Longs Peak

Brief Historical Background:

  Longs Peak is located within Rocky Mountain National Park, eastern Colorado. It was originally named Long's Peak after the engineer, explorer, and military officer Major Stephen Harriman Long who explored the area in the 1820s. The peak is one of 58 American "fourteeners" (mountains that exceed 14,000 feet above sea level), the only fourteener in Rocky Mountain National Park, and the northernmost of Colorado. The peak's northeastern wall, called "the Diamond" because of its shape, is the biggest wall in America outside of Yosemite. Several members of the 1963 American Everest Expedition used the peak as a training ground. Two of them subsequently succeeded in reaching Everest's summit.

Technical difficulty:

  Longs Peak is often called a "climbers" mountain because even the easiest route is a classic climb. It is considered to be the most difficult 3rd class fourteener in Colorado. Climbing requires proper preparation and equipment. During the summer season (July to early September), the easiest route does not require technical climbing, but outside this season, its rating is upgraded to "technical" because of ice and snowfalls that demand the use of specialized climbing equipment. There are a number of serious and technical climbs on Longs Peak that are qualified as 5th class climbing. The most climbed route is rated 5.8.

Places to visit in the region:

Denver

Estes Park