On Friday night, Jeremy, Walker, my dad Jeff, and I went to bed around 10pm. We awoke at 12:50 and drove to Longs Peak Trailhead. At 2am, we hit the trail.
We hiked above the trees and then the clouds, looking for a trail that would take us to the
Loft Couloir. We entered the couloir shortly before dawn.
As day broke around us, we made our way up steep slopes lit by Alpenglow.
Although over 200 people would summit Longs Peak today, only about 15 attempted this route.
The couloir exit involved a small amount of exposure but no tricky moves. You can see the trail into the couloir far below.
This hike is incredibly dramatic. It is easily one of my top three favorite climbs.
After reaching the loft, we began traversing along the backside of Longs Peak (behind the Beaver and The Notch). This involved downclimbing a scary section in order to reach Keplinger's Couloir.
There are definitely some class 4 moves on this trip.
After ascending Keplinger's, we joined the final stage of the Keyhole Route (at The Homestretch) and made the final push to the top. This is Walker and Jeff summitting Long's Peak together.
Unbeknownst to us, Walker had packed a nice bottle of champagne and 3lbs of dry ice to celebrate. Best champagne I've ever had!
After our champagne brunch and a nap, we headed down via the Keyhole Route.
15 hours after we'd begun, we reached the cars.
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3 comments:
For future reference -
Whenever I ask for the "facebook shot" use that awesome shot of Jeremy in aviators sipping champagne as a guide.
Holy crap! That's an intense route! I love your photos and posts Truman. Keep it up!
It was great hiking with you guys. I've wanted to do that for ten years.
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