In The NoCo

Trails on many of Colorado’s tallest peaks are in bad shape. This team helps repair them for future hikers

By In The NoCo,

Published July 24, 2025 at 5:40 AM MDT

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A Man wearing a helmet pulls a large rock amid a field of rocks while another person pushes from the opposite side. — The Colorado Fourteeners Initiative a busy revamping some of Colorado most popular high altitude trails this summer. The work is grueling — with long days that start at 4 a.m.

Trails on several of Colorado’s fourteeners are getting a facelift this summer.

Mount Democrat, Mount Bierstadt, Mount Blue Sky, and Mount Shavano are some of Colorado’s most popular mountains for hikers, but some of the trails on them are in rough shape.

A nonprofit called the Colorado Fourteeners Initiative (CFI) is working this summer to update trail routes on those and other mountains to eliminate erosion and generally protect the surrounding tundra. Crews move boulders, install steps, and even restore plant life. Workers grapple with smashed fingers, dehydration, and altitude sickness.

Tom Cronin is the Field Programs Manager for CFI and he has lots of experience managing these trail projects. He joined Erin O’Toole to talk about what the work is like and how these eroding trails fell into disrepair in the first place.

Two people dressed in cold weather gear push a boulder uphill. The sky is hazy and cloudy behind them.

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Courtesy the Colorado Fourteeners Initiative

A person wearing a helmet stands in a field of boulders and pries under a rock with a long metal rod.

2 of 4 — IMG_1486.JPG

Courtesy the Colorado Fourteeners Initiative

Two people wearing cold weather gear push and pull a boulder out of the ground on a high mountaintop.

3 of 4 — HighShav-Hitch2-RockBar08.JPG

Courtesy the Colorado Fourteeners Initiative

Two people pull a boulder uphill as they stand near the top of a high mountain with blue sky behind them.

4 of 4 — HighShav-Hitch1-Staircase77.JPG

Courtesy the Colorado Fourteeners Initiative

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In The NoCo

KUNC's In The NoCo is a daily slice of stories, news, people and issues. It's a window to the communities along the Colorado Rocky Mountains. The show brings context and insight to the stories of the day, often elevating unheard voices in the process. And because life in Northern Colorado is a balance of work and play, we celebrate the lighter side of things here, too.

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Ariel Lavery

Ariel Lavery grew up in Louisville, Colorado and has returned to the Front Range after spending over 25 years moving around the country. She co-created the podcast Middle of Everywhere for WKMS, Murray State University’s NPR member station, and won Public Media Journalism awards in every season she produced for Middle of Everywhere. Her most recent series project is "The Burn Scar", published with The Modern West podcast. In it, she chronicles two years of her family’s financial and emotional struggle following the loss of her childhood home in the Marshall Fire.

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Erin O'Toole

As the host of KUNC’s new program and podcast In the NoCo, I work closely with our producers and reporters to bring context and diverse perspectives to the important issues of the day. Northern Colorado is such a diverse and growing region, brimming with history, culture, music, education, civic engagement, and amazing outdoor recreation. I love finding the stories and voices that reflect what makes NoCo such an extraordinary place to live.

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Brad Turner

Brad Turner is an executive producer in KUNC's newsroom. He manages the podcast team that makes In The NoCo, which also airs weekdays in Morning Edition and All Things Considered. His work as a podcaster and journalist has appeared on NPR's Weekend Edition, NPR Music, the PBS Newshour, Colorado Public Radio, MTV Online, the Denver Post, Boulder's Daily Camera, and the Longmont Times-Call.

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