A climber emerges from a shaded couloir onto sun-warmed Sierra granite. In addition to rock pitches, alpine routes can include sections of snow, alpine ice, and non-technical scrambling terrain. Ian McEleney
A climber ascending the Keyhole route on Longs Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. Kimberly Glock.
Climber ascending the Keyhole Route on Longs Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park. Kimberly Glock.
Climber ascending the Keyhole Route on Longs Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park. Kimberly Glock.
Climber ascending the Keyhole Route on Longs Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park. Kimberly Glock.
A climber nearing the end of the traversing pitch of the Casual Route on the Diamond of Longs Peak. This is the third pitch, with just enough features to keep the traverse at the moderate grade of 5.7. Photo taken from the belay. Zach Lovell.
A climber pauses high on the Swiss Arete of Mt. Sill (5.7, grade II) in the Sierra Nevada. This photo shows the classic mixture of technical rock-climbing and scrambling terrain that distinguishes alpine rock climbing from ordinary multi-pitch cragging. Ian McEleney
A climber stares at the Diamond of Longs Peak from the Camel gully after an ascent of Kiener's Route. Kiener's Route is a great, improbable line just left of the Diamond that stays at a moderate grade. (photo taken N of the Diamond, looking south). Zach Lovell.
A climber ascends the North Face of Longs Peak (II, 5.5) as part of their Alpine Rock Course. This historic route used to have cables running up and down the slabs to aid climbers. The eye bolts used to attach the cables are still in the rock and used to this day as protection and rappel anchors. If you look closely, you can even see these eye bolts in the lower center of the photo. Zach Lovell.
A climber sits on the summit of Temple Crag after climbing Venusian Blind (5.7, III). Photo by Ian McEleney
A view of the famous Diamond of Longs Peak as seen from Chasm View at the start of the North Face route of Longs Peak. (photo taken from the NW of the diamond, looking SE). Zach Lovell.
A climber engages the crux of 'The Casual Route' on the Diamond of Longs Peak. For graduates of the Alpine Rock Course, this is a fantastic goal and a lifetime achievement. Photo taken from the Pitch 7 belay, the climber just exited the squeeze chimney. Zach Lovell.
The North Face of Longs Peak as seen from the Boulderfields (photo taken from the North). The north face holds several great options for the budding alpine rock climber and is commonly climbed on an Alpine Rock Course. Zach Lovell.
Alpine Rock Climbing
Some of the most inspirational and beautiful lines in North America may be found on remote, high and wild alpine peaks. The first part of this two-part program introduces climbers to the art of alpine rock climbing. The second part expands on the knowledge presented in the first part and provides climbers with the skills and techniques to lead their own alpine rock routes.