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Longs Peak Page 2
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Marisa at the Battle Mountain junction The trail continues ever higher toward the face of Longs Peak before branching off in two directions. If you continue straight ahead the trail will take you to Chasm Lake which sits directly below the steep carved face of Longs. Our interests lie on the other trail that branches off to the right and circumnavigates Mount Lady Washington while climbing along Mills Moraine. One thing that never ceased to amaze me was the lack of scale while in the Colorado mountains. What appears to be close is really far away. What appears to be short, is really a lot longer. Such was the case with hiking along Mills Moraine. Progress was measured by the altimeter more than anything else. We stopped for a short snack break at both the Battle Mountain and Granite Pass trail junctions. Above Granite Pass we grinded out the switchbacks leading up toward our destination for the night: the Boulderfield.
A park ranger guiding llamas down the mountain After about six and a half hours we reached the Boulderfield. We didn't set any records with that pace, but we took tons of pictures and video and really enjoyed the scenery and wildlife on our way up. The Boulderfield camp-sites are situated literally, in a boulderfield. Sand was packed in over the years and rock walls were erected around the sites to protect the visitors (read: victims) from the wind. The sites are not very large and we actually had difficulty getting our tent staked out well. In addition to the stakes I wound the tent guys around large rocks and placed additional rocks on top of the stakes. I had heard the wind could be fierce up here but I had no idea what we were in for!
We arrive at the Boulderfield! We quickly get the tent set up and as the sun starts setting and the temperatures drop we climb inside to cook dinner. We have definitely started to notice the altitude since climbing above Granite Pass. Even simple tasks like unpacking our packs or driving tent stakes seems to wind us. The Boulderfield sits at around 12,600 feet so altitude sickness was a real concern. Marisa had a bit of a headache and I had a slight case of nausea but my symptoms went away after eating. Marisa retained her headache pretty much the entire time we were on the mountain.
Cooking up some Chili Mac! After eating and filtering some water (very cold and tasted great!) we turned in for one of the more sleepless nights we've ever experienced. The wind was absolutely ferocious all night long. I even went as far as to warn Marisa that if the tent shredded in the middle of the night or the tent poles broke to make sure she found her headlamp so that we could round up enough equipment to get us off the mountain in the middle of the night. The tent rocked and buffeted and the fabric snapped back and forth with the sound of rifle shots. It was a miserable night by any measure. We awoke (I use that term loosely) early on Wednesday to a bright clear sky. The wind had abated slightly but the occasional gust would come by and almost knock Marisa off her feet. I was taking a picture of her halfway between our camp and the Keyhole and was knocked to my knees by a gust of wind! There were already several groups of people passing through the Boulderfield on the way toward the Keyhole when we set out from camp. The near term objective was to reach the Keyhole and assess the conditions for the rest of the climb at that point. The ranger station had posted a bulletin a few days earlier that the Keyhole route had gone "technical" for the rest of the season meaning crampons and ice axes would probably be needed for the ascent. I felt there was a little leeway in that assessment and we figured we'd take a look once we got to the Keyhole. The Keyhole is aptly named for two reasons. First, it is sort of shaped like a keyhole. Second, the view through the keyhole is simply breathtaking.
The Keyhole and Agnes Vaille memorial shelter When we later discussed what made us most nervous about this climb I remarked to Marisa that the Keyhole was the most intimidating part of the climb to me. Arriving at the Keyhole you are assaulted with huge gusts of wind coming from the other side and then once you peek your head up and look out the other side your mind sort of reels. I had a fluttery feeling in my stomach as I stood there braced against some rocks taking pictures and video. I couldn't wait to get out of there and onto the next part of the climb: the Ledges.
The view upon arrival at the Keyhole The next part of the climb after moving through the Keyhole is to step out onto what are called The Ledges. The Ledges are basically rock shelves that move laterally along the back side of Longs. They require a little scrambling and there is a bit of exposure to a fall if you aren't careful, but we had no problems as they were clear of snow and ice except in the deepest crevices.
Marisa shimmies up part of the Ledges
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At the end of the Ledges
we reached the most formidable part of the climb: the Trough. Mike
Donahue, who penned "The Longs Peak Experience" is the authority on Longs
Peak. He states that the Trough is "Longs Peak's last main effort in
trying to keep you from reaching the summit." The Trough is a long
couloir that is filled with boulders, rock debris and snow and ice.
During our climb, the snow and ice was a bit more pronounced than during
the regular season climb due to a snowstorm the week prior to our
arrival. This made picking our way up the Trough a slow and careful
experience. The Trough lived up to its reputation and by the time we
reached the top of the Trough both of us were almost ready to quit. It
was exhausting both mentally and physically.
The bottom of the Trough At the top of the Trough is a relatively large slab of rock that blocks further ascent unless you scale it. It is one of the cruxes of the climb in that it requires you to wedge yourself into a crack while using your other foot and hands to climb up it. It is probably the most technical part of the entire climb and Marisa did a great job getting up and over it. Once you finish this obstacle you are funneled out onto the next part of the climb: the Narrows. The Narrows is sort of similar to the Ledges, except the route is much more, well, narrow! Narrow enough to make some people extremely nervous. In addition to having less room to work with, the Narrows has a much more vertical drop off should you be careless in your climbing. And as a particularly morbid reminder, at the beginning of the Narrows a landmark known as "The Hearse" lies in the valley for your viewing pleasure.
The Hearse About halfway across the Narrows Marisa had finally had enough. She had conquered her fear of heights and was just physically and mentally not ready to continue the climb. In fact, she gritted out everything above the Keyhole for my sake, and for that I'm deeply grateful. With the summit just a couple hundred feet away she encouraged me to go for it. I had serious reservations about leaving her alone on the Ledges and twice started back but she was warm and comfortable in her spot and I knew that 5 or 6 people were ahead of me on the summit that could take her down if anything happened to me.
Marisa waiting on the Narrows I literally flew through the rest of the Narrows and reached the Homestretch. The Homestretch is a bit steeper than the Trough, but shorter and consisting of huge slabs of rock. The climbing was very easy but tough on the lungs. About halfway up the Homestretch I saw the people that had already made the summit working their way down. As I passed them I asked them if they would tell Marisa that I was almost at the summit as they made their way down. They said they would gladly do it and encouraged me by telling me I was only 1 minute from the summit! I scrambled the rest of the way and huffing and puffing emerged on the summit of Longs Peak! I quickly walked over to the summit marker, took a few pictures and some video but probably only spent about 3 or 4 minutes up there total. I actually wanted to get back down the Homestretch before the last of the other parties got off it. The feeling of being alone on top of that mountain was sort of ominous.
The summit!
Panorama from the summit I trotted back over to the Homestretch and quickly caught up to the descending parties before they had stepped off onto the Narrows.
Looking down the Homestretch (arrow pointing at two other people working their way down) Following the other group back onto the Narrows I was relieved to see Marisa still sitting where I had last seen her. She was happy that I had made the summit and I was happy that I was back with her. I didn't even really ever start to enjoy the fact that I had summited until well after we were off Longs Peak.
Marisa and the other climbers on the Narrows We worked our way back across the rest of the Narrows and down the large slab leading to the Trough. Getting down the Trough was just as difficult as getting up it with the snow and ice making the going extremely slow. We were bushed by the time we reached the bottom of the Trough and moved back onto the Ledges.
Marisa below the crux of the climb at the top of the Trough
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