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Date: Aug 11, 2002
Elevation: 14,255'
Rank: 15th
Route: Keyhole, Grade II, Class 3, 15.0 miles, 5000ft vert.
GPS: N 40° 15.283' W 105° 36.916'
Team: Matt Esser (Toid) |
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Longs Pk Trip Report:
Pre-climb: A year ago almost to the day, my friend Gugals stopped by for a visit on his way back to college. We wanted to go for a hike, so I mentioned Chasm Lake. We went, and it was rough work, and it was cloudy the entire time, but we got there. We took a few snapshots and came home exhausted. Every so often on that trip, the clouds would part and I could see the summit of Longs. If I'm ever in Denver, driving back to my house in Boulder, I most certainly see it, and I so badly wanted it, but knew it would take not only everything I had, but a little luck in the weather. Well, this weekend looked good for climbing Longs, I had been preparing for it all summer, this was the time to do it. This was the time to rise up to the calling of "the monarch".
Climb: It was Saturday and I woke up kinda late (3pm) and I was fed up I kept wasting my weekends away. It was just over a month since I last did a 14er, and a few weeks since a serious mountain biking excursion. It was time for something. But what? I thought about Sherman, because it's easier than most, or maybe the ever-popular Democrat, Lincoln, Bross, which I still haven't done. That wouldn't do. I wanted something big. Something close (running out of gas money), Longs Peak was staring back at me in the guide book.
I didn't get much rest between when I decided I'd do it and when I actually left my house around 1:15am Sunday morning. But that meant I had plenty time to get everything together for this trip. I couldn't afford to forget anything. It's amazing how easily a forgotten boot can demoralize a trip. I double-checked everything, it was all there, I was good to go.
I hit the trail at about 2am, and there were already 11 people on the mountain before me in two hours! I simply cannot believe how many people climb Longs. The Perseid meteor shower was supposed to happen the next night, but I still counted 4 "falling stars"! Night climbing is surreal, you really can't see a world that's beyond the scope of your headlight. You can practically walk up on somebody (or the group of 7 that left before you!) and not even know they were there until your five feet from them! The views were excellent, I could see thunderstorms in the distance to the south, and some also to the north, but the sky above me was crystal clear. I was making good time, I was at Chasm Lake turnoff in 1hr 30 min, and then at the Keyhole in 3hrs. From here I stayed in the hut and watched the sunrise because I knew I couldn't make it up to the summit before the sun came up. I also took this chance to put on more layers of clothes because the wind on the other side of the Keyhole sounded like a freight train!
While in the hut, a few other guys joined me to take a snack, layer up and watch the sun before heading over the other side. I partnered up with them and did the rest of the route with them. The ledges weren't bad at all, the trough is the worst part I think. Because the narrows, while they do have steep dropoff's and the wind can practically lift you off your feet, aren't very long and it's flat. The homestretch wasn't too bad, but I can easily see how a little water or ice can make this a Slip-and-Slide at 14,200ft. As for the summit itself, you read trip reports about how flat it is and how big it is, but until you get there you just don't realize how Longs could have such a thing. You circle around the entire mountain, and it always looks like everything is pointed up!
By now the sun was out, it was 8am, and I put on my sunglasses and only spent 15 minutes on the summit. What a great accomplishment! There were only ten of us up there, and we wanted to get down before the wind picked up. Sure enough, just as we were crossing back through the narrows, the wind decided to start. I ran into a couple who were both in shorts that had just gotten past the crux of the climb -- the chockstone on the Trough -- but didn't want to go around the corner. Not to mention, the wind was making it near impossible for me to relay beta to the group that was queued up there. The couple in shorts decided to start heading back, the girls words were, "Honey, if I go around that corner, I'll freeze to death." She was much warmer as soon as we got back through the Keyhole and back in the sun.
The trip back down for me was interesting. You see all types of people on Longs. I think I saw three people puking, I saw people not adequately dressed, I saw people who just hiked in to Chasm Lake and of course I saw climbers heading for the Diamond. But what I think is so special, not only to Longs, but any long hike or climb are the people you get to know and how they change throughout the hike. As I was hiking under the stars, I would pass people, and the passphrase was "Have a good hike.", as I think I had three different groups tell me that. It's almost as if everybody on that mountain is there for that day, and going for different goals, but you all have the same spirit. Everybody climbs or hikes for a reason. Even if that reason is the "just because it's there" mentality. And whatever that reason is for climbing or hiking, that's what bonds everybody on the mountain. People change throughout the hike...some get stronger as the day wears on, and some begin to lose hope. One thing is for certain, nobody is the same person after coming back down on Longs, no matter if you made the summit or not.
Pictures: (Click on picture for caption)
Profile:
Time:
| Drive |
Ascent |
On Summit |
Descent |
Drive |
Total |
| 45 min |
6 h |
15 min |
5.75 h |
1 h |
12 h |
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