Longs Peak

Route: Loft Route
Posted On: 11/20/2018, By: bmcqueen
Info: Just a short hike to Chasm Lake today, but here are a couple of pics of the Loft (pic 1) as well as looking towards Granite Pass (pic 2). Packed snow up to treeline, then some drifts to Chasm Junction. The traverse over to Chasm Lake is filled in with snow (pic 3). Axe and traction recommended. 

Route: Keyhole Route
Posted On: 11/19/2018, By: peakHunter
Info: Saturday am: 3-5 inches of snow from TH up to water crossing just before breaking out of tree line. From here, snow accumulated up to about 2 feet at the junction of Chasm Lake and Boulder Field. We plowed a trail up to the boulder field postholing up to our hips most times. I would recommend snow shoes in the boulder field as many times we fell through and slammed into the rocks beneath. We spent the night at 12,800 ft with tons of wind which moved much more snow over to the east side, so... Sunday midday: Boulder field to treeline had anywhere from 2-4 feet of snow. We again plowed down to the watercrossing where it leveled out to about 6 inches-1 foot of snow the whole way, but was packed down at this point from morning hikers/snowshoeing. 

Route: Up Loft, Down Keyhole
Posted On: 10/22/2018, By: stuffedtiger23
Info: Trail up to Chasm Lake with well packed snow. Up to the loft, frequent stretches with knee high snow drift though not particularly consolidated in stretches. From saddle to Keplinger's with slick snow/rock patches and late morning/afternoon sun making ascent more difficult in soft snow. Summit to keyhole with frequent stretches of shin to knee deep snow, short stretches of the Trough possibly amenable to glissade but in late afternoon shade plenty of visible rock and pretty firm for anything sustained. 

Route: Loft Route
Posted On: 10/15/2018, By: musicalmountainlady
Info: Only intended to go to Chasm Lake. There's more snow up there than it looks with a few decent sized drifts. Traction was necessary for me, although plenty of people were sliding around without it. I wished I'd brought my boots rather than my trail runners with gaiters, but I made it up and down just fine anyways. 

Route: Keyhole Route
Posted On: 10/3/2018, By: dereferenced
Info: Keyhole route was mostly summer conditions yesterday, slightly wet with the afternoon rain, one avoidable patch of ice on the narrows. Some small snow patches on the north face.

Conditions will surely change by the weekend, with the new snow that's forecast. I'm mostly just posting this report to complain about trash on the mountain. I don't think your longs ascent counts, if you use bottled oxygen. But if you do use it, please don't leave the bottles on the ground. Someone also left 2 water bottles on the summit. I can only guess at the motivation -- "there's still some water in these, maybe someone else will be thirsty when they get up here?" Who buys smart water, anyways? 

Route: Keyhole Route
Posted On: 9/30/2018, By: SgtPepper
Info: High winds at the keyhole turned back the vast majority of hikers for the day which made for an empty mountain to summit. Several other ridge line crossings were focusing winds but nothing terrible. Some snow in the trough made for a more cautious ascent but traction devices weren't needed. Bring plenty of layers but still great conditions as long as the weather holds. 

Route: Keyhole Route
Posted On: 9/30/2018, By: hollyhammons
Info: Trough was holding enough snow and ice to make the route a little more challenging, but most of it was easily avoidable. No traction needed on Friday. 

Route: Loft Route
Posted On: 9/27/2018, By: grahampa
Info: There was an inch or two of powdery snow with a decent amount of ice on the ledges above 13,500. We summited after hitting meeker and there was no snow on the south side of the mountain below and up to the home stretch. We we're told the trough is holding a decent amount of snow due to how little light it receives, but many summited that day without traction. Still fall on Long's, plenty of good days left to climb before actual winter hits. 

Route: Keyhole Route
Posted On: 9/25/2018, By: mountainmanAJ
Info: Started from goblins forest at 4am under mostly clear skies with a light breeze. It was warm and a really nice hike up to tree line. Then it started to get windy, by the time we got to the boulderfield around 6:30 it was snowing and gusty. after that I'm guessing sustained 30mph winds with much, much higher gusts, for a good portion of the morning. Made it up to the keyhole before visibility got down to about 50ft. That was enough to turn us around. By the time we left the boulderfield it was blowing snow and ice. Est. 1in of snow on the ground at that point and lots of icy spots.

Be aware, winter has made it to Longs peak alpine terrain. 

Route: Keyhole Route
Posted On: 9/24/2018, By: chuckstriker
Info: Clear trail all the way to the summit. No snow or ice anywhere on the trail yet. 

Route: Keyhole Route
Posted On: 9/24/2018, By: ezabielski
Info: There is definitely enough flowing and accessible water in the Boulder Field very near the trail to fill a bottle without any trickery. No appreciable ice on the route. 

Route: Keyhole Route
Posted On: 9/24/2018, By: JonHandshake
Info: The peak was dry as a bone. No snow, no ice, no rain. Windy for a bit, but otherwise great.

It wasn't easy to find water near the Boulderfield, but if you are patient and search thoroughly, you can find 1 or 2 really good sources with flowing water. The water is shallow, and I was only able to fill up my 1L Nalgene about 3/4 each time. 

Route: Keyhole Route
Posted On: 9/23/2018, By: dashrsp
Info: Route was completely dry. The weather was great, but definitely the coldest I've experienced since June. The boulder creek is also very low/nonexistent. A pump/hose is required if you want to refill from the puddle. Otherwise, refill at the beginning of the basin or bring enough from TH. 

Route: Keyhole Route
Posted On: 9/22/2018, By: Beth Moyer
Info: Longs was in excellent condition!! No snow or ice anywhere to be seen. It was definitely a cold start at 3 am (especially for this Hawaii girl), but the sun was out the entire day and not a single cloud on the peak. There was some wind when crossing through the Keyhole and at the top of the Trough, but it was completely calm at the summit! Ideal conditions for this time of year and a first attempt of Longs! 

Route: Keyhole Route
Posted On: 9/21/2018, By: Johnson
Info: Route was dry the whole way just one small section of ice that was easily avoidable on the narrows.