Nolan's 14 Elevation Profile

The following route designed by Fred Vance for 1999 (south to north) is 88 miles with 44,000 feet of climb. It takes very direct routes which may not be practical. For instance, the traverse between Harvard and Columbia only drops to 13,400 ft, which requires a class 5.7 pitch. The alternate class 2 route would descend to 12,600 ft.

The following description is 106 miles north to south with 45,000 feet of climb, and stays mainly on good trails when possible. In practice, shorter routes would probably be used.

 Mile   Elev  Trail route (north to south in even numbered years)
  0.0   9600  Fish Hatchery SW of Leadville
  8.0  14421  Mt. Massive via CO trail
 15.8  10240  Halfmoon Road crossing (aid, crew, 4WD needed for west crossing)
 20.3  14433  Mt. Elbert via NE trail
 25.6  10000  Echo Canyon trailhead via Bull Hill (13400-13761 ft)
 27.6  10100  S Fork Lake Creek trailhead via CO 82 (paved) (aid, crew)
 32.1  14336  Mt. La Plata
 36.8  10380  Winfield (aid, crew)
 40.8  14003  Mt. Huron via CO Initiative Trail
 43.1  10800  Clohesy Lake parking area via N ridge, NE basin (4WD crew)
 45.6  14067  Mt. Missouri via N ridge
 48.1  13200  Elkhead Pass via N ridge to Missouri Gulch trail at 12700 ft (remote aid)
 49.4  14197  Mt. Belford via S ridge
 50.7  14153  Mt. Oxford via 13500 ft saddle
 52.3  10600  Pine Creek Trail at Little John's Cabin (S XC descent) (remote aid)
 54.5  14420  Mt. Harvard via NW ridge
 56.9  14073  Mt. Columbia via E side of Rabbit Ridge at 12800 ft
 59.9  10400  Kroenke Lake Trail via W side XC to Horn Fork Trail (remote aid)
 64.9  14196  Mt. Yale via NW ridge
 68.4   9900  Denny Creek Trailhead (crew)
 71.4   9300  Avalanche Creek Trailhead via Cottonwood Pass Rd (paved) (aid, crew)
 77.4   9700  Maxwell Creek via CO trail
 80.4  14197  Mt. Princeton via NE ridge (XC climb, class 3)
 83.9   9100  Grouse Canyon trailhead (crew)
 85.3   9368  Baldwin Gulch trailhead via Rt. 291 (dirt) (aid, crew)
 93.3  14269  Mt. Antero via jeep road
 98.3  11300  Browns Lake via jeep road (4WD crew)
100.3  14155  Tabeguache Peak via NE ridge
101.3  14229  Mt. Shavano via 13700 ft saddle
106.1   9800  Blank Cabin (Finish)

The straight line distance from Fish Hatchery to Blank Cabin over all 14 summits is 56 miles.