For most mere mortals (and the risk-averse), this month marks the end of fourteener season. If all you’ve got to show for your accomplishments are a few more freckles and some awkward summit selfies, pay attention: Three-month-old Peak Patch wants to help you show off your summer triumphs with its new line of commemorative embroidered badges. Consider the sew- or iron-on patches—with designs that are much cooler than the cheesy tchotchkes you find in national park gift stores—a kind of wearable peak-bagging trophy case. “We feel like if you are going to hike your butt up these mountains, you should be able to continue to celebrate long after you’re off the mountain,” says Justin Carter, who co-founded Vail-based Peak Patch with Colorado State University graduate Fritz Oettinger. Designed to fit on backpacks or shirts, the three-by-five-inch patches ($7.49 each) feature modern graphics for each of the seven Centennial State mountain ranges that hold fourteeners. Smaller chevron patches ($4.99 each) carry the names of individual peaks. If you prefer to display your bragging rights on your Nalgene or fridge, opt for stickers or magnets. And in this case, pride isn’t sinful: It’s helping save those very mountains. Fourteen percent of the proceeds from patch sales go to the Colorado Fourteeners Initiative to help preserve trails. Short of taking home a chunk of the mountain you conquer (don’t even think about it), there’s really no better souvenir.

(Read our guide to hiking Colorado’s fourteeners)

5280 September 2015
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