Longs Peak Trip Report 06/16/2013

Report Type	Full
Peak(s)	Longs Peak - 14,259 feet
Date Posted	06/16/2013
Modified	06/27/2013
Date Climbed	06/16/2013
Author	IronSkiMountaineer

Long's Kiener's Attempt
My friend and I decided to attempt the Kiener's Route on Long's because we wanted a challenging mountaineering route before he deployed. He's one of my best friends from college and this was going to be our one trip this summer. We got the to the trailhead and checked in. Paid our $20 "processing" fee for our free permit (thanks, NPS) and headed up the trail. I'm not sure exactly when we started but it was probably around 3 or 4. The trail was pretty easy and once we got above treeline the views were incredible. My buddy and I are both avid photographers so we stopped a lot below treeline to shoot the streams as well as once we broke above the trees. Getting above treeline you start to move in the direction of Long's and this is where I got my first glimpse of the Diamond. What a sight! Along the way there is a trail that branches off to Battle Mountain. Right by this split there is a lovely creek that runs through and we both stopped to shoot the creek with Long's in the background. We kept cruising along and got to the point where the Keyhole route breaks off to the right. We pushed on toward Chasm Lake and the view looking down into this valley was absolutely incredible. I don't have a good picture to post but it was so gorgeous. With all of the melting snow there were a ton of great waterfalls flowing all over the place. We pushed on toward Chasm Lake and got there a little before sunset. We were really hungry so we stopped to eat dinner there and were treated to an amazing sunset!! After getting some great sunset shots, we pushed on through the boulder field around the lake. We busted out headlamps about 3/4 the way around the lake as it was pretty dark at this point. The boulder field really wasn't too bad as most of them were really solid so you could pretty much take any line you wanted. After dark we found a flat patch of grass to lay out our sleeping bags and settle in. We fashioned a little pole from a big rock where we hung our food for the night. We got treated to a pretty cool show after dark as massive storms flared up over Boulder and the plains. It was clear above us and you could see stars over the thunderheads but the lightning was pretty intense and kept lighting up the diamond for hours. Very cool! Eventually the clouds cleared out and the Milky Way made it's way across the sky and right over the Diamond. I didn't sleep much because I was just staring up at the skies most of the night. Such a sight!! We got up in the morning and moved up the trail just a bit to a stream to boil and filter some water. We cooked some breakfast and got moving around 6:30 after re-rigging our food bag and leaving behind some of our sleeping stuff. We got started up the Lamb's Slide which started out firm but ended up being surprisingly soft for how steep it was (not that it was super steep, just soft). We weren't positive as to where the entrance was to Broadway and ended up going slightly above it. Eventually we traversed across the slope and got started. After a little break, we decided to rope up right away as there was still a decent amount of snow up there and neither of us were comfortable with the exposure. The good thing on Broadway is that there is adequate protection most of the way. There was one stretch where we ran the rope all the way out without placing any pro but luckily this was a much easier portion of the ledge. Throughout this time, we noticed that clouds were building to the north of us. Just as we got to the entrance to the Notch Couloir, we saw that there was rain falling to the north of us and dark clouds starting to form to the south. Of course, we couldn't see what was forming to the west being as were on the east face. We made the call to turn around at this point even though storms weren't supposed to move in until later in the afternoon. We returned the way we came, much quicker but still safely. We got to the entrance to Broadway and slid down on our butts the entire way. I actually went the whole way down to Mill's Glacier without self arresting once. At this point, the wind had picked up and it was starting to sleet. I was getting nervous but by the time my buddy and I got to our bivy site the weather seemed to blow away from us. We repacked our bags and started the hike around Chasm Lake through the bolder field. When we got to the other side of the lake it started to get dark again and we started hearing thunder. We picked up the pace as neither of us were too psyched about having wet climbing gear, axes, etc while exposed up there. We pushed hard to the junction of the Keyhole route and at this time it had started to rain. We boogied down the route, passing other climbers and even a group that was on it's way up despite the thunder and lightning around us. Craziness. We got back to the truck and unloaded our wet gear and started the drive back. Kyle and I have had to turn around on climbs before, starting as cadets at West Point climbing up in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Both of us feel very comfortable making the hard decision and we'll never regret bailing out. We moved very slowly on Broadway and it turned out to be a blessing in disguise as being any higher would have been much tougher for us to bail out. It was still a great trip and I can't wait for him to get back from overseas so we can have our rematch with Long's! -Steve Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Long's Kiener's Attempt

My friend and I decided to attempt the Kiener's Route on Long's because we wanted a challenging mountaineering route before he deployed. He's one of my best friends from college and this was going to be our one trip this summer.

