Gee, it's almost been a week since I climbed Longs Peak and I never told you anything about it. It's been a busy week! I'm planning to do Quandary Peak tomorrow morning...

 I went to Ft. Collins last Thursday night. We got to bed around 22:00 and woke up at 02:00 to hit the trail. We actually started hiking at 04:00, in the dark, with little flashlights. The trail was pretty easy to follow because Longs is a popular hike. We saw quite a few people even that early in the morning.

Steve was having his doubts because he was working pretty hard even below 11,000' (trail started at 9500') so we didn't really plan to go all the way up. It's a 15 mile round trip and the summit is at 14,255'. We thought we'd at least get above treeline and see how we felt. I was worried about the lack of sleep but it didn't seem to bother me too much. We got above treeline and thought we'd see what was above the next ridge. That's a good way to do long hikes, make the next ridge a constant goal so it doesn't get too overwhelming.

 We made it to the Boulder Field at about 12,500' which is a big bowl where the trail kind of disappears and you pick your way through the rocks. We were below the Diamond Face, a HUGE vertical granite cliff, and in sight of the Keyhole, a notch in the far edge that is the only way up to the summit for us.

We thought we'd get to the Keyhole and see how the rest looked. The Keyhole is at 13,100' and from that point, it becomes less of a hike and more of a climb - Steve opted to go no further. I decided to go the rest of the way - I was that close, I wanted to make the top. By the way, the Keyhole is the only way to get to the summit without using ropes.

-> NOTE: I wrote this as an email to my Dad back before I knew about other nontechnical climbs on this peak. The Keyhole route is not the only one.

From the Keyhole, the trail is marked with bullseyes painted on the rocks along the steep side of the west face. You go that way a while, then straight up the Trough Couloir which was full of loose rocks and the worst part of the climb. At the top of the couloir you reach the Narrows, which is a 2'-3' ledge that skirts the south face. Finally, the Homestretch, which is a fairly short climb straight up the south face to the summit.