Longs Peak

Route: Keyhole Route
Posted On: 2023-05-31, By: justiner
Info: Trail is a mess of mash potatoes. Keyhole is very much under snow. Not much of a bootpack for Ledges (don't get lost), ok one for Trough (or make your own!), and good one for Narrows. Homestretch is very firm snow with little rock poking through. 

Route: Keyhole Route
Posted On: 2023-05-30, By: daway8
Info: Didn't summit but got close. No snow for first half mile then intermittent well packed snow up to treeline. After that continues to be a lot of dry ground with patches of snow here and there. Boulderfield filled in between rocks but the tops of most of them bare. Booted to Keyhole without issue in early morning. But after that crampons/ice axe pretty much essential. Ledges almost totally covered in steep snowfields of very firm snow - real pain to cross. Some spots had significant ice fields just below the surface which added challenge. The Trough was very well consolidated and fairly well filled in but just enough exposed rocks to make glissading challenging at times. The Narrows reportedly tend to be windswept or melted dry based on what I've heard - but not this year. The Narrows were basically as filled in as the Ledges. My strap-on crampons on regular boots are great for easy slopes but worthless for front-pointing or kick stepping. Someone had kicked steps across the Narrows on a previous day but in some sections they barely dented the snow. I didn't trust my strap-ons to get me across that so reluctantly turned back. Used my snowshoes from Keyhole to far side of the Boulderfield but could have just as easily rock hopped and saved on weight. No flotation or traction needed from there down since trail is heavily traveled. Cables route looks like it might possibly be filled in all the way with snow, for the moment - likely won't last long. 

Route: Keplinger's Couloir
Posted On: 2023-05-20, By: Christensenje
Info: Its very in. Switched to skins 3 miles in. 

Route: Keplinger's Couloir
Posted On: 2023-05-06, By: aksean22
Info: Climbed via the Loft and skied off the summit down Keplinger's and out Wild Basin with a shuttle car. Snow starts right out of the parking lot, with one long dry patch around treeline. The Loft was in good condition for booting. I think we got a bit off route traversing around the other side into Keplingers and definitely lost some time and more elevation then needed. Once we were in the couloir it was a straightforward booter to the summit. Homestretch is in great shape for skiing, very filled in. A lot of runnel in the middle of the couloir but it was mostly avoidable to skiers right. Continuous snow most of the way out Wild Basin, completely dry the last 1.5 miles. We never needed to put skins back on but be prepared for a lot of pushing yourself. Ended up being about 5600' and 16.5 miles. Very fun line! 

Route: NW Gully
Posted On: 2023-04-30, By: justiner
Info: Full Value today. Snow was incredibly deep. Good consolidation down low, but higher up, much more sugary and not able to hold my weight in many places. Made for exciting traverses on the ledges to climber's right. This proved problematic at the money pitch, as the base of the technical pitch was choked full of that snow. I had to compress the snow as best as I could with my whole body, before committing to using it to gain any upward progress. Clever chimneying and prayers/insults helped as well. I wasn't about to turn back there. The business above and right below the tunnel has been cleaned of snow so you can see the holds - you're welcome. I believed I yelled out (to know one): "FOR KING AND COUNTRY!" before commiting to stepping up and grabbing the holds above the piton (which also is stubbornly still there). Tunnel itself continues to have bulges of rocks that are essential to hitting one's head on (it seems). Snow above was again pretty sugary and unconsolidated, so as below, you may want to prefer the rock pitches and flex your creativity. This is a great route - really. A lot more straightforward when dry, but maybe a little more classic socked in with this much snow. I stick to the ledges to climber's right for most of the climb, which have a surprising amount of exposure. A good warmup for Kieners, without needing to slog up Lambslide/traverse Broadway. 

Route: Keyhole Route
Posted On: 2023-04-30, By: justiner
Info: Completely snowed in! I haven't personally seen this much snow on Keyhole in a long, long time. Snow was relatively stable, albeit not yet styrofoam. Snowshoes very much appreciated in the Boulderfield. Lightning Bridge had running water (last dependable water source). 

Route: Cables
Posted On: 2023-03-25, By: Svobatron
Info: Snow, snow, snow! No discernable trail from TH to boulderfield. Was a snowshoe slog then entire way. Cables route was covered in snow so I turned back from the stone bathrooms in the boulder field. A shame cause the weather held all day, it was beautiful. 

Route: Keplinger's Couloir
Posted On: 2023-03-20, By: justiner
Info: Trail starts off dry with bits of nasty ice, then evolves into quite a impressive amount of snowpack. Snowshoes aren't needed to Sandbeach Lake, but you may appreciate them to smooth out the boot packing. The trail is as long as ever. No real trench dug to the Couloir, but snow coverage made it easy to get into. Skiing to the base of the couloir would probably be heavenly. Snow conditions on Clark's Arrow to Homestretch seemed pretty stable - those mini bowls and traverse always give me the willies though. Homestretch is mostly dry, with snow dolloped here and there. Crampons highly suggested. Not full coverage of the Couloir, so skiing down would be a little frustrating in a few places - Did enjoy some of the longest glissades of my life, where I could find it! 

Route: Keyhole Route
Posted On: 2023-03-18, By: astranko
Info: Probably too late for this to be useful for Sunday but: No snowshoes needed. Easy to get lost in the alpine garden in the dark in the morning. A decent number of people started in the 4am range. We saw bobbing headlamps way off line and then never saw them again, even from a distance. The trail for Granite Pass is moderately deep snow and poorly trenched. We went lower on some flatter snow and mixed talus. There is now a boot pack on the keyhole route. The snow was of middling quality. Sometimes very loose and poorly consolidated, sometimes nice, sometimes knife hard. Did everything from the keyhole to the summit and back in microspikes. Probably could have used crampons on the trough and homestretch, but I didn't feel like putting them on. Very stable snow. No signs of instibility. Brutally cold day. It was below 0 until ~11am. 

