How many people hike the collection of 14,000-foot peaks in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains every year? It is a question that local and state leaders often ask when they try to figure out the benefits to the local economy versus the costs to the community. While an exact number is not possible to determine, the Colorado Fourteeners Initiative (CFI) has found a unique way to track the traffic of various peaks across the state using infrared trail counters near the peaks. It has been monitoring and improving its data since 2014, and it released its 2024 estimates in August 2025. It takes almost a year to analyze the data properly. According to the analysis, Colorado 14er hiking use was up slightly in 2024 compared…