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- #ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK HOW TO#
- #ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK FULL#
- #ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK CRACK#
The park's eastern entrance is in the town of Estes Park. (Tip: A seasonal Bustang route will take you to Estes Park and the national park from downtown Denver).ĭaybreak is the best time to explore the park’s stunning see-through lakes, sweeping meadows and dew-spritzed forests. One of the most popular parks in the country, Rocky Mountain National Park welcomes 3.4 million visitors each year and still manages to nurture cravings for solitude.
#ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK HOW TO#
Learn how to get your timed-entry permit > Morning Between skiing and climbing rock, ice and alpine routes, you always have something exciting to do with us.Please note: Rocky Mountain National Park will have a timed-entry permit system in place from May 27–Oct. Our guides live their lives in this terrain.
#ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK FULL#
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. In good spring conditions, a traverse of the Continental Divide through RMNP provides you with a Rockies’ version of Europe’s famous Haute Route.Īnd each 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. 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. The Park accommodates skiers of all ability levels, with terrain ranging from cruiser bowls and trees to incomparably positioned chutes slicing between 1,000-foot high walls and spires. 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. 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.” 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. Mountaineering routes like Kiener’s and the North Face present moderate technical grades but an enduring total package at altitude. And Longs Peak, of course, comprises an alpine destination in itself. Ice climbers start to take notice, and as fall turns to winter, snow blankets the mountains, creating new possibilities.įor those in the know, there’s always incredible climbing and skiing that includes Thatchtop, Dragon’s Tail, Taylor Glacier, Flattop and Notchtop. While rock climbing continues on the sunny aspects, ephemeral ice smears begin forming in the shaded corners of the high peaks. Come fall the options explode like the colors of changing aspens.
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We often find ourselves enjoying this fantastic alpine cragging area on sunny days throughout the winter.īut don’t think of the Park as only a rock-climber’s mecca. This cluster of south-facing granite domes and spires hosts some 500 routes, almost all traditionally protected and up to eight pitches long.
#ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK CRACK#
Though striking in their exposure and quality, most all of the Park’s routes can be climbed in a day.Īnd just across the valley from the Park’s high peaks lies the awesome crack climbing of Lumpy Ridge. Sharkstooth, Spearhead, Hallett, Meeker, Ypsilon and the Cathedral Spires likewise hold fantastic climbing. Great routes abound, form 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. Whatever your skill and experience level, spectacular climbing awaits you. Some peaks are nice to have climbed, but the Park is the place to go climbing. Rather, once in the mountains, an endless array of rock spires, alpine walls, snow-filled couloirs, glades and bowls dominate the landscape. No single peak here forms a solitary skyline impression like the Grand Teton or Mt. These cirques are easily accessed via short hikes up beautiful valleys and gorges. Much of the most spectacular terrain, however, remains tucked into glacial-carved alpine cirques unseen from the road. Stunning scenery abounds, with plentiful wildlife, high alpine tundra, valleys that start at 8,000 feet and more than 100 peaks towering above 10,000 feet. Here, a unique combination of elevation, access, sunshine, ice and snow create a climber’s paradise. These words are more than just superlatives – they accurately describe the heart of our world, Rocky Mountain National Park.