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Longs Peak holds many titles. It's the highest peak in Boulder County and Rocky Mountain National Park. It is also the northernmost 14er in Colorado and the Rocky Mountains. Longs Peak was first climbed by John Wesley Powell in 1868 while exploring the stream system that fed the Colorado River. Most ascents of Longs Peak begin at the Longs Peak Trailhead located 9.2 miles south of Estes Park on Highway 7.
August 24, 2002
Ever since I've moved to Colorado about a year ago I gaze upon Longs Peak everyday. I see it from my balcony, on my drive to work, and when I'm jogging the streets I use it for extra motivation to go another mile. After hiking 20 14ers so far this summer it was finally time to give Longs a shot.
The alarm sounded at 12:30 a.m. which was a relief that I didn't have to lay awake in bed any longer. I was up and out the door quickly and met Wylie in Lyons at 1 a.m. It was a short drive up to the trailhead and we arrived there about 1:45 a.m. We thought we would be ahead of the crowds, yah right. The parking lot was almost completely filled already. Wylie and I got our packs ready and Eva and the rest of the gang arrived right on time at 2 a.m. We began hiking a little before 2:30 a.m. under the light of a full moon. We hiked through the forest only using our headlamps in several sections where the trees blocked the moonlight. After about an hour or so we reached timberline and could see a trail of headlamps heading up the slopes.
The trail remained at a steady grade, not too steep and came to a fork in the trail at mile 3.5. The left fork headed to Chasm Lake and the Keyhole route heads right and begins to skirt Mt. Lady Washington. At mile 6 we finally reached the boulder field as the sky was beginning to lighten. We got our first views of the Diamond Face and it was absolutely incredible in the early morning sun. I hadn't seen a rock face of equal except for in Yosemite.
We took a small break and I had to check out the solar toilets. Quite a strange experience for guys since your head pokes out above the walls and you watch everybody watching you. We took off through the boulders heading up to the keyhole shown in the photo below.
As we approached the Keyhole the sky really lighten up and the wind began to pick up. Can you see the stone shelter in the photo below? It's under the left rock of the Keyhole.
We gained the Keyhole about 7:30 a.m. and took a break to let the rest of the group catch up. Once at the Keyhole you get a view of Glacier Gorge and the westside of Longs Peak. The views of Glacier Gorge are quite amazing and we could see some of the route ahead. Michelle wasn't feeling too well and was unsure about proceeding so we headed up without her. From the keyhole you follow the yellow and red circles painted on the rocks across the ledges to the trough.
The trough climbs steadily for 550 vertical feet topping out at 13,850 feet. This section of the climb will test your legs and our group began to slow down at this point. The photo below is from the base of the trough.
I arrived on the top of the trough and sat down on the ridge to wait for the rest of the group. The photo below is looking back down the trough, this is a popular hike if you couldn't tell. Most guidebooks note a tricky chockstone towards the top of the trough that could be the hardest move on the route. The chockstone can be passed on the right or the left and I actually climbed up a rock ledge to the right that I thought was easier than either way around the stone.
The last member of the gang arrived on top of the trough after about 20 minutes and it was time to proceed across the narrows. The photo below shows the rock ledges that make up the narrows.
I had heard and read many people's account of the narrows and I thought the exposure was very managable. You would have to be very clumsy to fall off the ledge but this part would not be too fun it bad weather. Once across the narrows we got a glimpse of the hoards of people making their way up the homestretch shown in the photo below.
The summit is gained by following a system of cracks up the homestretch on very solid rock. This is the only section of the route with some extended class 3 climbing. Very straightforward when dry but would not be fun at all in wet conditions.
We arrived on the summit around 9:30 a.m. and had some nice views in all directions. Estes Park could be seen to the northeast, Pikes Peak and the Front Range could be seen to the south, and the peaks of Rocky Mountain National Park could be seen to the northwest. We took turns signing the summit register and taking pictures. Below is the view to the east from the summit.
We stayed on the summit for about an hour eating and taking in the vistas that spread out in all directions. The summit is very flat and quite large as shown in the photo below.
We were ready to descend but decided to get a group photo before we left. Below from left to right is Mike, Eva, Dan, myself, Hui, Wylie, and Janine.
As we began to descend the homestretch there was Michelle 20 feet from the summit. What an amazing display of courage and determination. We descended the homestretch very carefully and ran into several traffic jams proceeding back across the narrows.
It was back down the trough and across the ledges to the Keyhole again. We arrived back at the Keyhole around noon and sat down to wait for Eva and Michelle to return. We huddled in the stone shelter to get out of the wind and take a break. Eva made it back to the Keyhole after about .5 hour but Michelle was still on her way down. Wylie, Eva and I decided to descend and Mike, Dan, and Janine would wait at the Keyhole for Michelle. It was back down the boulder field and around Mount Lady Washington. Eva and I stopped to rest at the Chasm Lake junction which is the spot of the photo below. The Diamond Face can be seen behind me.
It was a long trudge back to the trailhead and the long day was starting to take a toll on our feet. We eventually got back down to treeline and arrived back at the trailhead around 3 p.m. Wore out but completely exhilarated with the climb. Wylie and I stopped in Estes Park for some food and some well deserved beers. Despite it's popularity, this was a really fun hike and I could only imagine what it was like for John Wesley Powell almost 150 years ago.
For my Longs Peak trip report from 2003 in snowy conditions, Click Here
