First Canmore Quad of 2025: 4 Peaks in 17 Hours

What’s happening? Canmore’s trail season is officially underway: local endurance athlete Kyle Long has completed what appears to be the first publicly documented Canmore Quad of 2025—a grueling 60km, 4,876m elevation gain odyssey across four iconic peaks—Lady MacDonald, Grotto Mountain, East End of Rundle (EEOR), and Ha Ling—in 17 hours.

The challenge. The Canmore Quad is a self-styled ultra-endurance test piece: summit all four mountains in a single day, entirely on foot, starting and finishing in town. There’s no fixed route, but the rules are clear: no bikes, no cars, no shortcuts—just grit, legs, and a lot of vertical. The standard route covers roughly 52–60km with 4,700–5,000m of elevation gain.

Kyle’s route. Long began at Lady Mac, then tackled Grotto, EEOR, and finally Ha Ling, finishing with a run down Spray Lakes Road and across town. He described the mental challenge of always seeing where you’ve been—and where you still need to go—as a unique twist that kept the pressure on.

Not just a solo mission. The Canmore Quad has grown from a niche challenge to a community event. SkiUphill hosts an annual free meetup (next one: July 26, 2025), offering aid stations and post-run beers. There’s even a team category now, because misery loves company.

The FKT frontier. The current fastest known time (FKT) for the standard route is 7h 48m 26s, set by Leif Godberson in 2020. For those truly unhinged, Tyler Williams completed a double Quad—eight summits—in just over 24 hours.

Bottom line. The Canmore Quad isn’t just a run—it’s a rite of passage for mountain masochists. Kyle Long’s early-season effort sets the tone: the mountains are open, and the challenge is on.