LONGS PEAK
14,255 ft.
August 17, 2000
By Tim Briese
I drove to Estes Park the afternoon before the climb, skirting around the east side of Denver to avoid traffic. I met my friend Brian around 6 p.m. at the motel where we were to stay, a very nice older lodging that was well kept up. We had dinner at a nearby restaurant on that rainy evening, and sat around discussing mountain climbing and other things for quite a while.
I had been looking forward to this climb of Longs for two reasons. First of all, I wanted to accompany Brian, my good friend with whom I had shared many climbing adventures, on the accomplishment of his 54th and final new 14er. Secondly, Longs had been my first 14er climb, some 21 years before, and I had been awaiting an opportunity to climb it once again, as a sort of personal homecoming.
The weather was worrisome, though, for we were in the middle of a rainy monsoonal pattern. It was a rainy night, and the next day promised more of the same. We resolved to get a very early start in the morning to give ourselves the best chance for a successful climb before the afternoon thunderstorms arrived. The greatest key to successful mountain climbs is an early start, and more so on Longs Peak than on most other 14ers because of the long hike required. The 15 mile hike would probably take us 12 hours or so to complete.
Longs Peak lies within Rocky Mountain National Park, and is the only 14er in Colorado within a national park. This raises a few considerations for climbers not found on most other peaks. For one thing, no dogs are allowed, to the dismay of some. For another thing, backpacking opportunities are quite limited. The few campsites along the route must be reserved months in advance. This means that Longs must generally be climbed on a long dayhike, thus necessitating an especially early start.
We rose at 2:15 a.m., the earliest I could ever remember rising, and drove to the trailhead. At some point rising early merges into the reality of not going to bed at all, and this was getting close to that. The sky was overcast, but I could glimpse Longs in the moonlight from a point along the road, so at least the summit wasn’t shrouded in the clouds yet. We hit the trail at about 2:45 a.m., and discovered at the trailhead register that there were already about 20 climbers ahead of us, the first of whom had started at 1 a.m.! My right knee was sore as we began the hike, which was a cause for concern, but it got better within a couple of hours and was fine the rest of the day.
We hiked along in the dark with flashlights for the next three hours, passing a few other hikers along the trail. When we got above timberline we could see lights of Front Range cities sparkling below on the plains stretching off to the east. On slopes above we could glimpse flashlights of other climbers glimmering here and there. At times we came upon dark shapes along the trail that turned out to be other hikers taking breaks. We stopped once for Brian to change batteries in his flashlight. A few hikers didn’t use flashlights at all, but hiked along by the faint light of the moon.
We found our way past a few trail junctions and saw the first trace of dawn appear in the eastern sky shortly before we got to the Boulderfield. At 5:20 we made a stop for food and water, and I put my second jacket on for warmth. These measures gave me a newfound feeling of energy to press forward. The air was cool and damp, and wispy clouds were drifting around the peaks above, ominous signs of potentially stormy weather later on. Our early start was a very good idea, I thought as we hiked along.
We hopped across boulders for a half mile or so in the Boulderfield, went past some backpacker’s tents, and arrived at the Keyhole at 6:50. The Keyhole is quite a remarkable place. It is a gap in a ridge that affords hikers a passage from the north around to the west side of the mountain. There is an impressive 20 foot overhanging rock here that hikers may warily eye, wondering if this might be the day when it comes crashing down. There is also a 75 year old stone shelter erected here to protect hikers from the elements.
After a short break we continued on ledges around the west face of the mountain, following unmistakable red and yellow bullseyes painted on the rocks marking the trail. This was the only mountain trail I could remember marked this way. I was surprised that the National Park Service would allow rocks to be defaced in this manner, but I supposed that it was deemed necessary for the safety of the throngs who climb this mountain, to keep people from wandering off the trail onto dangerous terrain. We admired smooth, steep granite slopes below, concluding that this would be a nasty place for a slip and fall.
Soon we reached the base of the Trough and made a 600 foot grind up on surprisingly solid footing on gravel and broken rock, in the company of a dozen or so other climbers. We paused to rest occasionally, admiring the view below into Glacier Gorge, which was partially filled with low clouds.
At the top of the Trough we came to a large chokestone, about 15 feet in diameter, that is described in the guidebooks as the most difficult obstacle on the entire route. We climbed around it with a tricky move past its left side, at the suggestion of a climber sitting on its top, even though my climber’s eye told me that it would be easier to bypass on the right. I concluded that we had indeed done it the hard way when I observed another climber behind us scamper up the right side, and ruefully reminded myself that I needed to trust my own judgment rather than that of a stranger. At any rate, this crux move seemed relatively easy compared to other climbing I had done on more difficult peaks this summer.
