It should come as no surprise that people from all over the world visit Colorado to get a taste of our outdoor recreation, including our world-class mountains. While there is a mountain for nearly every preference and skill level, one of the most popular continues to be Longs Peak: a 14,259-foot mountain nestled away in the heart of the Rocky Mountains. Despite Longs Peak being one of the most popular and heavily-trafficked Colorado mountains, it is also the deadliest mountain in Colorado. Why is Longs Peak so dangerous? How many people have died on Longs Peak? Read on to find out.
According to OutThere Colorado, Longs Peak is the most dangerous mountain in Colorado, thanks to both the difficult 14.5-mile climb and the huge drops.
Rationalobserver/Wikimedia Commons
Visited by upwards of 20,000 climbers each year, Longs Peak has accounted for 67 of Rocky Mountain National Parks’ recorded 374 deaths (1915 to 2017), 70% of which were from falls alone.
Benwildeboer/Wikimedia Commons The other 30% of deaths on Longs Peak are said to have come from exhaustion, hypothermia, and/or cardiac arrest.
Why do so many fall on Longs Peak?
Flickr/Richard Masoner / Cyclelicious OutThere chalks it up to a lack of experience, as the terrain is abnormally steep and rugged, and consists of mostly jagged rocks and uneven ground.
If you do not have experience with climbing 14ers, Longs Peak may not be the best place to start, so be sure to get more experience with shorter climbs before you begin your ascent up the mountain.
Doc Searls/Wikimedia Commons
First discovered by Major Stephen Long in 1820, Longs Peak is considered to be one of the most prominent mountains in Colorado, and can be easily be spotted from most of the northern Front Range.
Ansel Adams/Wikimedia Commons
The first recorded climb on Longs Peak was completed by a surveying party in 1868 and has remained a bustling spot ever since, with the Keyhole Route considered to be the easiest and most popular trail on the mountain.
Flickr/John Mayer
For more information about Longs Peak - or to check on current conditions on the mountain - please visit the National Park Service’s website.
ProfPete/Wikimedia Commons
Even though it’s the most dangerous mountain in Colorado, hundreds of people climb it each year- and survive. If you want to climb Longs Peak and are an experienced hiker, don’t let this post scare you. Just be prepared and know what you’re in for. This hike is not for the inexperienced. Have you made it to the top of Longs Peak? Can you offer any tips for those training to do so? Sound off in the comments! For the list of the most dangerous mountains in America, check out this article: You’ll Want To Avoid The 5 Most Dangerous Mountain Peaks In The USA.
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Address: Longs Peak, Colorado 80510, USA
The OIYS Visitor Center
Most Dangerous Mountain In Colorado December 26, 2021 Tori Jane What are the most dangerous hikes in Colorado? Colorado is an amazing state with amazing mountains to climb – including some amazing ones known as “fourteeners”, which are peaks reaching elevations higher than 14,000 feet. There are some trails that are much more dangerous than others, too, such as:
Barr’s Trail, which extends from Manitou Springs to the summit of Pikes Peak. There are more than 100 rescues on that trail per year, on average. The Crestone Traverse, a 13.5-mile trek up one of Colorado’s most famous fourteeners Jagged Mountain, a “thirteener” Maroon Bells, which is shorter than many Colorado hikes but notoriously challenging and risky.
Each hike is unique and well worth the attempt, as long as you’ve got the chops for it. It’s important to know one’s limits, though, and not become a rescue statistic (or worse). Looking for something a little easier? Check out this list of some of the best shorter hikes in the entire state! Where is Longs Peak in Colorado? Long’s Peak is located along the northern Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. It’s a fourteener, coming in at an amazing 14,259 feet in elevation. It’s nestled in the Rocky Mountain National Park wilderness 9.6 miles south-southwest of Estes Park. It was conquered for the first time by John Wesley Powell in 1868, and ever since, it’s been a long-standing goal of many an avid hiker. To hike to the summit takes, on average, anywhere from 10 to 15 hours (or more, depending on all sorts of factors). From 1915 to 2021, there were a total of 71 deaths on Longs Peak, and it’s considered one of the most dangerous hikes in the state. Should you conquer it, however, the boost in confidence is worth it. If you’re a skilled hiker with a love of challenges, you definitely ought to consider this one, though less-experienced hikers are encouraged to conquer it bit by bit over time in order to do it safely.
According to OutThere Colorado, Longs Peak is the most dangerous mountain in Colorado, thanks to both the difficult 14.5-mile climb and the huge drops.
Rationalobserver/Wikimedia Commons
Visited by upwards of 20,000 climbers each year, Longs Peak has accounted for 67 of Rocky Mountain National Parks’ recorded 374 deaths (1915 to 2017), 70% of which were from falls alone.
Benwildeboer/Wikimedia Commons The other 30% of deaths on Longs Peak are said to have come from exhaustion, hypothermia, and/or cardiac arrest.
Why do so many fall on Longs Peak?
Flickr/Richard Masoner / Cyclelicious OutThere chalks it up to a lack of experience, as the terrain is abnormally steep and rugged, and consists of mostly jagged rocks and uneven ground.