Route: North Face
Posted On: 2023-03-18, By: Wimyers
Info: Writing this quickly in case anyone attempting this route tomorrow needs beta. Theres a dense wind slab from the boulder field to the cables pitch. This slab makes for nice climbing and didnt show any signs of reactivity, though we did stick to the rock rib at the edge and travel one at a time through this section because it made us nervous. The cables pitch is in really nice condition, easier than in summer. We set a belay at the first eyelet and I led the pitch placing one cam and slinging one eyelet. 30m of rope was perfect to get to the topmost eyelet. From here, there are two sets of tracks: one traversing to the left (East) and the other leading up and right. If you follow my tracks, go LEFT. Left is mostly exposed rock and is very easy. I made a really bad judgment here on the way up and went right through wind-loaded snow because thats the route I take in the summer and the snowpack below was decent. However, about halfway up the snowpack became very reactive (shooting cracks around me) and forced me onto a sketchy 5th class slab that was tough in mountaineering boots with crampons, and occasionally would force me back onto the reactive slab. From the summit, I went down the exposed rock steps that run along the diamond, which is the more commonly traveled route anyway, and it was super mellow. Oops. We did 3 30-meter rappels; one from the first eyelet, one from the last eyelet, and one from a slung horn to rap the steep snow slab. Interesting aside, at the first rap my wifes locker froze shut, trapping her nylon rappel extension to the eyelet. We tried for like half an hour to melt the ice to no avail. Since I didnt bring my rope knife, I ran a dyneema runner back and forth along the nylon sling until it melted through! Took about one minute. Other details: it was brutally cold this morning but nice by afternoon with no wind, and I brought snowshoes but did not need them because the snow on the trail was supportive enough without them. 

Route: Cables
Posted On: 2023-02-12, By: the_hare
Info: 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! 

Route: The Trough
Posted On: 2023-02-03, By: Veory
Info: Didn't summit, made it most of the way up the trough from glacier gorge though. Spent a lot of energy trailblazing to Black lake, now there is a trench as a couple people were up there today. Snow in the trough was pretty inconsistent, mostly sinking to below my knees but sometimes perfect cramponing. No signs of snow instability or avalanches on similar slopes but make sure to do your research and investigate yourself. Beautiful day, was neat being the only person on longs as far as I could tell. 

Route: Wild Basin
Posted On: 2022-11-26, By: timewarp01
Info: Did not climb Longs today, but got a great view of Keplinger's and the Homestretch from Mt. Orton this morning. Unfortunately did not get a view of the Trough or Keyhole as we turned around before summiting Chief's Head. The Sandbeach Lake trail has a great trench the whole way, but progress beyond that is 1-2 feet of unconsolidated powder below treeline. Very slow going even with snowshoes. 

Route: Keyhole Route
Posted On: 2022-11-02, By: aolsen356
Info: Snow and ice on the ground. About 6 to 12 inches of snow across the boulder field, ledges and trough. The move at the top of the trough was covered in ice. The narrows had 6 to 12 inches of snow. The homestretch had ice and snow in-between the rock slabs, making it slick and more difficult to find holds; use extreme caution on the homestretch. Do not ascend the homestretch without the right equipment. 

Route: Keyhole Route
Posted On: 2022-10-20, By: L_Macalister
Info: Keyhole route was dry until the upper half of the Trough where traction was helpful. Narrows and Homestretch were completely dry. 

Route: Up via Loft Route and down via Keyhole
Posted On: 2022-10-15, By: blonde_dinosaur
Info: Went up the Loft and down the Keyhole. Loft has little snow, mostly small patches that can be avoided, and only starts in the Loft couloir. Pay careful attention to find the exit ramp out of the Loft couloir. I wore spikes on the exit ramp as that still had some snow, but my climbing partner did not. It is super easy to add Mt. Meeker to this route (which we did) if you are interested. The point to descend into Keplinger is not super obvious. As someone noted a few updates ago, if you don't think you are in the right place, you are probably too high (which we were!). Keyhole route still has snow in the trough and a very little bit in the narrows. Homestretch is totally dry. I wore spikes in the trough and was glad I did, but it's up to your comfort level. Poles might be helpful here too. I brought an ice axe with me and never used it. 

Route: Keyhole Route
Posted On: 2022-10-08, By: shilling220
Info: Ice and snow after the keyhole. About 1-3 inches, but it snowed more on our way down. Micro spikes are recommended. 

Route: Keyhole Route
Posted On: 2022-10-03, By: winter_wisher
Info: Thin ice and snow covers much of the route. Snow was about 1" from Boulderfield onward; in the Trough, snow was 2"-5" depending on drift. Conveniently, most of the bullseye marks were still visible. Traction (e.g. microspikes) is a must. Not enough coverage to warrant snowshoes or an ice axe. Homestretch was very risky, particularly on the descent - many hand-/foot-hold options are packed with snow and ice, making route-finding difficult and critical. 

Route: Radical Slam
Posted On: 2022-09-27, By: jahselassie
Info: Got after the Radical. Ice in various places but overall the entire route was fine. I've been up the Loft 3 times and every time struggle finding the correct entrance. Clarks Arrow is faint! The bushwhack to storm pass wasn't as bad as I was expecting. 

Route: Keyhole Route
Posted On: 2022-09-25, By: andrew85
Info: Went up the Keyhole, got Longs and Meeker, and went down the Loft. The Keyhole is basically 100% clean. There was one area in the ledges and one in the narrows that had ice, but both were easily passable. The Loft on the other hand had many icy spots in the couloir, but the remaining route was clean but for avoidable ice in Keplinger's Couloir.