Longs Peak (14,255) attempt and "Electric Pass Peak" (13,635) by Brian Schultz
Monday Sept 19, 1994
Longs Peak:
Having spent a fair amount of time in the area camping with my kids over the years and hiking up to Chasm Lake with my daughter in 1991, it was time to go for the summit of Long's Peak, like so many others who just HAVE to do this one.
I drove in from Denver for an early start and headed up the trail full of adrenaline and desire to get to the top of Long's Peak. I didn't know anything about Colorado's fourteeners but I knew Longs was the highest point in Rocky Mtn National Park and that's what I wanted to do.
Shortly after I began, two guys from Denver- Steve and Bernie- passed me and when they stopped for their first break I asked if they minded me joining them. They said it was ok. Steve mentioned he'd been up Longs several times and quite a few fourteeners. Their stories about the fourteeners piqued my interest.
I knew the trail was long but I was wearing down before the boulderfield. When we reached it, another solo hiker joined up with us and as they all bounded up ahead of me, I struggled in a big way. Stepping up on the boulders sapped my strength and I simply could not breathe. On top of that it started snowing and by the time I reached the stone hut we were in a whiteout. Another hiker joined us here and it was decided to turn back at this point. OK by me! I couldn't go any further anyhow.
By the time we got back to the Chasm Lake cutoff, the skies cleared and we had good weather back to the ranger station. Bernie had me laughing all the way on our hike down with his stories, and the experience on Longs that day helped set the fever in me for fourteener hiking.
Wednesday Sept 21, 1994
"Electric Pass Peak":
Two days later when I hiked Electric Pass Peak, a thirteener in the Elks, I knew this was something I wanted to keep doing. Electric Pass Peak was my first successful ascent of a Colorado mountain and I was hooked. But my interest at the time was on the fourteeners, not the thirteeners, and in Denver I bought a guide on the fourteeners and started making plans for the following summer.