Bettie Course: Summiting Longs Peak

This Bettie Course is offered to women and individuals that identify as women through the Rocky Mountain Conservancy in collaboration with KMAC, located in Estes Park, CO. This experience is a three-day course that begins with the basic foundation for long distance hiking, backpacking, developing safe travel practices in and around treeline, and summiting a 14,000 foot peak in Rocky Mountain National Park. The goal is for students to expand upon foundational knowledge of backcountry preparation, as well as build skills in high altitude camping and Leave No Trace principals.

Join women guides as they venture into Rocky Mountain National Park for an intense educational experience that brings you through the easiest route to the summit of Longs Peak. It is about 8 miles and you’ll gain 4,800 feet of elevation. The final 1.5 miles of the route are considered Class 3, indicating that handholds and footholds on the rocks are needed to “scramble” at times, but never to the extent that the use of ropes and technical climbing gear are necessary.

Your guides will help pace you, offer hiking tips and techniques, and in general, gently “guide” you and your group to the top. KMAC guides are trained in interpretation and along the way to the top, they’ll share their knowledge of not only this historic mountain but RMNP as well. Rocky Mountain Conservancy will offer an in-depth orientation to the trip that will include meal planning, packing of gear, and group preparation the day prior.

This course involves a pre-trip orientation on Saturday, September 9 from 8:00 am-3:00 pm. On Sunday, September 10 the group will meet early with an “alpine start” until reaching the Boulder Field where we will set up camp for the evening. On September 11th, the group will go through the Keyhole Route by traversing around to the backside to summit before retracing their steps to hike out.

Questions? Contact us at education@rmconservancy.org.

These courses are offered through Rocky Mountain Conservancy, where scholarships are provided through the Magnificent Mountain Women Scholarship Fund. For more information about scholarships, please submit an application by completing the form here: https://forms.gle/9pBNUS7g8t48KwJR8

Bettie Courses are inspired by the life and work of Beatrice “Bettie” Willard, who was a foundational instructor at the Rocky Mountain Conservancy Field Institute. Her research on alpine tundra ecology has been instrumental to mountain ecology, and her advocacy all throughout the state of Colorado has left a legacy for all women who value land stewardship and conservation. Rocky Mountain Conservancy’s Bettie Courses focus on accessible programs that introduce women and those that identify as women to the outdoors through a variety of programs and topics. Courses emphasize science, ecology, and building the outdoor skills and confidence needed to explore and defend wild places.