July 2009

Long’s Peak (14, 255) is one of the most

popular climbs in Rocky Mountain National Park.

It does not open up to non-technical climbing (without crampons and ice-axe) until mid-July. We went about a week after the last ice melted off the “Homestretch”.

The Keyhole Route is the standard, and the easiest, route to the top. Easiest is relative though, as it is still 16 miles and 4,856 vertical feet. Many people do it as a day trip, but we chose to make it an overnight by camping in the “Boulderfield.”

Click on any of the photos for an enhanced view.