• Climbers: Zambo & Josh
• Peak: Longs Peak (14,259 ft)
• Route: Cables Route
• Distance: Approx 12.5 miles
• Vert: 5,000ish feet
• Round Trip Time: 12 hours, 25 minutes
• Date Climbed: 3/17/18

Longs Peak is a special mountain. That’s obvious to say, but every time I go up there, I’m reminded of why this one is the big poppa in Colorado.

It’s only two hours from Denver. It’s the peak biggest in the Park, by far. It has over a hundred routes to the summit; many of those are Colorado classics. It has enough variations to keep climbers, skiers, hikers, and mountaineers busy for years. Its legacy is about as rich as any mountain in the US. And of course, The Diamond is a world class wall that is worth every penny (or at least, so I’m told).

As of last weekend, I had been up Longs five times. Each trip left some sort of special memory or impression on me.

Way back in 2000, my dad took me up Longs for the first time. It was the first alpine camping I had ever done, the first true scrambling I had ever done, and it is still one of the best memories I have with my dad. I didn’t get back up Longs until 2013, after completing all the 14ers. My buddy Andrew and I repeated on a new route – The Loft – and added Meeker along the way. In 2014 I was back twice. The first time was up The Notch, which is still the coolest mountaineering route I have done. The second time that year was to solo the ridiculous “Radical Slam” route, a seven peak, 18 mile, 8,000 foot, 50 push up day. Not sure I’ll ever do that one again. In 2015, I led a group of coworkers up the Loft again and was reminded just how cool Longs is by the looks in their eyes. Longs does that to people.

All of that led me to the end of the 2017/2018 winter season. I still had yet to get up Longs in the winter, or via the Cables Route, but a quick look at conditions, weather, and the all-important Longs Peak webcam helped lock in our route selection. And so, an all-too-familiar 3:30 AM rendezvous in Denver with my buddy Josh had us gearing up for another shot at the big fella.

A Quick Look Back at Fun on Longs Peak

Longs Peak with my dad, circa late 90’s. Are those jeans, or $350 Arcteryx technical pants? We may never know.

Andrew Knox surveys the top of Keplinger’s coulior from a Loft climb in 2013. It’s loose but it sure beats the crowds and distance of the Keyhole.

Josh Schmidt setting up the first belay on a snowy Broadway traverse, June 2014. This third trip up Longs is still my all-time favorite day in the hills.

The full route of the Longs Radical Slam link up. A “sick concoction” dreamed up by Gerry Roach, I did this in 2014.

Skipping work with some coworkers to get up the Loft again in 2015.

Winter 2018 North Face Climb

The 2017/2018 winter season hasn’t brought much snow to the Colorado high country. The dryness has sort of made a mockery of the whole “winter” thing (hopefully the Colorado whitewater rafting season is still good), but hey, it’s still really cool to get onto peaks in different seasons/conditions/times of year. For Longs this is especially true. So, Josh and I decided to give the North Face a shot.

We had some concerns about recent snows as Bear Lake reported 7 inches two days prior. But Longs never really seems to play by the rules of weather in the park. It’s just never that consistent with everything else around it. We figured it was worth a shot to see what was going on up high.

Between all the winter gear, the rack, and the rope, we were running heavy in the parking lot. We opted to shave as much weight as we could, leaving all duplicate gear, snowshoes (mercifully), and excess water behind. A jet boil would keep us hydrated all day.

We got a later start, wanting to be on the North Face once it was a bit warmer. A 5:30 departure from the Longs Peak Trailhead had us on the familiar path up into the Longs cirque. The trees passed quickly in the dark, with the sun beginning to poke up right around treeline.

Morning alpenglow on the East Face. That view never gets old. (Josh)

Traversing beneath Mt. Lady Washington. With the exception of some largish snow fields on the leeward sides of Mt. Lady Washington. & Storm King Peak, the upper valley was pretty remarkably dry. (Zambo)

Passing the Battle Mountain junction, we made quick work of the switchbacks before making our way up into the Boulder Field. We knew we would have a really good idea of conditions at this point, as the entire route comes straight into view from there. The storm which had come a few days prior didn’t seem like it had done much of anything to the Cables Route. We knew we had a good shot.

