On July 15, 2010 I finally climbed Longs Peak. I first attempted it in August 2003 (http://www.halfaya.org/leo/hiking/LongsPeak/) with Mike Vermeulen, but was incapacitated by altitude sickness at around 12,000 feet. (Mike went back a few days later and climbed it alone). I then attempted it again with Mike in August 2004, but a late summer storm came soon before we tried and the Trough was filled with snow and ice. After a while I didn't feel comfortable continuing and we retreated. I was going to try again in September 2006, but again there was a recent storm and conditions were technical so I didn't even bother. The advantage of being in Boulder all summer is that I could both acclimatize and wait for the right day. I did Grays on Torreys on the 13th, and on the web saw that Longs was declared non-technical on the 12th. Weather looked good the 15th, and I was ready to go! Longs is only an hour drive from Boulder, so I woke up at 2:30am, left a little after 3am, and got to the trailhead around 4am.
(I ran of out characters with my previous caption, so continuing....) Unlike other hikes the huge parking lot was nearly full when I arrived, but I was lucky in that there was an empty space right next to the trailhead! I signed the log book in the previous picture (which I'd done the previous two times as well), and set off at 4:10am. I was hoping the third time would be the charm. The hike is 14-15 miles gaining over 5000 feet of elevation, so very similar to Half Dome except you're starting at 9,400 feet, higher than Half Dome (8800 feet), so altitude is a big factor (especially for me). Also the last 1.5 mile or so is all 2nd and 3rd class, and at the highest elevation. You need to start very early to be off the summit before thunderstorms come. I didn't want to start too early as I don't like hiking in the dark, and I hoped to get to Mills Moraine just as the rising sun hit the east face, as in the 2003 picture. But there were low clouds so sadly no repeat of that this year.
Here's what I got to see instead. Still spectacular.
Closer up.
The sunrise was very cool in any case.
Now with light and above treeline, heading toward the Boulder Field. Longs Peak via the Keyhole is THE classic hike in Colorado, comparable to Half Dome or Mount Whitney in California, and deservedly so. Almost every hiking book contains it, and Roach's 14er guide starts with Longs and the Keyhole. Hiking times are given as 8-15 hours, although I'm sure plenty of people can do it faster. I thought 8 hours would be a good goal for me. Going up I was making good time, and even when I got to the 12,000 level I felt fine, like I was almost going at full speed. I passed plenty of people.
Early scenery.
Getting close to the Boulder Field.
The east face of Longs (the Diamond) on the left, and in the middle is the where the old cables route was. There used to be cables to ascend the peak--so many parallels to Half Dome. But they were removed in 1973 and this is now a 5th class rock climb (plus snow at this time of year).
The Boulder Field with the Keyhole in the distance. Up to this point the climb is just a pleasant hike, but it's about to change dramatically, and this is what makes the Keyhole route so interesting. In the lower left can be seen the solar toilets and what is a apparently a trash container.
Longs again.
The toilets and container.
Campers at the Boulder Field. The weather was awesome. Longs is famous for wind, and in 2004 when we came wind had blown down everyone's tents in the Boulder Field, and we thought we were going to be blown through the Keyhole. But there was hardly any wind at this time (6:30am). It would pick up later in the day.
The Boulder Field and the Keyhole. The Boulder Field is class 2 boulder hopping, although there are fragments of a use trail marked by cairns. I was able to follow much of the use trail on the way up, but couldn't find it again on the way down--I found plenty of cairns, but they weren't for that. Anyway the boulder hopping was often fun.
Closeup of the Keyhole and the Agnes Vaille Memorial Hut.
Now a shot as I get near them myself.
At the Keyhole, looking at the new scenery on the other side.
And looking back down on the Boulder Field.
After the Keyhole, you get a series of four challenges leading the summit, all class 2 and 3. The first is the Ledges, a rather wide and safe ledge system that is mostly class 2 with a few nice class 3 moves. The route to the summit is marked with bullseyes, which really help.
The basic rule seemed to be to stay lower than you think you should, something I already learned from Navajo Peak.
They even had some helpful signs telling you just what is which way.
Scenery along the ledges. Unfortunately the lighting was not good. I should add that the weather was very mild. It was in the 50s at 4am, and I started wearing my fleece but soon took it off. I put it on later when I got higher, but switched to my new softshell jacket, a wool cap, and liner gloves for the other side of the Keyhole, where it was colder and windier, and those were fine.
The Ledges continue toward the Trough, still not visible.
This was the only guy who passed me going up, a trail runner type with a camelback backpack and carrying very little. He was much faster than me. With the altitude I had slowed down a lot, although I still felt fine.