If you do not have experience with climbing 14ers, Longs Peak may not be the best place to start, so be sure to get more experience with shorter climbs before you begin your ascent up the mountain.
Doc Searls/Wikimedia Commons
First discovered by Major Stephen Long in 1820, Longs Peak is considered to be one of the most prominent mountains in Colorado, and can be easily be spotted from most of the northern Front Range.
Ansel Adams/Wikimedia Commons
The first recorded climb on Longs Peak was completed by a surveying party in 1868 and has remained a bustling spot ever since, with the Keyhole Route considered to be the easiest and most popular trail on the mountain.
Flickr/John Mayer
For more information about Longs Peak - or to check on current conditions on the mountain - please visit the National Park Service’s website.
ProfPete/Wikimedia Commons
Even though it’s the most dangerous mountain in Colorado, hundreds of people climb it each year- and survive. If you want to climb Longs Peak and are an experienced hiker, don’t let this post scare you. Just be prepared and know what you’re in for. This hike is not for the inexperienced.
Rationalobserver/Wikimedia Commons
Benwildeboer/Wikimedia Commons
The other 30% of deaths on Longs Peak are said to have come from exhaustion, hypothermia, and/or cardiac arrest.
Flickr/Richard Masoner / Cyclelicious
OutThere chalks it up to a lack of experience, as the terrain is abnormally steep and rugged, and consists of mostly jagged rocks and uneven ground.
Doc Searls/Wikimedia Commons
Ansel Adams/Wikimedia Commons
Flickr/John Mayer
ProfPete/Wikimedia Commons
Have you made it to the top of Longs Peak? Can you offer any tips for those training to do so? Sound off in the comments! For the list of the most dangerous mountains in America, check out this article: You’ll Want To Avoid The 5 Most Dangerous Mountain Peaks In The USA.
The OIYS Visitor Center
Most Dangerous Mountain In Colorado
December 26, 2021
Tori Jane
What are the most dangerous hikes in Colorado? Colorado is an amazing state with amazing mountains to climb – including some amazing ones known as “fourteeners”, which are peaks reaching elevations higher than 14,000 feet. There are some trails that are much more dangerous than others, too, such as:
Barr’s Trail, which extends from Manitou Springs to the summit of Pikes Peak. There are more than 100 rescues on that trail per year, on average. The Crestone Traverse, a 13.5-mile trek up one of Colorado’s most famous fourteeners Jagged Mountain, a “thirteener” Maroon Bells, which is shorter than many Colorado hikes but notoriously challenging and risky.
Each hike is unique and well worth the attempt, as long as you’ve got the chops for it. It’s important to know one’s limits, though, and not become a rescue statistic (or worse). Looking for something a little easier? Check out this list of some of the best shorter hikes in the entire state! Where is Longs Peak in Colorado? Long’s Peak is located along the northern Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. It’s a fourteener, coming in at an amazing 14,259 feet in elevation. It’s nestled in the Rocky Mountain National Park wilderness 9.6 miles south-southwest of Estes Park. It was conquered for the first time by John Wesley Powell in 1868, and ever since, it’s been a long-standing goal of many an avid hiker. To hike to the summit takes, on average, anywhere from 10 to 15 hours (or more, depending on all sorts of factors). From 1915 to 2021, there were a total of 71 deaths on Longs Peak, and it’s considered one of the most dangerous hikes in the state. Should you conquer it, however, the boost in confidence is worth it. If you’re a skilled hiker with a love of challenges, you definitely ought to consider this one, though less-experienced hikers are encouraged to conquer it bit by bit over time in order to do it safely.
The OIYS Visitor Center
The OIYS Visitor Center
Colorado is an amazing state with amazing mountains to climb – including some amazing ones known as “fourteeners”, which are peaks reaching elevations higher than 14,000 feet. There are some trails that are much more dangerous than others, too, such as:
- Barr’s Trail, which extends from Manitou Springs to the summit of Pikes Peak. There are more than 100 rescues on that trail per year, on average.
- The Crestone Traverse, a 13.5-mile trek up one of Colorado’s most famous fourteeners
- Jagged Mountain, a “thirteener”
- Maroon Bells, which is shorter than many Colorado hikes but notoriously challenging and risky.
Each hike is unique and well worth the attempt, as long as you’ve got the chops for it. It’s important to know one’s limits, though, and not become a rescue statistic (or worse). Looking for something a little easier? Check out this list of some of the best shorter hikes in the entire state!
Where is Longs Peak in Colorado?
Long’s Peak is located along the northern Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. It’s a fourteener, coming in at an amazing 14,259 feet in elevation. It’s nestled in the Rocky Mountain National Park wilderness 9.6 miles south-southwest of Estes Park. It was conquered for the first time by John Wesley Powell in 1868, and ever since, it’s been a long-standing goal of many an avid hiker. To hike to the summit takes, on average, anywhere from 10 to 15 hours (or more, depending on all sorts of factors). From 1915 to 2021, there were a total of 71 deaths on Longs Peak, and it’s considered one of the most dangerous hikes in the state. Should you conquer it, however, the boost in confidence is worth it. If you’re a skilled hiker with a love of challenges, you definitely ought to consider this one, though less-experienced hikers are encouraged to conquer it bit by bit over time in order to do it safely.
