several feet onto an exposed ledge on the back side of Maroon Peak while down climbing after the north to south traverse.  That quickly woke us all up, and we carefully made it back to the trailhead after the scare.

Q: Do you have any plans for future mountain lists?
No.  I think I’ll take a break for a while, but it will be important for me to set some new goals or start on another list shortly.  I’m afraid if I don’t have something to work towards, I may become idle and content (a.k.a. lazy).  I recently purchased Cooper’s Colorado Scrambles guidebook, so I’m sure I will do several of those hikes I haven’t already completed and I would also like to do more rock and ice climbing.

Q: What 14er did you climb last? Did you intentionally save it for last or is it a 14er that previously eluded you?
Huron Peak was my last 14er.  I think that I eluded Huron more than it eluded me.  There is no reason for it being my last 14er.  Many of the Sawatch peaks ended up being “pick-up” or winter hikes when I couldn’t think of anything else do to.  I could have easily hiked Huron when I climbed the Refrigerator Couloir on Ice Mountain earlier this Spring, but I opted for something a bit more exciting at the time.  Despite being somewhat anti-climactic for finishing the 14ers, Huron is actually a nice hike that I enjoyed.

Q: What is the single most important piece of advice that you would give to someone just starting out?
Remember your mortality.  Objective hazards beyond our control can quickly turn a good day in the mountains bad just as easily on Class 2 terrain as technical routes.  Climb with a partner or let someone know what your plans are if heading out solo.  Also, keep in mind that the earlier you start climbing and summit, the earlier you can get back down and have a beer.