Finally I reach the base of the Trough, a mostly 2nd class gully with some 3rd class moves. I should add that the 3rd class sections on the entire climb were very enjoyable and interesting, on solid rock with no exposure. This is supposed to be one of the best 3rd class climbs anywhere, and I would agree. I'd only made it midway up the Trough in 2004 (the highest I'd gotten before) due to it being filled with snow and ice. I was happy to see it clear this time, and the snow field on the right was easily avoided.
Higher in the Trough. You'd get plenty of bullseyes together, and then gaps in which you couldn't seen anything, but it was pretty obvious which way to go.
Higher still.
Looking down.
Getting near the top.
Looking down again.
This is the crux of the entire climb. You can go around either left or right, and both are "hard 3rd class". I went up right and came down left. The moves were indeed quite challenging.
After the Trough comes the Narrows, a narrow ledge system. I was a little worried about this one, but it turns out it was plenty wide and secure and not at all scary.
More of the Narrows.
Looking back.
Now you start to climb again.
Scenery from the Narrows.
The final challenge: the Homestretch, a system of parallel cracks leading to the summit. Sustained 3rd class. This was probably the toughest part of the route. I stuck to the left crack system, which seemed more secure.
Finally I made it to the summit, and got my picture taken. I also signed the register. It took 4.5 hours to get up--not too bad.
This guy took my picture, and then I took one of him and his daughter together.
I spent 26 minutes on the summit, most of it walking around since the summit is huge. First I took a picture of Chasm Lake.
More scenery from the summit.
These were perhaps the best views I've had in Colorado.
The summit is flat and huge, apparently the size of 3 football fields, so it took some time to walk around. I had brought a sandwich and ate half of it at the Boulder Field; I tried to eat the other half on the summit but the altitude was starting to bother me and I could only get down a little.
Looking back up at the high point.
They kindly remind you where to descend. Climber-caused rockfall is a big worry in the Homestretch and Trough, and some people did knock some rocks down, but fortunately no one was hurt. I tried to avoid being under anyone. There were many choices of route to take, so that wasn't hard.
Looking down the Homestretch from the summit.
At the bottom of the Trough, looking up. There were still plenty of people heading up. The wind had picked up considerably starting when I was on the summit, but it was still not nearly as strong as when I went up in 2004. Some people seemed unnerved by it, though.
Back on the ledges heading toward the Keyhole.
Getting closer.
Back to the Agnes Vaille Hut. I recall Mike and I huddling with other people inside this in the cold and wind of 2004, getting ready to brave going through the Keyhole.
I looked in this time, and there was just a big hunk of snow inside.
Heading down the Boulder Field, looking back up at the Keyhole.
The endless Boulder Field. I was having altitude sickness problems going down, surprisingly. I think the problem is that the Longs route stays above 12,000 feet for so long, and for me altitude sickness keeps building with time. I had a huge headache, and felt very weak going down, so I was quite slow.
Looking back up once more.
Finally on the trail again. I wasn't really thirsty but it seemed drinking water was a good idea, so I drank a few sips every 10 minutes or so--more and it seemed I might throw up. I think that helped, although descending was the main help. It was interesting that I could feel my headache getting slightly better as I went down, even though it still hurt a lot. I drank about 1.5 liters of water for the hike, and 0.5 liters somehow spilled out when one of the Nalgene lids came partly unscrewed (I wondered why my pants leg was so wet on the summit). I ate a little over half a sandwich plus some Japanese candy. I didn't lose any weight on the hike, so I probably wasn't dehydrated.
The trail is very flat so it takes forever to lose altitude, and that was a little frustrating.
Finally back to Mills Moraine.
Looking down into the valley.
One more look at Longs.
Nearing treeline. When I got into the trees I was finally low enough (about 10,600 feet) that I started really feeling better.
The last two times I did Longs I disliked the forest section with no views, and the hiking in the dark. For some reason I really liked both this time--even the last part in the forest when I was tired was fun.
Toward the end I felt better and had enough energy to jog down sections of the trail.
I got back at 1:30pm, so 9:20 to do the hike. A lot slower than I hoped, but the altitude really made it hard. I don't know if I'll ever really perform well at altitude, but at least I made it, and it was a fantastic hike nevertheless. My comment got cut out but I just wrote "perfect weather". Indeed storm clouds never formed all day. I should note there were a couple pages of people who had started after this page filled.
The trailhead visible.
The Keyhole route lived up to its reputation--certainly one of the best hikes I've done.
