Longs Peak (14,255) by Brian Schultz Thursday August 17, 2000
The last fourteener! It would have been my first in 1994 but that miss and another changed its priority from "must do" to "I'll get it later." I gave Longs little thought as I went on to climb easier peaks and ultimately the hard ones but as I closed in on my last fourteeners it seemed fitting to finish where it all began.
On Tuesday, after climbing South Maroon, Tim went home and though he planned a year ago to join me on my finale I suspected I'd be climbing Longs alone. Jason and I drove back from Maroon Lake to Snowmass Village- he changed his mind on going home and stayed over again because he still had a vacation day left and liked our lodge (couldn't pass up the spa!). The evening was short though. We celebrated our success on the Maroons with dinner, made our calls home and conked out early- the climbs had drained us both.
On Wednesday morning Jason left for home and I for Estes Park. I stopped in Idaho Springs to call Tim, totally prepared to hear him beg off but he surprised me when he said he felt fine and would meet me at the motel. We went out for dinner and he insisted on picking up the tab to honor my fourteener finish- a wonderful gesture but it made me uneasy. I suggested we get the peak first and then celebrate but I couldn't talk him out of it. Tim's obviously not a superstitious person.
We rang the front desk for a 2:10 wakeup call and turned in after 10:00, expecting a short night of sleep but little did I know how short when I woke up before 11:30. For the life of me I couldn't fall back asleep and as I tossed and turned and watched our wakeup time get closer and closer, I resigned myself to having to climb Longs with its distance and large elevation gain on that measly one hour of sleep. As we gathered our packs we talked about how determined one must be to want a summit so bad that you're willing to sacrifice sleep to get it. That's us!
The ever popular Longs with its 15 miles and 5,000 feet elev. gain would be even more tiring after grinding out 18 miles and nearly 9000 feet gain on the Maroons, but I was ready for it, sore feet and all. We drove to the trailhead separately and found parking spots right in front of the ranger station. For mid-August that was a nice surprise. There was only one other group preparing for the hike as we threw on the packs and began in the dark at 2:50 AM.
We turned on the flashlights and started up the trail under completely overcast skies. The excellent trail made for easy hiking in the dark and once I got my feet moving they didn't hurt so bad- I was determined not to wimp out and even led for much of the way. A steady pace brought us to the Chasm Lake turnoff at 4:45, and with only a few quick stops we reached the Boulder Field at 6:10. We felt comfortable with our progress and sat down for a fifteen minute rest. First light revealed no breaking up of the still cloudy skies and the freezing temperature had us digging out gloves and stocking caps.
We scrambled up the Boulder Field and reached the Keyhole at 6:50. The altitude that took its toll on me the last two times here had no noticeable effect this time, a huge relief. Low clouds filled in the whole Glacier Gorge area to our right but the route ahead was clear and as we stepped through the Keyhole I got excited. This was new territory! Tim climbed Longs as his first fourteener many years ago and had forgotten much of it so this was great fun for him too. Getting past the Keyhole energized me and made me feel confident we'd make the summit.
Routefinding is no problem after the Keyhole. We followed the painted bulls-eyes to the Trough, the steep gully where many tourists probably wonder why they're doing this peak, and began the long climb up. After many "I have to catch my breath" stops, we gained the top where a very difficult move was required to get around the described chockstone- I would say it's the hardest move on the whole route.
With my energy waning I had to be cautious as we crossed the Narrows, the aptly named ledge with plenty of exposure and thus not a good place to stumble, but it was solid and not too intimidating. The remainder of the route was fun scrambling on good rock to the Homestretch, an interesting section of smooth slabs with cracks running down them. For much of it we could just walk up but at times we needed to grab for holds in the cracks. The slabs would be slippery and dangerous if wet or icy- we were thankful for dry rock. As we closed in about 25 feet from the top, Tim stopped to let me pass him so I could arrive on the summit first. And at 8:25 I stepped on top of my last fourteener!
Tim gave me a congratulatory hug and asked how it felt to make all 54. I remarked that it hadn't sunk in yet, probably because at the moment I was more happy at finally making the elusive Longs. We made our way to the register, signed in and hopped up to the highest boulder to officially claim the summit. Tim spread the word about my finish and I received numerous congratulations. In no time about 20 people were gathered on the large summit and several announced this was their first fourteener. Anybody doing this one first and succeeding should be proud- it's quite an accomplishment. As for me, I was grateful my bad ankle held up but my toes were hurting and I was tired. I would've enjoyed the summit more if the sun was shining but the cloud cover was heavy and though it opened up wonderful views occasionally, the temperature was too cold to eat or relax. We only stayed 35 minutes.
We started down the Homestretch at 9:00, passed many climbers still ascending and got back to the Keyhole at 10:25. The sun finally came out and we stopped for lunch. I insisted we sit out of the way of the massive overhang because you never know when something like that might break off and I didn't want it crashing down and squashing me after just finishing the fourteeners. Tim humored me- we moved off to the side.
After a long break we scrambled down the boulders to the maintained path again, stopping to look behind and snap some photos of Longs before moving on. As we trudged the long trail back to the ranger station we stopped often and visited with some of the many hikers on their way up, but once we reached the woods we mostly pressed on. I needed to get the boots off my feet, my toes couldn't take much more of this, but the relentless trail so easy on the way up never seemed to end on the way down. Relief finally came when we reached the register at 1:50. I thought the Maroons were exhausting but this day has left me totally wiped out.
Tim didn't stay long but we made plans to get together again in a week. Many thanks to him for not only joining me on Longs and sharing the last one, but also for his company on our other fourteeners- 10 total. Tim's patience and fine mountaineering skills have been a godsend- I'll be forever indebted.
The chase is over! It's been a great ride and I wouldn't trade all the time and effort involved for anything. And the fellow hikers and climbers I've met, from sharing part of a day to the friendships that continue, will always keep the fourteeners memorable. I'll miss the anticipation and excitement of conquering new fourteeners but there are different routes to try and favorites to repeat.
Total climbing time- 11 hours including many breaks