Rich'sPics
if you do longs peak...
Making it to the summit of Longs Peak via the Keyhole Route is quite an accomplishment, but at that point you've still only completed half the journey. You still have to get back to the trailhead safe & sound. Going down the Homestretch, across the Narrows, negotiating the Trough, and taking the Ledges back to the Keyhole all pose their own challenges. Take your time and be safe. For what it's worth, here are a few things I've learned on my two summit ascents that may be helpful if you have a go at Longs:
* Go as light as possible. On my first trip, you would've thought I was setting out from Everest base camp. This time I just took the 40D with wide angle lens, headlamp, trekking pole, rain jacket, small first aid kit, swiss army knife, cell phone, some fruit roll ups & chocolate bars, and 3.5 liters of water. Take as much water as you can carry.
* Take gloves. They'll save your hands a lot of wear & tear on the scrambling/climbing sections. On both hikes, I wore my light cycling gloves and both times I had people say they wish they would've thought to have gloves.
* Start early. It may seem like a joke when you hear that people start at 1 or 2 or 3am, but you want to be well down off the mountain before any storms roll through after noon. In the Colorado High Country, and especially this area around Longs Peak, afternoon storms roll in with alarming regularity & startling speed. Both times I've done this hike, I've got rained on before getting back down to the trailhead. The pretty clouds you see above had turned dark & ominous by the time I'd reached Chasm Junction. A short time later, as I was passing below treeline, it was sprinkling & thunder was booming off in the distance.
* Follow the bulls-eyes, especially on your return across the Ledges. There's a crucial point where the bulls-eyes take you on a sharp descent & if you miss this, you'll end-up ascending off-route toward the False Keyhole. Both times I've done this hike, I've seen people fail to go down here and go up instead, this despite the bulls-eyes and a bright red sign that says "KEYHOLE" with an arrow pointing down. Follow the bulls-eyes.
* Expect there are going to be a lot of other people, of wildly varying abilities, on the trail. I did this hike in 2008 on Labor Day weekend and it was just nuts how many people were trying to summit that day. That's one reason I'd decided to do the hike this time as early as possible after the rangers had rated the Keyhole Route as nontechnical. The route was rated nontechnical on Tuesday, July 13 and I was headed up on Sunday, July 18. There were far fewer people this time and it made for a more enjoyable experience.
* Have fun, but BE SAFE. Don't be afraid to turn back, for whatever reason. The mountain will always be there another day and no hike is worth taking unnecessary risks. Doing Longs is a serious undertaking. On average, one person dies on Longs each year and many others suffer injuries of varying severity. Two days before my hike, there was a fatal fall south of the Keyhole. Two weeks before that, there was a fall off the Narrows and a helicopter had to be called in to rescue the guy. Have fun, but BE SAFE.
** You can check out a more extensive hike report about my experience doing Longs Peak via the Keyhole Route.
if you do longs peak...
Making it to the summit of Longs Peak via the Keyhole Route is quite an accomplishment, but at that point you've still only completed half the journey. You still have to get back to the trailhead safe & sound. Going down the Homestretch, across the Narrows, negotiating the Trough, and taking the Ledges back to the Keyhole all pose their own challenges. Take your time and be safe. For what it's worth, here are a few things I've learned on my two summit ascents that may be helpful if you have a go at Longs:
* Go as light as possible. On my first trip, you would've thought I was setting out from Everest base camp. This time I just took the 40D with wide angle lens, headlamp, trekking pole, rain jacket, small first aid kit, swiss army knife, cell phone, some fruit roll ups & chocolate bars, and 3.5 liters of water. Take as much water as you can carry.
* Take gloves. They'll save your hands a lot of wear & tear on the scrambling/climbing sections. On both hikes, I wore my light cycling gloves and both times I had people say they wish they would've thought to have gloves.
* Start early. It may seem like a joke when you hear that people start at 1 or 2 or 3am, but you want to be well down off the mountain before any storms roll through after noon. In the Colorado High Country, and especially this area around Longs Peak, afternoon storms roll in with alarming regularity & startling speed. Both times I've done this hike, I've got rained on before getting back down to the trailhead. The pretty clouds you see above had turned dark & ominous by the time I'd reached Chasm Junction. A short time later, as I was passing below treeline, it was sprinkling & thunder was booming off in the distance.
* Follow the bulls-eyes, especially on your return across the Ledges. There's a crucial point where the bulls-eyes take you on a sharp descent & if you miss this, you'll end-up ascending off-route toward the False Keyhole. Both times I've done this hike, I've seen people fail to go down here and go up instead, this despite the bulls-eyes and a bright red sign that says "KEYHOLE" with an arrow pointing down. Follow the bulls-eyes.
* Expect there are going to be a lot of other people, of wildly varying abilities, on the trail. I did this hike in 2008 on Labor Day weekend and it was just nuts how many people were trying to summit that day. That's one reason I'd decided to do the hike this time as early as possible after the rangers had rated the Keyhole Route as nontechnical. The route was rated nontechnical on Tuesday, July 13 and I was headed up on Sunday, July 18. There were far fewer people this time and it made for a more enjoyable experience.
* Have fun, but BE SAFE. Don't be afraid to turn back, for whatever reason. The mountain will always be there another day and no hike is worth taking unnecessary risks. Doing Longs is a serious undertaking. On average, one person dies on Longs each year and many others suffer injuries of varying severity. Two days before my hike, there was a fatal fall south of the Keyhole. Two weeks before that, there was a fall off the Narrows and a helicopter had to be called in to rescue the guy. Have fun, but BE SAFE.
** You can check out a more extensive hike report about my experience doing Longs Peak via the Keyhole Route.