Condition Update | Longs Peak

Peak:	Longs Peak
Route:	Cables
Range:	Front
Posted By:	the_hare
Date of Info:	2/10/2023
Date Posted:	2/12/2023

Condition Update
Got to just below the second pitch and had to bail. Packed trail up to where the upper basin opens up around 10,800ft. I cut up thru the exposed rock bands up the basin to Granite pass. Some old footprints up to Jim's grove but it looked pretty heavily drifted in the trees there. Trail is drifted in up the switchbacks and thru the boulderfield, kept on rock hopping up to Cables. Snow conditions around Cables were a mix of dense, hard snow and looser snow sinking in to about mid-boot. I brought an ice tool and heftier microspikes (Hillsong trail crampons) mainly bc I just wanted to see for myself how the route would be. The snow at the bottom of the dihedral on the first pitch was loosely drifted in and I couldn't get any purchase with my ice tool. I considered mantling the slab on the left side of the dihedral or going around it to the left but there aren't a ton of features for hands and snow collecting on the slabs made it feel sketchy. Around the right side of the feature, however, the snow had a nice secure styrofoam density which I could ascend just fine. There was even a little bergschrund between the snow and the rock that I could jam my hand in. Below the second pitch at the bat-shaped snowfield I found more dense styrofoam snow on the left side. After a few steps the snow got a little loose on the surface so that I couldn't get purchase with my spikes on my feet. I realized the hard snow made a sort of shelf up and around to a dihedral above so that I could place my ice tool in the dense shelf and my feet in the looser snow below. However the snow in this dihedral was also loosely drifted and I couldn't get placement with my ice tool here either. I considered going around the right side of this feature like I did on the first pitch but the snow was so loose that I worried my ice tool wouldn't be able to arrest a fall down the snowfield if I slipped. After looking up the second pitch from below I figured I probably would have preferred a rappel down it anyway so I bailed. Task failed successfully, gathered the recon I wanted for the route and had an incredible day out. Next time will def bring my second ice tool, crampons, and a 30m to get mostly down the second pitch. Wind was forecast on Mountain forecast for 10mph, felt a few gusts in the upper basin of abt 10-20mph and some more at the Chasm View area below cables. Couldn't have had better weather or better views of the Diamond!

Condition Update

Got to just below the second pitch and had to bail. Packed trail up to where the upper basin opens up around 10,800ft. I cut up thru the exposed rock bands up the basin to Granite pass. Some old footprints up to Jim's grove but it looked pretty heavily drifted in the trees there. Trail is drifted in up the switchbacks and thru the boulderfield, kept on rock hopping up to Cables.

Snow conditions around Cables were a mix of dense, hard snow and looser snow sinking in to about mid-boot. I brought an ice tool and heftier microspikes (Hillsong trail crampons) mainly bc I just wanted to see for myself how the route would be. The snow at the bottom of the dihedral on the first pitch was loosely drifted in and I couldn't get any purchase with my ice tool. I considered mantling the slab on the left side of the dihedral or going around it to the left but there aren't a ton of features for hands and snow collecting on the slabs made it feel sketchy. Around the right side of the feature, however, the snow had a nice secure styrofoam density which I could ascend just fine. There was even a little bergschrund between the snow and the rock that I could jam my hand in.

Below the second pitch at the bat-shaped snowfield I found more dense styrofoam snow on the left side. After a few steps the snow got a little loose on the surface so that I couldn't get purchase with my spikes on my feet. I realized the hard snow made a sort of shelf up and around to a dihedral above so that I could place my ice tool in the dense shelf and my feet in the looser snow below. However the snow in this dihedral was also loosely drifted and I couldn't get placement with my ice tool here either. I considered going around the right side of this feature like I did on the first pitch but the snow was so loose that I worried my ice tool wouldn't be able to arrest a fall down the snowfield if I slipped. After looking up the second pitch from below I figured I probably would have preferred a rappel down it anyway so I bailed.

Task failed successfully, gathered the recon I wanted for the route and had an incredible day out. Next time will def bring my second ice tool, crampons, and a 30m to get mostly down the second pitch. Wind was forecast on Mountain forecast for 10mph, felt a few gusts in the upper basin of abt 10-20mph and some more at the Chasm View area below cables. Couldn't have had better weather or better views of the Diamond!

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