Race FAQ's

Registration opens September 1st. This year we have a series of price changes. Sign up early for the best deal!
Race day registration for either Summit for Life or Ride for Life is available if we have not reached our maximum of 425 participants. This is non-negotiable, and there will be a hard cutoff at 425.
All hikers and riders are required to register. NO TICKET NO HIKE OR RIDE!!!!
Under 8 ride for free, but they are required to register. The system will set their registration to $ 0 when you add their age.

No. Since Summit for Life is a FUNDRAISING event for CKF, we do not permit race transfers for either registrations or fundraising. If you are unable to race, you agree that CKF will keep your registration, and you will be held responsible for reaching the minimum.

Make sure you get some incline training to build up your stamina! Walk up hills (roads or trails), climb stairs, or set the incline on a treadmill, or use a stair climber in the gym.
Climbing 3,267 feet of elevation is the equivalent of about 4,900 stairs (assuming a standard 8-inch step height). This is roughly equivalent to scaling 305 standard flights of stairs, or completing about 8 full workouts on a standard StairMaster machine.
The average finish time for Summit is 1.5-2 hours, with the first and last finishers coming in at 40 minutes and 3 hours.
Practice with your equipment if you can. Even if it's just a traction device you slip over sneakers, test them out ahead of time in the snow to get used to the feeling. Be sure to bring poles. Aspen Mountain is steep, and ski poles are very helpful. (Make sure they have baskets so they don’t sink in the snow.)

You can either wear microspikes, skins, or snowshoes. We recommend spikes for beginners as they are the most user-friendly and fastest option on groomed snow (if there is a lot of fresh snow, snowshoes or skins can be helpful IF you are familiar with using them)
Dress in layers. Start with a lightweight thermal base layer, and then a light wind-resistant second layer but not much more! You will heat up climbing Aspen.
Be sure to have something to cover your ears (headband or beanie), and gloves or mittens.
The temperature and wind are variable – on cold, windy nights you’ll need to dress warmer with heavier accessories. On a warmer, still night, you can get away with more lightweight accessories.
Bring along hand warmers for backup.
If you are wearing tennis shoes or similar shoes, wrap your socked feet in baggies first so your feet stay dry!

All racers are welcome to send a drop bag to the summit to be ready and waiting for them when they finish.
You can drop bags with the CKF volunteers at Gondola Plaza starting from 4:30pm; you will then pick them up from the Gondola Building by sharing your bib number with the volunteers.
We suggest including dry clothes and shoes along with any other post race comforts you would like.

You MUST wear your bib to hike; anyone heading up the hill without a bib will be turned around.
If you begin to hike and decide to turn around for any reason, you MUST inform the volunteer at the Gondola Building! You are welcome to ride the gondola to the top in this circumstance.
There are two aid stations on course, with water and apple cider. If you reach one of the stations and cannot continue, please inform the volunteers and ski patrol, who will assist. When you reach the top on the snowmobile, please inform the volunteer at the finish line!
IF YOU PULL OUT AT ANY POINT, INFORM A CKF VOLUNTEER, SO WE DON'T GO LOOKING FOR YOU!!!
Please stay on the course route; we will confirm the final route during the pre-race announcements.
YOU CANNOT SKI DOWN. Since this event is in partnership with Aspen Snowmass, you MUST ride the gondola down after the event. No one is permitted to ski, snowboard, or hike back down the mountain.

The fundraising minimum for Summit for Life is $100 per athlete. There is no minimum for Ride for Life participants.

Racers are required to meet their fundraising minimum by 5 pm on November 30th. If you have not met the minimum, CKF will charge the card on file.
Racers who register on or after December 1st will be required to pay their registration fee and fundraising at the time of sign-up.

Fundraising will remain open until midnight December 31st for anyone looking to go above and beyond.
You can create a fundraising team to work together to achieve your fundraising goals. Here are a few highlights surrounding your fundraising team.
- If you receive a donation to your individual fundraiser, it will be reflected on your team fundraiser.
- If you receive a donation to your team fundraiser, it will NOT be reflected on your individual page. Our team will calculate all team donations and divide them equally amongst the team at the end.
- If another member of your team goes above and beyond on their individual fundraiser, that does not count towards other team members' fundraising. If you would like to cover the fundraising for your team, please donate to the team fundraiser to see if it is divided amongst everyone.
There are fundraising prizes for our top 3 individual fundraisers, youth fundraisers, and our top fundraising team.

2026 Summit for Life