Longs Peak

Route: Northwest Couloir
Posted On: 9/17/2019, By: Eagle Eye
Info: I had a Longs Peak kind of FULL DAY going up the Northwest Couloir, and down on the Keyhole Route yesterday. I set out early enough to be able to ascend the NW Couloir as Plan A, but also be able to return and ascend on the Keyhole Route as Plan B, if the NW conditions were too poor.
I'll just mention NW Couloir conditions -since I think the Keyhole is well-covered:

There was very little ice, mostly thin and in cracks -and only a little water coming down the NW Couloir. However, at the crux there is a thick ice flow that has formed coming out of the caves floor/entrance. Its big enough to be an obstruction to getting inside. Otherwise much of the gully just has a lot of loose rock, both scree and really big rocks. See attached pictures.

Also...there was a (Chinook style) double rotor civilian helicopter hovering around near Peacock Pool for a long time around roughly 9-10 am. I could hear it for a long time before I could see it...upon reaching the Keyhole Ridge.
Does anyone know what was going on? Happy Trails, ---mike via 

Route: Keyhole Route
Posted On: 9/16/2019, By: dj3colorado
Info: Great trail conditions, perfect weather, no wind. No snow or ice accumulation from previous storms, all burnt off. Parking lot was 70-80% capacity at 430am, but the Keyhole route was free and clear. 

Route: Kiener's route
Posted On: 9/16/2019, By: Tssmith11
Info: Couldn't find any super recent beta on lamb's slide/kiener's route up Longs but we went for it 9/15/19

After setting the alarm clock for 11pm, I drove to the trailhead and started hiking by 1am. Made it to the top of lamb's by hiking rock to the left (south), and made a protected traverse to reach the entrance of broadway by sunrise. Rock hard ice for a couple feet near the edges, but not too bad in the center. Protection is not necessary depending on comfort level. Micro spikes and ax recommended. A quick skip over to notch couloir and the true beginning of Kieners route found us wishing we had brought climbing shoes for what felt to be much harder than 5.3. However, after one pitch of that we ended up not needing a rope for the remainder of the ascent. Made it to the summit at 10am after 9 hours of work, waited in line to rap down cables for about an hour and scurried down back to the trailhead. Ended up being 13.5 hours total round trip, and was even able to make it home for a quick shower before a flight out of DIA at 730 pm (that was stressful). Such an awesome route and we had it all to ourselves! Highly recommended. 

Route: Loft Route
Posted On: 9/16/2019, By: gatorquest
Info: Some ice that you need to be careful on right before you get to the Loft (no traction needed - was able to avoid but it's a sketchy section already). Snowfield is avoidable - there's a ramp to the left of the snowfield that gives you the best path up. Once on the loft, we couldn't find the route to get over to the Keyhole route and to the summit (poor route planning on our end) and eventually had to turn back. Great route overall though! We left the TH at 4:30a and were in a line of people heading up until we turned off to take the Loft route. 

Route: Keyhole Route
Posted On: 9/15/2019, By: jchapell
Info: Great late summer conditions (though very uncomfortably windy) - any issues from earlier in the week has burned off. No ice to be seen on the ledges, a bit of ice/snow in the trough (VERY easy to avoid) with a bit of packed snow at the base of the trough chockstone, but doesn't really change the equation at all. A minimal amount of ice on the narrows that is very easy to avoid, but keep an eye out for it nonetheless, and nothing on the homestretch. FWIW, parking lot was full by 3:15 even though it's September. 

Route: Cables (North Face)
Posted On: 9/15/2019, By: KingOfStoke
Info: The trail is in excellent condition (as per usual.) Very little to no snow at all remains. There is a VERY minimal amount just below the lowest eye bolt, but nothing problematic, as the slabs are easily soloed and mostly dry.

Now for the fun part... the dihedral. In short: ice. Lots and lots of it. I was able to lead it thanks to the fact that I had brought a rack good enough to zip the thing up pretty tight, giving me more room to make some more interesting moves than I would normally be comfortable with. DON'T MAKE MY MISTAKE: BRING CRAMPONS AND AN ICE TOOL. I give this maybe 3 more weeks until it's in prime icy condition.

I believe the lines to the left of the Cables proper are in fairly decent condition, according to one guy I talked to who did just that (I didn't see for myself). Definitely recommend the usual slings along with a set of #5-10 nuts, and a standard set of cams if you're trying this without any ice tools or crampons. I should also warn, however, that as of now I would NOT say you could place any ice pro. The ice isn't quite thick enough to take a screw solidly, though that may change RAPIDLY based on the amount of thaw I saw going on.

Remember the most important thing: have fun and be safe! Full sends only! 

Route: Keyhole Route
Posted On: 9/10/2019, By: Nigel_Peppercock
Info: I probably met many of you other reporters where we all terminated at the top of the trough. Icy, wet conditions along ledges and especially up trough. Chockstone at the top of trough could have been managed, but unwise to do so. Another source confirmed that the homestretch was glazed in ice.

