A Colorado mountaineering power couple has announced a bold record pursuit.

No strangers to speedy feats across the state’s 14,000-foot peaks, Andrew Hamilton and Andrea Sansone of Golden plan to embark next week on a mission bagging all 58 summits in a fashion never marked before.

Hamilton, known as “the King of Fourteeners,” holds a record from 2015: He climbed all the mountains in one single, mostly sleepless push over nine days and 21 hours.

“We really want to beat Andrew’s record for sure, that is our goal,” said Sansone, his partner in life and in the alpine the past seven years (their marriage is set for September). “But at the same time, what we’re going to pose to the public is we want to establish a co-ed record.”

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A co-ed record similar to one the duo notched in 2020: Sansone and Hamilton together traversed 14 fourteeners across the Sawatch Range in two days and five hours — adding the “mixed -gender team” category to the Nolan’s 14 record sheet on fastestknowntime.com. Sansone and Hamilton also hold individual fastest known times for Nolan’s, along with other routes across the high country; Sansone assisted Hamilton on a 100-peak push and a wintertime fourteeners record.

The world of fastest known times expects a public statement ahead of records. So Sansone provided on Facebook, stating the aim of the “co-ed Colorado 14er record as a couple” — suggesting a finish against the constant threat of injury, mental anguish and the elements was more important than speed.

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The plan is to start early next Wednesday in Chicago Basin. The two provided online links for their trackers: share.garmin.com/andreasansone and share.garmin.com/14ers.

In her statement, Sansone mentioned she and Hamilton have “battled an immense amount of obstacles” recently, including ongoing “ailments.”

“So we are scared. Very scared for this monster of a project,” Sansone wrote. “But this June we have trained and scouted hard, and maybe by the grace of God we can sneak by with some success.”

They’ve trained and scouted across some of the most fearsome ranges: the San Juans, the Elks and Sangre de Cristos. They’ve built a spreadsheet of summit link-ups and ideal split times.

And they’ve assembled a crew: friends and family tasked with driving to trailheads and organizing food and gear. The team also includes a meteorologist and physical therapist.

Weather and injury are just some of the unknowns with such an effort. In presentations on fourteener dashes, Sansone and Hamilton have spoken of four “bubbles:” physical, mental, logistical and luck.

“We like to say if everything goes perfectly we have a 50% chance of success,” Sansone said.

It speaks to how Hamilton’s 2015 record has stood, despite several attempts by athletes since. His time topped the previous supported record of 10 days and 20 hours set by a man known as “Cave Dog” in 2000. That year, Danelle Ballengee logged the supported female record of 14 days and 14 hours.

“I’ve had nine days and 12 hours in my head,” Sansone said.

That would be nice, Hamilton said. But “our pace is our pace,” he said.

From Chicago Basin, the idea is to cover the rest of the San Juans and then the Sangre de Cristos in four days.

“And then the night of day four would be Pikes, and we view that as a critical moment,” Hamilton said. “Looking back at a lot of different attempts, including my own, there’s something about that day four where your body freaks out. That’s kind of a make-or-break moment.”

If they make it, they could move on to the Sawatch Range or the Elks, all with the hope of finishing out with peaks closer to the Front Range.

It’s all a big “if,” Sansone emphasized. And if nothing else, “this would be the greatest adventure of our lives,” she said.