Climbing Colorado’s Fourteeners is increasingly popular with both Colorado residents and visitors. For example, popular peaks near Colorado’s Front Range communities regularly receive over 250 hikers on summer weekend days. If Fourteener hikers use minimum-impact practices, damaging effects to fragile alpine ecosystems can be lessened. CFI promotes a set of Leave No Trace ethics that were formulated specifically to protect the Fourteeners. Leave No Trace is a national program of education and research that has developed and adapted minimum-impact concepts for diverse environments and activities.
CFI’s Education and Outreach Programs attempt to educate mountain visitors and the general public about the preservation of Colorado’s highest peaks.
CFI raises awareness of the fact that high levels of recreational use cause damage to Colorado’s mountains generally, and to the Fourteeners specifically. The vast majority of hikers have no desire to inflict harm on the very places they enjoy; however, the sheer number of hikers utilizing these peaks imposes negative effects on alpine ecosystems.
While trail and restoration projects construct sustainable routes and repair existing damage, the future health of these peaks depends upon the practice of Leave No Trace ethics by climbers and hikers. The Fourteener-specific principles developed by CFI, in partnership with Leave No Trace, Inc., are also applicable to the alpine environment generally.
Because people are more likely to preserve what they understand and appreciate, CFI promotes knowledge of the frailty, beauty, and unique adaptations inherent in alpine ecosystems. Appreciation of Rocky Mountain ecology is incorporated into all volunteer programs and staff trainings.
CFI’s educational message is promoted in a variety of ways. The
Peak Steward program places trained volunteers on Fourteeners to monitor conditions and educate other hikers about Leave No Trace, mountain safety, and alpine ecology. In conjunction with the U.S. Forest Service,
CFI installs kiosks depicting peak-specific information. The Outdoor Retailer Partners in Education program brings
CFI representatives into stores to conduct clinics and slideshows, and simultaneously encourages retail employees to incorporate
CFI’s educational message into customer interactions.
CFI conducts Leave No Trace Train-the-Trainer and Awareness programs focused on Colorado’s alpine environment. Finally, Education Specialists on
CFI’s professional trail crews provide an informational program to visiting volunteers and – when the opportunity presents itself—the hiking public.
To become involved in CFI’s Education and Outreach efforts, please contact Anya Byers at 303.278.7650 or anya@14ers.org.