About Rocky Mountain National Park

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The real deal. The ultimate vertical playground. These words are more than just superlatives they accurately describe the heart of our world, Rocky Mountain National Park. Here, a unique combination of elevation, access, sunshine, ice and snow create a climber’s paradise. Stunning scenery abounds, with plentiful wildlife, high alpine tundra, valleys that start at 8,000 feet and over 100 peaks towering above 10,000 feet. Much of the most spectacular terrain, however, remains tucked into glacial-carved alpine cirques unseen from the road. These cirques are easily accessed via short hikes up beautiful valleys and gorges.

No single peak here forms a solitary skyline impression like the Grand Teton or Mt. Rainier. Rather, once in the mountains, an endless array of rock spires, alpine walls, snow-filled couloirs, glades and bowls dominate the landscape. Some peaks are nice to have climbed, but the Park is the place to go climbing.

Whatever your skill and experience level, spectacular climbing awaits you. Great routes abound, from the Petit Grepon, one of the best alpine rock climbs in the country, to the 14,259-foot Longs Peak, home to the world-renowned Diamond face. Sharkstooth, Spearhead, Hallett, Meeker, Ypsilon and the Cathedral Spires likewise hold fantastic climbing. Though striking in their exposure and quality, most all of the Park’s routes can be climbed in a day.

And just across the valley from the Park’s high peaks lies the awesome crack climbing of Lumpy Ridge. This cluster of over 30 south-facing granite domes and spires hosts some 500 routes, almost all traditionally protected and up to eight pitches long. We often find ourselves enjoying this fantastic alpine cragging area on sunny days throughout the winter.

But don’t think of the Park as only a rock-climber’s mecca. Come fall the options explode like the colors of changing aspens. While rock climbing continues on the sunny aspects, ephemeral ice smears begin to form in the shaded corners of the high peaks. Ice climbers begin to take notice.

As fall turns to winter, snow blankets the mountains, creating new possibilities for climbing and skiing. Hearty mountaineers join us on the high peaks, where full-on conditions remind us what high-altitude mountaineering is all about. Skiers join us to enjoy the serenity of winter in the backcountry and the excitement of an untracked descent.

For those in the know, there’s always incredible climbing and skiing that includes Thatchtop, Dragon’s Tail, Taylor Glacier, Flattop and Notchtop. And Longs Peak, of course, comprises an alpine destination in itself. Mountaineering routes like Kiener’s and the North Face present moderate technical grades but an enduring total package at altitude. For a step up in difficulty, we’ll often link the mega-classic Alexander’s Chimney to Kiener’s or the Notch Couloir, traverse Longs’ summit and descend its North Face to create a full-on alpine day. After enduring a winter ascent of Longs, the famed British climber Doug Scott once quipped, “The Himalayas are a great place to train for Longs Peak.”

Winter also means ski mountaineering, which around here continues into spring and even early summer, captivating those drawn to the wilder side of Colorado skiing, away from lift lines. In Front Range Descents, Ron Haddad and Eileen Faughey wrote: “Many of us who live along the Front Range may take for granted that one of America’s most famous national parks is only an hour or so drive from home. ? So it may come as a surprise that the Park has challenging spring ski descents that complement its superb alpine climbing and spectacular and rugged scenery. There are ski descents to match every level of ability.” Indeed the Park has variety, from cruiser bowls and trees to incomparably positioned chutes slicing between 1,000-foot high walls and spires. Combine a descent of the North Face and the Trough on Longs Peak to experience one of the lower 48’s greatest ski mountaineering adventures. In good spring conditions, a traverse of the Continental Divide through RMNP provides you with a Rockies’ version of Europe’s famous Haute Route.

And as winter turns to spring, melt-freeze conditions create new ice and mixed routes, sunny faces warm-up for rock climbing, and corn snow brings a smile to every skier’s face. Like any alpine area, full enjoyment requires care and insider knowledge of not only the best spots to climb and ski, but of snowpack, weather patterns and avalanche conditions. Our guides live their lives in this terrain. Between skiing and climbing rock, ice and alpine routes, you always have something exciting to do with us. Topher Donahue, one of America’s finest climbers, said it perfectly: “The thing that makes RMNP the best all-around climbing area in the country is this: You can practice every kind of climbing on more days of the year than in any other climbing area in North America.” Come check out this climber’s paradise for yourself.