Summit 2026 – RMNP - Longs Peak - The Keyhole

All participants and leaders are REQUIRED to sign the State of Colorado's liability waiver. Please click here to fill out the waiver.

We will climb Longs Peak via the Keyhole Route. This spectacular route almost completely circumnavigates Longs Peak, starting well below treeline at approximately 9,400', climbing to the summit at 14,259', and returing along the same route.

We'll start at the Longs Peak Trailhead, taking the East Longs Peak Trail for approximately 3.3 miles to the Chasm Lake Junction. If there's enough daylight, we'll start to see glimpses of Longs at this point. We'll continue on the East Longs Peak Trail for another 2.4 miles, until we reach The Boulder Field. During this time, we'll gain approximately 3,400' of elevation on well-maintained trail.

This is where the designated trail ends. At this point, we'll rock hop and stream cross our way through The Boulder Field for about half a mile, working our way up the roughly 500' to The Keyhole. If we arrive before sunrise, we may take a break in the Agnes Vaille Memorial Shelter.

The Keyhole is where the fun begins. Once we cross over to the West side of the peak, the terrain changes significantly and the difficulty increases. This is where the hike turns into a climb. Once through The Keyhole, we'll take a sharp left and scramble along a series of ledges for about 0.3 miles. At this point, we'll come upon a couloir known as The Trough. We'll climb this gully filled with loose rock for 600' until we reach the top. At the top of The Trough, we'll climb 30' chockstones that block easy access to the top. Once we surmount the chockstones, we'll find ourselves on an exposed ledge known as The Narrows. After crossing The Narrows, we'll hang a left and head up a section of steep slab, gaining the last 300' to the summit. We'll bask in the views, enjoy some food, and head back down the way we came.

Estimated duration: 10 hours car-to-car.

Longs Peak is a long (no pun intended), strenuous, committing route, with lots of exposure and other natural hazards. You have to be able to downclimb everything you climb. I recommend having previous scrambling experience at high altitude. I recommend doing several 14ers and/or 13ers in the months leading upto this trip to properly train and acclimate for this climb. Participants will be screened prior to being added to the trip. Be prepared to answer the following questions:

Participants can register for their preferred 14er through the Colorado Mountain Club website, where they will be placed on a waitlist for their chosen peak. From there, trip leaders will reach out to gather more information about each participant's experience level and interests. For trips where the waitlist exceeds the allotted group size, participants will be selected by lottery.

For questions about your trip, please reach out to your trip leader directly. For general questions about the Summit 2026 project or any relate event, please reach out to summit2026@cmc.org.

We will meet at the Longs Peak Trailhead off of Hwy 7. Plan to start down the trail no later than 3am.  

Lat/Long: 40°16'20.1"N 105°33'23.8"W

Google Maps link: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Longs+Peak+Trailhead/@40.2722173,-105.5573183,119m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m6!3m5!1s0x876963050c48bb31:0x41fdf2cd2e219144!8m2!3d40.2720613!4d-105.5568931!16s%2Fg%2F1tj89xr4?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI2MDYwMy4xIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D