The first good look at the route and conditions in late winter, 2018. At this point, we had some apprehension about wind slabs directly beneath the roped pitches, but above that, things were looking pretty good. (Zambo)

Close up of the North Face, with my approximation of our route drawn in. Click to Zoom for Full Route. (Zambo)

As we got closer to Chasm View, we took a few quick stops to melt some snow for water, put on crampons, and get the ice tools out. There were a few significant snow fields right below the crux pitches of the route that may have been suspect if wind loaded. However, we easily avoided these by scrambling up and over some rocks to the side. That said, two parties behind us came right up the snow, which turned out to be pretty good booting.

But being the first ones up that day, we decided to rope up right at Chasm View in an attempt to mitigate any slide risk. Our first pitch was a quick and easy snow climb that got us to a rock band just below the crux. Pitch #2 got us all the way to the rap anchor at the top of the climbing route.

On easy scrambling to reach Chasm View and avoid the semi-steep snow below. (Zambo)

Looking back down on the Boulder Field (Josh)

Looking ahead to the infinitely more enticing Diamond. I’m pretty sure Chasm View might be the single coolest spot in all of Colorado. (Zambo)

Looking across to upper Lamb’s Slide and the Broadway Traverse. (Josh)

On the whole, we felt that the snow actually made the crux pitch much easier. A soloist passed us between pitch #1 & #2, so he helped plow us a nice little trench to get to the rocks. The snow was soft, but didn’t have too many wind-slab consistencies. Just a short bit of wallowing got us to the first eye bolt.

The crux move seemed to go at easier than the advertised 5.4, probably because the snow provided a nice little boost up. Above and beyond that one move, the climbing on the roped pitches didn’t feel all that bad to me, all things considered. It was mostly just fun practice dry-tooling around on the rock and snow. We encountered no ice. We saw two other parties on the route, both of whom opted to climb these pitches unroped.

Looking upwards from Chasm View at the first belay, and the start of pitch #1 for us. (Josh)

Josh ascending the mixed climbing on pitch #1. This section probably didn’t need to be roped in the current conditions, but it was a nice security blanket to test out the snow conditions a bit more. In retrospect, I’m not sure it snowed more than a few inches on Longs. We down climbed all of this later with ease. (Zambo)

From the top of pitch #1, looking back down to the belay. (Josh)

Another party ascend towards Chasm View. (Josh)

Just past the crux move on pitch #2, looking down to the belay. (Josh)

Almost to the top anchor on pitch #2. (Josh)

Beyond the roped pitches, the remainder of the route was relatively straightforward to the summit: an ascending traverse climbed through a mix of snow fields and rock hopping. The snow continued to be soft, but in really good condition to work across. The rocks were bare and made for easy scrambling.

Being out on this part of the mountain was a real treat for me. I had circled just about every other side of the peak, but this was the main one left. It was a ton of fun working up and through towards the summit. The reassurance of the directness of the route to the summit (as opposed to basically all others on Longs) was an added bonus.

Basically, the only major consideration on the face was the nagging reminder that the Diamond was right below you. As the routed ascends it takes you closer and closer to a very big drop. The exposure is never really enough to give you the spooks, but we remained keenly aware that any slip had quite a bit of air that came along with it.

All that said, beyond the crux, the climbing was relatively straightforward. We reached the summit some 30 minutes after un-roping.

Looking upward towards the summit. (Zambo)

Looking back now, with the mummies and glacier gorge’s peaks setting the tone. (Josh)

One more on the ascending traverse. (Josh).

The weather all day had been fabulous and that continued at the summit. The ambient temperature was probably in the mid 20’s, the sun was beaming, and the winds were calm. In fact, aside from a stiff breeze at the upper Boulder Field, the wind had been calm all day.

