Climbing Longs Peak
In addition to the standard "Keyhole" route, there are more serious and more technical climbs on Longs Peak. Climbers should seek qualified instruction; deaths on Longs Peak are an annual occurrence. Some of the more common routes are, in approximate order of popularity,
- North Face Cables route. This follows the Keyhole route to the Boulder Field, then ascends the North Face of the peak. It requires one or two pitches of low-5th class climbing, and is often downclimbed or rappelled by technical climbers since it is one of the fastest ways to ascend or descend the peak. In the early 20th century, enterprising guides installed a series of large steel eye bolts along this route, connecting them with a steel cable similar to systems in the Alps. The cables were removed in 1973 due to the Wilderness Act, but the bolts remain and are used as rappel anchors.
- Kieners Route. A traditional mountaineering climb that involves a climb of Lambs Slide, which is icy later in the season, then an exposed traverse of the Broadway ledge, and then low-5th class climbing. Lambs Slide is so-named because of the Reverend Elkanah J. Lamb's nearly fatal tumble down it . The most recent fatal tumble was November, 2006.
- via the Loft. The Loft is the semi-permanent snowfield between Longs Peak and its south-eastern neighbor Mt. Meeker. From the saddle you can traverse to either peak. One such traverse route is Gorilla's Traverse. It is also possible to ascend to the saddle via Lambs Slide.
- via the East Face. The East Face is the steep, 1,000 + foot (305 + m) wall that includes the Diamond and the Lower East Face. All climbs here are technical, from 5.10 to 5.13. It is also possible to ascend to the (climber's) left of the Diamond face proper. The routes on the right side of the Diamond are often aid climbed, and may require spending the night on the wall; the rock here can be very wet. Routes on the left side of the Diamond are usually free climbed. Only qualified climbers should attempt climbs on this face, and should take into consideration the effects of altitude and alpine conditions in addition to the difficulty rating.
- via the Notch Couloir. This is a technical climb involving rock climbing and, at some times of year, ice climbing. The Notch Couloir is to the (climber's) left of the Diamond face.
Read more about this topic: Longs Peak
Famous quotes containing the words climbing, longs and/or peak:
“There is, however, this consolation to the most way-worn traveler, upon the dustiest road, that the path his feet describe is so perfectly symbolical of human life,now climbing the hills, now descending into the vales. From the summits he beholds the heavens and the horizon, from the vales he looks up to the heights again. He is treading his old lessons still, and though he may be very weary and travel-worn, it is yet sincere experience.”
—Henry David Thoreau (18171862)
“Everybody whos anybody longs to be a tree”
—Rita Dove (b. 1952)
“Sleep shall neither night nor day
Hang upon his penthouse lid;
He shall live a man forbid;
Weary sevn-nights, nine times nine,
Shall he dwindle, peak and pine;
Though his bark cannot be lost,
Yet it shall be tempest-tossed.”
—William Shakespeare (15641616)