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In the “Triple Crown of 14ers” above Alma, this unassuming heap of rocks at 14,148 feet is the first peak most climbers summit on the clockwise hike around Kite Lake. It’s a straightforward zig-zag to a saddle past several old mines. Don’t get close to these mines for several reasons: There could be hidden shafts and tetanus-oozing 100-year-old nails to snag you. And many are also technically private property. Once on the shoulder between Democrat and its neighbor Mount Cameron, head left as the trail steepens. At the top of the steep section is a false summit, but the true summit is just a couple hundred yards to the right, up a ridge that holds snow late into summer. From the top is the western-most point of the Triple Crown. The Arkansas Valley and the fourteeners of the Sawatch Range and the Continental Divide dominate the view. That mine you see in the distance is the Climax Mine, one of the largest in Colorado, where molybdenum (used to strengthen steel) is pulled from the ground.

“In the summer of 2013, I climbed Mount Democrat with a group from Colorado Springs for an article on climbers attempting their first 14er. For the young lady in her 20s that I wrote about, it was literally the hardest thing she had ever done. We stopped and started in fits as we slowly ascended the mountain. She sometimes lay on the ground in fatigue. She cried. But she made it. By then it was too late in the day to try the other three – the thunder and lightning hit within minutes of our return to Kite Lake – but she vowed to come back. Moral of the story: All climbers started somewhere. It’s never too late.”

Pro Tips

Recommended season(s): Summer to early fall

—R. Scott Rappold