We marveled at the conditions. It was basically one of those ‘golden age of global warming’ type of days that have become pretty common the past few years. We live in an age where climbers can snag ‘winter’ summits with some wintry feel, but also with minimal snow, spring-like temps, and relatively simple conditions. I’m definitely of the opinion it’s sort of cheating, but hey, better enjoy the snow while we can, right? I really hope the trend doesn’t continue….

Anyway, no one was complaining on our near-perfect Longs winter summit. Regardless of the conditions in this particular year, it was still a really cool thing to be on that summit that time of year. I’ll never get tired of those views.

Sixth and seventh summits for the pair of us. Love this mountain.

I left my sunglasses in the car. Again…. (Zambo)

As much as I enjoyed the summit, my hands hated it. Time to go, lest I face the dreaded screaming barfies.

Thankfully, the descent back down to the rap anchors went much quicker than the way up. Also, we hooked up with the other party on the summit who had an identical 8.9 mm, 60 m rope. So, a quick tie up of the two meant we got to double our rap length. Nice.

Beginning our descent back down the North Face. (Zambo)

A climber ahead provides some scale to the sweeping North Face on Longs. (Click to zoom – Zambo)

Looking down at the start of setting up our dual-rope rappel. I guess the orange gear was on sale. (Zambo)

Tying in at the rap station. Many thanks to those guys for teaming up and sharing a rope. It made the rap much more efficient. (Zambo)

Josh starting his rappel. (Zambo)

Down in one long rap. Beautiful. (Zambo)

Back at Chasm View, we took a nice long break to stow down gear and enjoy the views. There is just no way to put fitting words to the views from this place, so I won’t even try. Suffice it to say, the freedom of the hills rings loudly here.

A fun place to review the big wall and talk shop. (Josh)

One last peek. (Josh)

Descending now, meandering back towards the Boulder Field. (Josh)

A funny thing happens on big climbs like these. The ascents always seem to be a whirlwind of hard-charging, time-saving, leg-destroying vertical gain up the peak. Time is always of the essence on the way up.

The way down is a whole different story. With our summit in the bag, and the weather feeling like May, we made a conscious decision to take a max meandering-style descent back down. We had nowhere to be and the work up had been exhausting. Time to take it easy and enjoy the views.

Looking northwest to Glacier Gorge (Josh)

Due north to the Mummies. (Josh)

Second stop for more water as The Notch looks on. (Josh)

Dumping gear, chugging beer, and crushing PB&Js back at the car. (Josh)

After the inevitably horrible slog out, we got down well before the sun – an added treat for going later in the season.

As we sat and recovered in the parking lot, I reflected on another great day on this peak. As I climb more and mountains, the tendency is for each summit to blend together. sometimes it is hard to remember one outing from the last, especially as the 13er list grows.

Thankfully, that has yet to happen on Longs. Each and every trip has been an adventure, and it is always worth it. This time was no exception. Between the ideal conditions, perfect weather, cool new route, and adventuring spirit found on the steep places of Longs, our winter ascent was another that won’t soon be forgotten.

As always, many thanks to Josh for saying “yes” to this idea, and for the lead. The best way to improve any day in the hills is with good partners. Glad we made it happen.

Hopefully there will be some useful tidbits to future climbers in years to come from this report. Until then, happy climbing!

Time Splits

• Longs Peak Trailhead to Base of Cables: 5:35 – 10:35 (5 hours)
• *Base of Cables to Top of Cables: 10:35 – 12:10 (1 hour, 45 mins)
• Top of Cables to Summit: 12:10 – 12:55 (35 minutes)
• Summit to Top of Cables Rappel: 1:30 – 2:00 (30 minutes)
• Base of Cables to Longs Peak Trailhead: 2:25 – 6:00 (3 hours, 35 minutes)
• *Note: This section could go much faster. We did two pitches here (not always necessary) and we also had a delay to allow for a soloist to pass along the route.