Longs Peak

Marie and I left Colorado Springs very early in the morning. We stopped to get something to eat at McDonald's in Estes Park. We hit the trail head at about 7:30 a.m. (Little did we know that this was about 4 hours too late.) We took our time hiking to the summit. We took a few pictures along the way not feeling rushed to get to the top.The weather was wonderful as you can see in the picture (left). Marie likes to kid around as you see the "rabbit ears" over my head. We had been working together for 2 years and I was excited to find a co-worker interested in climbing fourteeners. We putted along and a nice talking pace and slowly the clouds started to build in the west. We hiked across the Boulderfield wondering how our chances were of making it to the top. We made it to the Keyhole and watched the lightening strike above and below us. We took a few pictures and decided that our chances of making it to the top were gone. Didn't have much room in the cabin (right) because it was full of snow. Disappointed, we started to hike back. When we got back down to the Boulderfield, it started to downpour. We were thankful that we got ran there and not further up the mountain in the Trough or Narrows. We trudged back through the constant rain and it stopped 1/2 hour before we got back to the car. We decided to take a few notes to help improve our chances of success next year. If you read the next story you will see I did eventually make it to the top.

We started this trip much later in the day. the four of us piled into my Dad's RV and drove north on our way to the trail head. we stopped for dinner in Castle Rock and had a leisurely trip. We got to the parking lot after dark and started to back the RV into a nice space. The ranger came out and told us we could not camp in the lot and we had to leave. We asked where we could park the next morning as to not cause traffic problems. He pointed out a spot and gave us directions to a spot off the road to camp until morning. It turns out that his spot was a church parking lot and we almost got kicked out of there. The church was calling the sheriff and telling them to move people from there spot. 10:30 p.m. we were awaken to the Sheriff and his flashlight. We explained that we would be leaving at 3:00 a.m. to get an early start up Long's. He said that we would be okay as long as the Church didn't call to complain. thank goodness we got to stay. We got up, dressed, ate and parked at the trailhead. We started our climb around 3:15a.m. but signed in as 27,28,29, and 30th climbers of the day. (We thought we were early!) the great experienced climber I was, I forgot my flashlight at the house. Duane and I hiked together with his helmet light and Marie and Mike hiked with their flashlights behind us. Mike had never climbed a fourteener before so I made sure to keep an eye on him. We stopped by a great waterfall but it was still dark. We took some group pictures here on the way back (right) and a panoramic shot (below). When we reached treeline it started to get light. It was great watching the sun rise from up in high elevation. The further we climbed, the more the clouds rolled in. Luckily the clouds had no moisture but it ruined many of our views (including from the top). We got to the Boulderfields and felt really good about the climb and felt that we would be successful. The Keyhole was very windy and Marie decided she wasn't going to go further. she decided to rest a while and then take off towards the trailhead knowing that we would catch up. Cautiously we started up the "painted egg route". Every so often there was a red circle with a yellow dot (or the other way around). I guess cairns don't survive too well along parts of the route up so paint is used. It takes away from some of the natural beauty, but at least it is a permanent reminder to how dangerous this climb can be if you get off route. "The Ledges" weren't too bad. Once we left the Keyhole the wind died down. Then the route turned left and up "the Trough". For 6 hundred feet we went straight up snow and wet rock. Mike started taking pictures and announced that his wife would freak if she saw what he was climbing. We got to the top and glanced down and what we had climbed. Because of all the clouds we couldn't see down the other side. Not knowing how far the drop was made the next part of the climb most entertaining! "The Narrows" are the most exposed ledges of the climb. I tried to stay in the middle of the ledge but Mike clung to the mountain the whole way. The Narrows exit on to the last couloir know as "the Homestretch". There are three couloirs to choose from. We chose the driest. We slowly climbed up the Homestretch (it was wet and we were getting tired). You can tell by the picture (left) that we didn't have much to look at. The day we played in the clouds (literally). We ate on top but knew that Marie was waiting for us below so we didn't stay too long. We headed back down the Homestretch but now there were many more people coming up. We chose a different couloir down to give the upward climbers the best route. the Narrows were more interesting with two-way traffic. Some of the lower clouds had blown away and we could see how exposed the Narrows really were. we went down the Trough even slower than we had climbed up. With so many climbers going up and down, speed causes loose rocks to fall and causes much unhappiness. We picked up the pace through the Boulderfields and caught up to Marie on the way down. We made it back to Colorado Springs for a late dinner. I realize that it is named for Stephen Long but I feel that at 6.9 miles and a full day of climbing, LONG is very appropriate for the name of this peak. I do recommend a 3:00 a.m. start time to safely complete this trip!

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