G. Jeff Golden
I know what you’re thinking, and yes, I agree that using the initial “G” in my byline is about as pretentious as being the no-shirt guy at the climbing gym. My parents called me by my middle name growing up, and when I took my first job as a daily newspaper journalist I still thought F. Scott Fitzgerald was the greatest writer to ever wield a pen. So, here we are.
More than a decade has passed since those initial bylines appeared in the Farmington (N.M.) Daily Times, and my writing career has taken as many twists and turns as Ouray’s infamous Red Mountain Pass. I’ve authored everything from the most-viewed trip report of all time on 14ers.com to technical summaries of insurance claims to long-form magazine articles in publications such as Trail & Timberline.
Hemingway once said, “All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence that you know.” Well, I know the outdoors. That’s what I write about, as honestly as I can.
I finished my first lap of the 14ers in 2012, and mountaineering has continued to serve as my spiritual touchstone. I’ve successfully summited the Disappointment Cleaver and Kautz Glacier routes on Mt. Rainier, the Adams Glacier on Mt. Adams, Middle Teton, Mt. Hood, 18,491-foot El Pico de Orizaba, Gannett Peak and somewhere around 300 total year-round 13ers and 14ers in Colorado. I also have a deep and newfound affinity for the desert, with dozens of days logged since 2016 exploring Southeast Utah.
I currently reside in the western suburbs of Denver with my wife, Liz, and rescued rez mutt, Zia.
Ice and Trail 