The fourteener challenge is an award that recognizes pilots who have used their soaring skills to fly above 55 Colorado mountains, with peaks over 14,000 feet.
The competition is open to any pilot and any glider regardless of club affiliation. All flights must be completed within the competition period. No declaration is required but an IGC flight log must be published on the OLC. The organizers may verify that your glider passes within a radius .25 statute miles drawn from the official peak coordinates.
Rules
The list of peaks can be found at the world wide turnpoint exchange.
To “summit” a peak, a pilot must pass, at any altitude, within .25 sm horizontally of the specified coordinates, and higher than the peak altitude MSL.
Claims will be documented by the submission of an IGC flight trace to the OLC, the description of the flight should include the peaks claimed.
When a multiple place glider is used, each pilot accumulates that days peaks.
One claim may be made for any given day, detailing which peaks were achieved. A pilot may complete the challenge over any number of days during the competition period.
For a claim to be valid, a glider must release or power its engine off and fly within a 15 sm circle centered on the take-off location. This starts the soaring performance and no propulsion is then allowed till landing.
The original time period for the challenge started on the 1st May 2008 and it ran till 30th September 2021.
Prizes were to be awarded to the first 5 pilots who completed the challenge.
In 2021 Benjamin Pinnell(BDP) agreed to sponsor an additional five awards, so the challenge is still open! The competition period has been extended to the 30th September 2026.
Participation is free of charge and open to all pilots.
Flights will be validated if no objections are filed within 30 days of the flight submission.
Any disputes may be appealed to the three person competition committee who will consider if the flight was made in the spirit of the challenge.
Disclaimer
This award is sponsored by individual SSB members.
All data and information contained in any of the documentation or data files are provided without guarantee as to their completeness or correctness. Any conclusions drawn from this data and information are the sole responsibility of the user. Participants must use their own judgment at all times and conduct operations in accordance with appropriate aviation regulations.
Recipients
Bob Faris
Alfonso Ossorio
Tom Zoellner
Colin Barry
Benjamin Pinnell
Clemens Ceipek
Richard Hall