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Longs Peak seems to hold a special place with some Colorado hikers. Like Pikes, Greys, Quandary, and others, Longs is located near a lot of people. Unlike those listed above, the easiest route up Longs has some exposed 3rd class moves that are the focal point of many 14er discussions. I was a little reluctant to head up the Keyhole Route due to its popularity, but we were heading up on a Thursday, and it is a classic.
I’ve been working in Denver for two days a week for the summer. The intersection of that schedule with the wedding of some close friends near Boulder meant I would have some potential hiking partners in the area. Mike H. hasn’t let me down yet. He flew out Wednesday night, tossing his bags in my car at the airport at about 11:15 pm. We weren’t destined to get a lot of sleep this night. We sped out onto the highways, connecting on to I-25 north, heading for the Super 8 near Longmont. We checked in with the young lad just starting his shift at 12:15 am, and were probably in bed within 15 minutes. I had been in Denver for two days previous, and on Wednesday the weather pattern had changed to one that brought thunderstorms earlier in the day. In fact, a storm had come right over Longs and Boulder before giving Denver a lashing not long after noon. It kept us motivated for an early start and swift hiking on Thursday. This is how it came to be that our alarm went off at 2:45 am, a little over 2 hrs after we had shut out the light. We groaned our way into hiking clothes and got set to leave the room after a hasty bagel and lovely Super 8 coffee. I cringed at the thought of checking out with the same guy behind the desk (you got an hourly rate for me and my gentleman friend here?), but we was not at his post. I clicked the card key down on the desk and sped out to the car.
On the road again, our bodies and mind were fighting to make right of the situation. We did have a great moment of hilarity driving through Longmont, passing by an enormous yard for chainsaw carved figures. Not just the little chainsaw bears Mike and I have been longing for each time we pass through Oakdale, but big stags and other rearing creatures of the forest. We set our hearts on the 7 ft tall chainsaw chicken, resolving to convince the airlines that yes, it was carry-on.
We drove up Route 7, passing through a beautiful canyon I had seen years before, but hidden by the dark at this hour. We arrived at the nearly-full trailhead parking by 4 am, and we were hiking in earnest by 4:15. Headlamps showing the way, we hiked through the wooded portion of the trail, overtaking other small hiking parties along the way. Within the first hour the trees had shrunk to alpine scrub, and I was reminded of how exposed we were on this route. If a storm caught us at any point, it was a long, long way to any shelter. We took a short break near a wind-blocking clump of scrub and then continued up the side of Mills Moraine, blinking off the headlamps just before meeting the trail that drops to Chasm Lake. We continued along the sloping traverse to Granite Pass and up to the lower end of the Boulder Field, picking up and putting down more hiking parties as we went. At the Boulder Field we stopped for some food and to review our progress. Mike wasn’t feeling too hot, but consider that the man had been at sea level about 14 hours ago, and we had just charged up to 12,000 ft, passing through 3,000 ft in 2.5 hours, on about 2 hrs sleep. It was about 6:30 am, and we were really ahead of schedule, even if we were thinking about thunderstorms. We decided to consciously slow down and enjoy the view of the Diamond, the near-vertical cliff that makes Longs famous with climbers as well as hikers. We methodically moved up to the Keyhole for another break, now at 13,000 ft. The Keyhole is a nifty landmark for the route. Up until this point you are hiking on a beaten Class 1 trail, circling around Mount Lady Washington. You head for Keyhole Ridge, with the Keyhole being the obvious goal: rock on the upper side of this narrow notch hangs over half of the opening, so you truly feel like you are passing through the ridge, and not just over it. On the other side, the north side, you get exposure for the first time. The Narrows is step one, and is the portion of the hike I had heard and read the most about. I found it overrated, but still a fun quick traverse. Most of the way is a narrow-ish ledge, perhaps sidewalk wide, but it is predominantly 1st class or very easy 2nd. In one section I had to pay attention where to put my foot, but one brief step and I was on my 1st class way again. Once through with the Narrows, we started up the Trough, a vee-shapped gully that provided about 1,000 ft of gain to the next ridge. We made short work of it, pausing at the technical crux at the very top. Something of a chockstone forces you either to the left or the right. On the left is a series of awkward scrambling moves that any climber could dispose of properly. On the right, which we took, is a short, steep slab section that had few footholds for the first two moves. Once at the top of the trough, I took a look at the next traverse over to the Home Stretch.
It was this traverse, after the Trough, that surprised me the most. The ledge was much cleaner than the Narrows, but much more narrow and with a steeper drop-off. In fact, just a few steps from the top of the Trough I found myself with hands on a flake, stepping wide over a whole lot of air. I found the move comfortable, but it was not one I would guess the general hiking populace would appreciate. I suppose most people go through with it just because they’ve put so much into getting this far. The summit was probably only 200 ft up from this point.
At the base of the Home Stretch, we could see the goal. We moved up the slabs, touching our hands to them as the slope warranted. They border on 2nd and 3rd class, with enough friction and broken rock to move comfortably, but enough slope to allow one’s imagination to wonder where the rolling body might stop. After all of this steepness and fun, variable scrambling, one can’t help but be surprised by the flat summit that makes up the top of Longs. We arrived at 9 am, still earlier than we expected. Views of the Spearhead and the Arrowhead to the west were nice, as was the drop to Chasm Lake. To the east was the Great Plains, and to the south we were able to make out Evans and probably Pikes Peak. After snacks and a nap, we decided that an hour on the summit was long enough, and we reversed our path.
On the way down it was my turn to feel subpar. My stomach as the annoying habit of shutting down intake at about the same moment I realize I’m getting low on fuel. There isn’t much to do but head down at that point, but around 11,500 ft I still lost my lunch, veering off trail but still in sight of other hiking parties. Ah well, what can you do. Ten minutes later we had resumed our rocket pace down hill, rewarded by the startled look of recognition from people who had seen me hurling only a few minutes ago.
The remainder of the hike down was uneventful, with the usual longing that goes into the last 2 miles or so of a hike. We reached the car a little before 2 pm, and I wandered over into the shade for some shut-eye. With so much of the day left before us, Mike and I didn’t need to blaze into town, so we took advantage of some time to sloth about. We headed back down canyon around 4 or so to meet Jen and Ian and set up lodging at the Boulder Super 8 that isn’t a Super 8 (it’s an odd story) and rest for a potential climb of the Third Flatiron above Boulder the next day. Of course, our rest was to join a bachelor party for some of the evening, but hey, to each his own.
--msw
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