After this we worked our way along the Narrows, a thin ledge with considerable exposure and a fabulous view into the valley far below. This place was fun and exciting on dry rock, but it could be dangerous when wet or icy. We scrambled up over more rocks and reached the base of the Homestretch, a remarkable slope of smooth rocks with vertical cracks which extended up the last 300 feet or so to the summit. We could almost walk up this steep, smooth rock without using our hands, if only we had trusted the grip of our hiking boots a little more. The granite here, as elsewhere, seemed polished and a little slippery from the tens of thousands of feet it had seen over the years. This, too, would be a difficult place to climb when it was wet or icy.
Just below the summit Brian took over the lead as we approached the summit of his 54th 14er. This was an exciting moment for me, as I’m sure it was for him, as we crawled up the last few feet and stepped onto the summit of Longs. I gave him a hug and congratulated him on this exuberant moment of triumph, the culmination of several years of difficult effort.
We arrived on the summit at 8:20, and took the customary summit photos, signed the log book, and sat down to eat. I wasn’t sure whether this was breakfast or lunch, since we had already been hiking for nearly six hours.
The summit was broad and flat, perhaps 100 yards across, and guarded by cliffs dropping away on every side, except where we had come up. We peered over the spectacular east face to Chasm Lake far below, and admired Mt. Meeker (13,911') off to the southeast. It was 38 degrees with a light breeze blowing, with some clouds drifting across the summit now and then. In spite of the clouds we had reasonably good views off into the distance. There were about 20 people milling about on the summit while we were there.
We began our descent around 9 a.m. and immediately encountered about a dozen people coming up the Homestretch. I found it necessary to use my hands quite a bit going back down on the smooth rock. We descended quickly past the chokestone on its easier side, finding nice footholds in the rock. We encountered several more climbers coming up the Trough as we rapidly descended it.
At the Keyhole we found a nice spot to sit on the rocks and gaze out over the Boulderfield as we rested. The sun broke out through some blue patches of sky and we shed our coats for the first time. After a few minutes of basking in the warm sun we hopped back across the boulders and hiked on down the trail, turning back to take a couple of nice photos of the peak. The weather was holding up surprisingly well, although the afternoon was yet to arrive. We met a few more parties headed up the trail. It seemed to us that these climbers had made a rather late start if they were bound for the summit of Longs. The upper slopes would be a poor place to be if an afternoon thunderstorm moved in. Further down the trail we met a party on horseback riding up the trail to Chasm Lake.
Down the trail below in the woods we met and chatted with an older couple coming up. They were scouting the trail for the man’s attempt to climb Longs the following day, his first 14er attempt. They were quite impressed when I told them that this had been Brian’s 54th 14er. After we left them Brian and I discussed why this gentleman would choose such a challenging peak for his first 14er, and we agreed that he was another among the countless visitors here who, like ourselves, was captivated by the charm of Longs Peak.
It began to sprinkle as we came down the last mile of the trail. We staggered back to the trailhead at 1:50 p.m., concluding the grueling eleven hour hike. The day’s first rumble of thunder reverberated through the air as we walked up to our cars.
It had been a great time hiking with Brian as usual, and a special honor to join him on his final new 14er. We exchanged goodbyes, and drove out of the parking lot.
A few minutes later as I drove through Estes Park I saw a black raincloud bearing down on the town from the west, and I was chased by big thunderstorms all the way home to Colorado Springs. If we had been on the trail an hour or two later we would likely have gotten drenched.
It is easy to see why thousands are attracted to climb Longs Peak every year. In spite of a very long trail and the difficulty involved in the climb, it is a magnificent mountain in a spectacular setting. Towering above the Front Range and admired by millions, it has a mystique and charm that carries a strong attraction. The Keyhole route that we took has its own special charm. With captivating features like the Boulderfield, Keyhole, Trough, and Homestretch, it is a fun and exciting hike. It is a grand challenge to amateur and experienced climbers alike.
Climbing Longs Peak was a homecoming of sorts for me. I had climbed the mountain 21 years earlier, after my interest was piqued by a college professor who had climbed it. I don’t remember much about that climb, except for a few notable features like the Boulderfield, the Keyhole, and clouds and ledges. I was young and inexperienced, and didn’t know what I was doing back then. In some sense I wonder if I have really grown that much more aware, and if I understand what I am doing even now. Time and awareness moves on, and we change and grow older, but these mountains hardly change at all, at least within the span of human lifetimes.
