Longs Peak Trip Report 10/29/2015

Peak(s):	Longs Peak - 14,259 feet "Southeast Longs" - 14,067 feet Mt. Meeker - 13,916 feet Mt. Lady Washington - 13,277 feet
Date Posted:	10/29/2015
Date Climbed:	10/18/2015
Author:	warg

Long's Peak - Grand Slam x2
It's been awhile since I put up a 14er trip report, seems like finishing them a second time deserves some extra attention! After I finished the 14ers the first time, I was fortunate enough to be along on the journey with my friends Walt and Bryce as they finished them up, and also with my sister Jenni as she finished up this year as well. (Go Sis!) All those extra trips have added up, leaving me looking at Longs Peak for a second finish in October, 2015. (Disclaimer: I did not climb Culebra a 2nd time. Paying for that mountain once makes me good for life, in my opinion!) It was about a 3:15am start with a great crew: myself (Wade), Walt, Brady and Caleb. The plan was for a Loft ascent with a Cables descent. We made good progress through a beautiful night. Had an amazing view of the stars and planets! At 6:45am we were a good way up the Loft route, somewhere near the waterfall, as the sun started coloring up the clouds in the sky. Some really amazing views! A much better sunrise photo with the ridge up to Meeker in the background. The Loft route had minimum snow on it, we had brought micro spikes but didn't use them at all. Minimum snow on the Loft route. Nearing the saddle, Caleb and I decided we were up for some extra punishment, so we headed over to Meeker and got some more fantastic photos in the morning light. Clouds were threatening, so Brady and Walt had headed on over to Longs. What a view of Caleb on Meeker in the morning light! I had done Meeker on my quest for the Centennial Peaks, but I had never done Southeast Longs, so the two of us picked that up as well on our journey to the top of Longs. The view of the wide slope up to SE Long's, with the official summit just beyond. Sure wish we had more rope with us - that would have been some kind of crazy rappel off of the North face of Southeast Longs! Alas, we had to go back down and around. Coming back up out of the gully we paralleled the Homestretch route to the top, dubbing our new route the Homeslice Route. Turns out Walt and Brady had been waiting over an hour and were glad to see us finally get there. Looking up the Homeslice route to Brady waiting up top. Pictures were taken and congratulations given before we got our harnesses on and headed for the Cables route!! Fortunately the weather was holding nicely for us. Congrats on the summit - what a great team! I knew the route to the first bolt stayed pretty close to the edge of the diamond, but we found out that it is really easy to overshoot that to the West, which means you have to retrace your steps to get back East of the cliffs on the North face. At any rate, we found the bolts and had a fun descent - but definitely a bit cold in the shade! With just one rope we got two rappels out of the deal. Let the fun begin!!! Walt coming down the Cables Route. We were sure rewarded with a truly incredible view of the East face of Longs Peak. Breathtaking! Walt and Brady had enough of the slow going by this time, so they headed through the boulder field to the standard route while Caleb and I tagged Mt Lady Washington and headed down the East ridge from there. We all met up at the junction for a final picture before heading down. SUCCESS!!!!!!!!!!!!! Here's a picture of our GPS track. Looks like it jumped around a bit on the Loft ascent, but other than that it's correct. We finished up around 3:45pm, with plenty of time for pizza in Boulder at Beau Jo's on the way home! What a great day with great friends and a second Grand Slam! Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Long's Peak - Grand Slam x2

It's been awhile since I put up a 14er trip report, seems like finishing them a second time deserves some extra attention! After I finished the 14ers the first time, I was fortunate enough to be along on the journey with my friends Walt and Bryce as they finished them up, and also with my sister Jenni as she finished up this year as well. (Go Sis!) All those extra trips have added up, leaving me looking at Longs Peak for a second finish in October, 2015. (Disclaimer: I did not climb Culebra a 2nd time. Paying for that mountain once makes me good for life, in my opinion!)

It was about a 3:15am start with a great crew: myself (Wade), Walt, Brady and Caleb. The plan was for a Loft ascent with a Cables descent. We made good progress through a beautiful night. Had an amazing view of the stars and planets! At 6:45am we were a good way up the Loft route, somewhere near the waterfall, as the sun started coloring up the clouds in the sky. Some really amazing views!

A much better sunrise photo with the ridge up to Meeker in the background.

The Loft route had minimum snow on it, we had brought micro spikes but didn't use them at all.

Nearing the saddle, Caleb and I decided we were up for some extra punishment, so we headed over to Meeker and got some more fantastic photos in the morning light. Clouds were threatening, so Brady and Walt had headed on over to Longs.

What a view of Caleb on Meeker in the morning light!

I had done Meeker on my quest for the Centennial Peaks, but I had never done Southeast Longs, so the two of us picked that up as well on our journey to the top of Longs.

The view of the wide slope up to SE Long's, with the official summit just beyond.

Sure wish we had more rope with us - that would have been some kind of crazy rappel off of the North face of Southeast Longs! Alas, we had to go back down and around. Coming back up out of the gully we paralleled the Homestretch route to the top, dubbing our new route the Homeslice Route. Turns out Walt and Brady had been waiting over an hour and were glad to see us finally get there.

Looking up the Homeslice route to Brady waiting up top.

Pictures were taken and congratulations given before we got our harnesses on and headed for the Cables route!! Fortunately the weather was holding nicely for us.

Congrats on the summit - what a great team!

I knew the route to the first bolt stayed pretty close to the edge of the diamond, but we found out that it is really easy to overshoot that to the West, which means you have to retrace your steps to get back East of the cliffs on the North face. At any rate, we found the bolts and had a fun descent - but definitely a bit cold in the shade! With just one rope we got two rappels out of the deal.

We were sure rewarded with a truly incredible view of the East face of Longs Peak. Breathtaking!

Walt and Brady had enough of the slow going by this time, so they headed through the boulder field to the standard route while Caleb and I tagged Mt Lady Washington and headed down the East ridge from there. We all met up at the junction for a final picture before heading down.

Here's a picture of our GPS track. Looks like it jumped around a bit on the Loft ascent, but other than that it's correct.

We finished up around 3:45pm, with plenty of time for pizza in Boulder at Beau Jo's on the way home! What a great day with great friends and a second Grand Slam!

Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Comments or Questions

Caleb Braun

Yeah!
11/3/2015 6:33am

That was an awesome trip! Congrats Wade!

Thanks for planning this amazing trip. It was awesome to get more mountains in than I expected

Caution: The information contained in this report may not be accurate and should not be the only resource used in preparation for your climb. Failure to have the necessary experience, physical conditioning, supplies or equipment can result in injury or death. 14ers.com and the author(s) of this report provide no warranties, either express or implied, that the information provided is accurate or reliable. By using the information provided, you agree to indemnify and hold harmless 14ers.com and the report author(s) with respect to any claims and demands against them, including any attorney fees and expenses. Please read the 14ers.com Safety and Disclaimer pages for more information.

Please respect private property: 14ers.com supports the rights of private landowners to determine how and by whom their land will be used. In Colorado, it is your responsibility to determine if land is private and to obtain the appropriate permission before entering the property.

14ers.com

Social

Mobile App