Longs Peak Trip Report 05/02/2024

Report Type	Full
Peak(s)	Longs Peak - 14,259 feet
Date Posted	05/02/2024
Date Climbed	04/24/2024
Author	dedicateddave

Keplinger Couloir
Boots on the trail at 3:15am. Hiked up 1.5 miles to true snow-line and transitioned just past Hole in the Wall campsite (~4:15am) 2 skinny bridge crossings, with great water availability at 2nd (bigger) one. Turned right into the bushwhack shortly after Lyric Falls on GAIA (~6am), and made a decent track up and around towards unnamed lake. Took a break and got some eyes on Meeker. Beautiful. This "1.5 mile" skin to unnamed lake is mentally draining. We made it to bottom of Keplinger's Couloir at 8:15am, had a sandwich and donned crampons. Cue the wallow fest..... Starting at 8:45am, we booted up 2,000 Vertical feet of 95% garbage crust/unconsolidated snow all the way to the top of Keplinger's Couloir. This took roughly double the amount of expected time, and at 11:15am we topped out under the Palisade (~13,700') before deciding to turn around due to quickly heating snow. We expected that the final 500' to Long's summit would a) have the same garbage snow and slow travel and b) is sun-baked from sunrise, meaning that the snow would be even hotter than the West facing slope that we were assessing. We determined that it would likely take us >30 more minutes to summit, another 20 minutes to transition, and probably another 20 minutes to ski back down to Keplinger's Couloir safely. Under no circumstances would I ski exposed terrain at 14,000' under direct sun baking at noon with the snow warming at its current rate that day. Transitioned on somewhat steep slope in the direction of gunsight out top of Keplinger's, skied hot snow for 30', and dipped into the shaded bulletproof for 100'. Poked back out into the main gut of the couloir and skied great pockets of pow & corn. Had a snack, got our minds back (thanks to 2,000' lower), debriefed situation, and skied/split-skied down one of the main faces towards the direction of Meeker (the "Middle one" I'd call it, not far left due to rocks). Split skied for 2+ hours through bushwhacking. This was a different direction that we thought would be "more direct," but in retrospect I would likely backtrack our initial track (GAIA link provided). The split-ski nearer Meeker did enable us to refill water stores in Hunters creek via Katahdyn filter. After utter bushwhack slog, Made it back to stone's throw of Sandbeach Lake, and continued split skiing (read: eating shit a couple times) down back to where we stashed our shoes near Hole in the Wall. It obviously gets very narrow in sections, and I split-skied over a few dirt patches. Chilled at Hole in the Wall for 15 mins; got feet out of ski boots (Praise!) and put shoes back on (in Ross' situation; thong flip-flops XD). Quick beat feet back to parking lot, drink all the bevvies, debrief. Drive home and game plan for next big mission. My idiot work chromebook won't let me use HEIF/HEIC files, so here's a Google Photos album: https://photos.app.goo.gl/EmYxoztueBNYw8gw9 .

Keplinger Couloir

Boots on the trail at 3:15am. Hiked up 1.5 miles to true snow-line and transitioned just past Hole in the Wall campsite (~4:15am) 2 skinny bridge crossings, with great water availability at 2nd (bigger) one. Turned right into the bushwhack shortly after Lyric Falls on GAIA (~6am), and made a decent track up and around towards unnamed lake. Took a break and got some eyes on Meeker. Beautiful. This "1.5 mile" skin to unnamed lake is mentally draining.

We made it to bottom of Keplinger's Couloir at 8:15am, had a sandwich and donned crampons. Cue the wallow fest.....

Starting at 8:45am, we booted up 2,000 Vertical feet of 95% garbage crust/unconsolidated snow all the way to the top of Keplinger's Couloir. This took roughly double the amount of expected time, and at 11:15am we topped out under the Palisade (~13,700') before deciding to turn around due to quickly heating snow. We expected that the final 500' to Long's summit would a) have the same garbage snow and slow travel and b) is sun-baked from sunrise, meaning that the snow would be even hotter than the West facing slope that we were assessing.

We determined that it would likely take us >30 more minutes to summit, another 20 minutes to transition, and probably another 20 minutes to ski back down to Keplinger's Couloir safely. Under no circumstances would I ski exposed terrain at 14,000' under direct sun baking at noon with the snow warming at its current rate that day.

Transitioned on somewhat steep slope in the direction of gunsight out top of Keplinger's, skied hot snow for 30', and dipped into the shaded bulletproof for 100'. Poked back out into the main gut of the couloir and skied great pockets of pow & corn.

Had a snack, got our minds back (thanks to 2,000' lower), debriefed situation, and skied/split-skied down one of the main faces towards the direction of Meeker (the "Middle one" I'd call it, not far left due to rocks). Split skied for 2+ hours through bushwhacking. This was a different direction that we thought would be "more direct," but in retrospect I would likely backtrack our initial track (GAIA link provided).

The split-ski nearer Meeker did enable us to refill water stores in Hunters creek via Katahdyn filter. After utter bushwhack slog, Made it back to stone's throw of Sandbeach Lake, and continued split skiing (read: eating shit a couple times) down back to where we stashed our shoes near Hole in the Wall. It obviously gets very narrow in sections, and I split-skied over a few dirt patches.

Chilled at Hole in the Wall for 15 mins; got feet out of ski boots (Praise!) and put shoes back on (in Ross' situation; thong flip-flops XD). Quick beat feet back to parking lot, drink all the bevvies, debrief. Drive home and game plan for next big mission.

My idiot work chromebook won't let me use HEIF/HEIC files, so here's a Google Photos album: https://photos.app.goo.gl/EmYxoztueBNYw8gw9 .

Comments or Questions

BillMiddlebrook

Nice
5/2/2024 7:29pm

Great job.

"This took roughly double the amount of expected time"

Um, I can't tell you how many times this has happened to me on a peak ski day. Lol. And then there are those occasional days when you blast up the line and have to wait for conditions to ripen.

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