We got the to the trailhead and checked in. Paid our $20 "processing" fee for our free permit (thanks, NPS) and headed up the trail. I'm not sure exactly when we started but it was probably around 3 or 4. The trail was pretty easy and once we got above treeline the views were incredible. My buddy and I are both avid photographers so we stopped a lot below treeline to shoot the streams as well as once we broke above the trees.

Getting above treeline you start to move in the direction of Long's and this is where I got my first glimpse of the Diamond. What a sight!

Along the way there is a trail that branches off to Battle Mountain. Right by this split there is a lovely creek that runs through and we both stopped to shoot the creek with Long's in the background.

We kept cruising along and got to the point where the Keyhole route breaks off to the right. We pushed on toward Chasm Lake and the view looking down into this valley was absolutely incredible. I don't have a good picture to post but it was so gorgeous. With all of the melting snow there were a ton of great waterfalls flowing all over the place.
We pushed on toward Chasm Lake and got there a little before sunset. We were really hungry so we stopped to eat dinner there and were treated to an amazing sunset!!

After getting some great sunset shots, we pushed on through the boulder field around the lake. We busted out headlamps about 3/4 the way around the lake as it was pretty dark at this point. The boulder field really wasn't too bad as most of them were really solid so you could pretty much take any line you wanted.
After dark we found a flat patch of grass to lay out our sleeping bags and settle in. We fashioned a little pole from a big rock where we hung our food for the night. We got treated to a pretty cool show after dark as massive storms flared up over Boulder and the plains. It was clear above us and you could see stars over the thunderheads but the lightning was pretty intense and kept lighting up the diamond for hours. Very cool!

Eventually the clouds cleared out and the Milky Way made it's way across the sky and right over the Diamond. I didn't sleep much because I was just staring up at the skies most of the night. Such a sight!!

We got up in the morning and moved up the trail just a bit to a stream to boil and filter some water. We cooked some breakfast and got moving around 6:30 after re-rigging our food bag and leaving behind some of our sleeping stuff.
We got started up the Lamb's Slide which started out firm but ended up being surprisingly soft for how steep it was (not that it was super steep, just soft). We weren't positive as to where the entrance was to Broadway and ended up going slightly above it. Eventually we traversed across the slope and got started.

After a little break, we decided to rope up right away as there was still a decent amount of snow up there and neither of us were comfortable with the exposure. The good thing on Broadway is that there is adequate protection most of the way.

There was one stretch where we ran the rope all the way out without placing any pro but luckily this was a much easier portion of the ledge. Throughout this time, we noticed that clouds were building to the north of us. Just as we got to the entrance to the Notch Couloir, we saw that there was rain falling to the north of us and dark clouds starting to form to the south. Of course, we couldn't see what was forming to the west being as were on the east face. We made the call to turn around at this point even though storms weren't supposed to move in until later in the afternoon. We returned the way we came, much quicker but still safely. We got to the entrance to Broadway and slid down on our butts the entire way. I actually went the whole way down to Mill's Glacier without self arresting once. At this point, the wind had picked up and it was starting to sleet. I was getting nervous but by the time my buddy and I got to our bivy site the weather seemed to blow away from us. We repacked our bags and started the hike around Chasm Lake through the bolder field. When we got to the other side of the lake it started to get dark again and we started hearing thunder. We picked up the pace as neither of us were too psyched about having wet climbing gear, axes, etc while exposed up there. We pushed hard to the junction of the Keyhole route and at this time it had started to rain.

We boogied down the route, passing other climbers and even a group that was on it's way up despite the thunder and lightning around us. Craziness. We got back to the truck and unloaded our wet gear and started the drive back.
Kyle and I have had to turn around on climbs before, starting as cadets at West Point climbing up in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Both of us feel very comfortable making the hard decision and we'll never regret bailing out. We moved very slowly on Broadway and it turned out to be a blessing in disguise as being any higher would have been much tougher for us to bail out. It was still a great trip and I can't wait for him to get back from overseas so we can have our rematch with Long's!
-Steve

Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Comments or Questions

B-Dog	Wow! 7/18/2013 5:46pm Such awesome pictures during the night!
MonGoose	Great photos! 7/18/2013 7:30pm Looks like an awesome climb.

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