Will probably burn off over the next day or so, hopefully. 

Route: Keyhole Route
Posted On: 9/9/2019, By: Troyister
Info: Started at 4:30 in the morning and had a great hike to the boulder field. As we approached the Keyhole we could hear the wind like a freight train and see the cloud flying up over the ridge. I would agree with the previous report from today about the wind. Once through the Keyhole the wind was vicious but after 100 yards away from the keyhole became very manageable. The Ledges had some light snow and ice but very no issues with traction or hand holds. The Trough had more snow and ice but again not issues with traction and handholds just had to take your time, until we got to the very top. Then we had a section where you have to scramble up solid granite and it was coated with snow and ice and we decided to be done for the day 300 vertical feet from the summit. One other person with winter gear said they made the summit but the homestretch was completely coated with snow and ice. It was a very light coat and a few hours of sun would easily melt it away. The season is coming to a close soon it appears. Will have to try again to get Longs in the bag! Photo #1 Ledges, Photo #2 Lower Trough, Photo #3 Upper Trough 

Route: Keyhole Route
Posted On: 9/9/2019, By: chrisrikli
Info: The storm that rolled through around 1:30AM left a bit of snow on the west face as well as lots of moisture. I got to the Keyhole around 6:45AM and estimate the winds were around 30kts sustained with gusts to 40-45kts, estimate temps around freezing. I went about 20 yards past the Keyhole and a strong gust made me glad I had four good points of contact. The wind combined with the potential of ice and poor layer planning on my part led me to bail. I was in shorts and a tee and overheating below the treeline but past the Keyhole really needed robust wind layers / light winter gear. 

Route: Loft Route
Posted On: 9/8/2019, By: amkempf
Info: Loft up and Keyhole down. Very windy and cold conditions on the Loft today, but not as bad on the Keyhole once past the narrows. Both routes in great condition with no issues other than wet rock here and there to avoid. 

Route: Keyhole Route
Posted On: 9/1/2019, By: tcphoto87
Info: Started at 3am and got to the keyhole around 7:15. Summited around 9:45. No snow on the route but a couple ice patches in the Trough and snow below the trough. The Ledges (right after the keyhole) has a lot of real slippery rock which is super fun with a cliff right next to them. The final part of the trough was a little more difficult to get up and down . Narrows weren't too bad and Homestretch was a lot easier than pics made it looked. 

Route: Keyhole Route
Posted On: 8/29/2019, By: Burtonblend
Info: winds low for early morning of 28th and full sun all morning, trail conditions optimal great summit experience! 

Route: Keyhole Route
Posted On: 8/26/2019, By: xm0067
Info: Full summer as expected.

There is ample water in Boulder Brook in the Boulderfield for those that want a fill up, but it is a few hundred yards below the campsites.

The bathrooms don't have TP because they don't trek it up there, so be sure to bring your own. 

Route: Cables
Posted On: 8/26/2019, By: viejo
Info: Mostly dry. Minor snow drift to get to the start of the technical climb. Little bit of water dripping, but easily avoided so as to keep the shoes dry. Overall good summer conditions. 

Route: Kieners
Posted On: 8/19/2019, By: Nathan Hoobler
Info: Camped at Long Peak Campground on Saturday night. Shockingly, we found a spot around 7:45 pm the night before.

Left the car at 3:00 am Sunday. (Parking lot was already full. It's a zoo up there!)
Chasm Junction at 4:30.
Chasm Lake at 5:30.
Mills Glacier at 6:30.
Broadway at 8:00.
Notch Couloir at 9:30.
Top of technical pitches at 1:00 pm.
Summit at 2:00.
Top of Cables rappel at 3:40.
Boulderfield at 4:30.
Back to the car at 8:00 pm.

No snow encountered until Mills Glacier. Lambslide was pretty hard around 7:00 in the morning. We wouldn't have wanted to climb harder snow without pickets and pro.

Broadway was dry. The Step Across is easily protectable. One long rope-stretcher pitch was all we needed with the gear out.

The bottom of the Notch Coulior is dry and easy.

We did basically two technical pitches after that to get to Upper Kieners. First pitch up Kiener's chimney into a "room." Then scrambled up and right on easy ledges. Then a second roped pitch up 5.4-ish rock to grassy ledges. (This last pitch is harder to find and it seems like everyone does it a little differently.)

From there, Upper Kieners to the summit was completely dry. North Face had a bit of snow and water to navigate, but it was mostly straightforward. Only tricky part is finding the rap anchors. (We used the second eye bolt from the top.)

The new (to us) bathrooms at Chasm Junction and Boulderfield are pretty great. (Yes, so great they are worthy of a condition update. Just remember to bring your own toilet paper.)

We had perfect weather. We were able to cut 5 hours off our previous Kieners time but it still took us 17 hours. Fantastic mountain and route!