Longs Peak - Keyhole Route (Route #1) Peak - Keyhole Route (Standard).pdf · Longs come into view,...

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Climbing 14ers can be very dangerous, please read the Mountaineering Safety Page and make sure you have a map+compass and can use them effectively, without the help of electronic devices. Route #1) Longs Peak - Keyhole Route Difficulty: Class 3 Exposure: Summit Elevation: 14,255 feet Trailhead Elevation: 9,400 feet Elevation Gain: 5,100 feet Round-trip Length: 14.00 miles Trailhead: Longs Peak County Sheriff: Larimer: 970-498-5100 County Sheriff: Boulder: 303-441-3600 National Park: Rocky Mountain National Park Author: BillMiddlebrook Last Updated: 1/2012 TH: The trailhead is west of Colorado 7 and can be reached from the north or the south. For the northern approach, drive 9.2 miles south from the intersection of US 36 and CO 7 to the turnoff for the Ranger Station. For the southern approach, drive north 10 miles from the junction of CO 7 and CO 72 on the Peak to Peak Highway to the Ranger Station turnoff. From the turnoff drive west 1 mile to the trailhead. Note: Car-camping is not allowed in the parking area. There is a tent campground nearby and a couple of full campgrounds near Meeker Park.

Transcript of Longs Peak - Keyhole Route (Route #1) Peak - Keyhole Route (Standard).pdf · Longs come into view,...

Page 1: Longs Peak - Keyhole Route (Route #1) Peak - Keyhole Route (Standard).pdf · Longs come into view, as well as Storm Peak (13,326') ahead. Follow the trail south into the Boulder Field

Climbing 14ers can be very dangerous, please read the Mountaineering Safety Page and make sure you havea map+compass and can use them effectively, without the help of electronic devices.

Route #1) Longs Peak - Keyhole Route

Difficulty: Class 3Exposure:Summit Elevation: 14,255 feetTrailhead Elevation: 9,400 feetElevation Gain: 5,100 feetRound-trip Length: 14.00 milesTrailhead: Longs PeakCounty Sheriff: Larimer: 970-498-5100County Sheriff: Boulder: 303-441-3600National Park:  Rocky Mountain National ParkAuthor: BillMiddlebrookLast Updated: 1/2012

TH:   The trailhead is west of Colorado 7 and can be reached from the north or the south. For the northernapproach, drive 9.2 miles south from the intersection of US 36 and CO 7 to the turnoff for the Ranger Station.For the southern approach, drive north 10 miles from the junction of CO 7 and CO 72 on the Peak to PeakHighway to the Ranger Station turnoff. From the turnoff drive west 1 mile to the trailhead. Note: Car-camping isnot allowed in the parking area. There is a tent campground nearby and a couple of full campgrounds nearMeeker Park.

Page 2: Longs Peak - Keyhole Route (Route #1) Peak - Keyhole Route (Standard).pdf · Longs come into view, as well as Storm Peak (13,326') ahead. Follow the trail south into the Boulder Field

Route: From the Ranger Station, start up the great East Longs Peak trail. Hike 0.5 miles to a signed trail junction -stay left on the main trail. Continue up through the forest and pass Goblins Forest. The trail comes close toAlpine Brook a couple of times. Switchback up a hill before crossing Alpine Brook on some log bridges. Leavethe heavy forest shortly after the stream crossing and continue up to tree line near 11,000' (approximately 2.5miles from the trailhead). Longs is now in view as well as the route past Mt. Lady Washington and to GranitePass - Photo #1. Keep hiking southwest along Mills Moraine to the Chasm Lake trail junction (40.26579 N,-105.59264 W) at 11,550'.

Turn right and traverse west and northwest across the northeast slope of Mt. Lady Washington. Photo #2 wastaken part way across the slope. Hike all the way to Granite Pass (40.27395 N, -105.60548 W) to reachanother trail junction. The North Longs Peak Trail heads off to the right. Stay left on the East Longs Peak Trail.The next portion of the hike is the ascent of an easy slope (Photo #3) just north of the Boulder Field.Switchback up the slope to reach the north end of the Boulder Field near 12,400'. The north and east faces ofLongs come into view, as well as Storm Peak (13,326') ahead. Follow the trail south into the Boulder Field (40.26509 N, -105.61402 W) (Photo #4) and eventually to some established tent sites in the middle of the field.There is a restroom in this area. Little elevation has been gained throughout the long Boulder Field crossing.Your next goal is to reach the Keyhole - a notch in the rugged ridge between Longs Peak and Storm Peak.The trail finally runs out near 12,800' on the south end of the Boulder Field. Follow cairns up through the rocksas the terrain becomes more steep under the Keyhole. Photo #5 was taken near 13,000' - looking up at theeast scramble to the Keyhole (40.26041 N, -105.621 W). Scramble up into the Keyhole - Photo #6. Manypeople only make it this far. The terrain beyond the Keyhole is more serious and it's not a place to get stuck infoul weather.

Pass through the Keyhole to the west side of the ridge. Glacier Gorge is down to the right and the next sectionof the route is off to the left. The remaining route to the summit is just under 1 mile, with a slower pace. Turnleft and follow painted bull's-eyes that mark the remaining route to the summit. Scramble south along ledgestoward The Trough - Photo #7. The Trough is a large gully that ascends southeast toward the summit ofLongs, but it's more than just a hike to overcome terrain leading to The Trough. About 1/3 of the way across,the route climbs up about 50' before descending 100'. This up and down adds a bit of complexity, but just keeplooking for the route markers. Photo #8 was taken 1/2 way across the ledges and shows where the routeintersects The Trough. Photo #9 was taken from the same location and looks back on the traverse across fromthe Keyhole.

Enter The Trough (40.25614 N, -105.62031 W) near 13,300' and turn left to begin the 600' ascent - Photo #10.The route is still well marked but it can take a bit of searching to find the bull's-eyes. Generally, climb (difficulthiking really) up the center of the Trough. Some easy scrambling is required in several areas. The rock ismostly stable but there are a few sections of small, loose rock. Photo #11 looks down the Trough fromapproximately 13,700' - climbers can be seen in the center of the photo. Near the top of the Trough, climb 30'of more difficult rock to reach the top (Photo #12) at a small, flat area. You're now on the upper portion of theridge that runs from Longs over to Pagoda Mountain (13,497'). Longs' south side, and much more scrambling,is beyond this point.

Next, you must cross The Narrows (40.25413 N, -105.61773 W) - an exposed ledge the descends slightly as itheads east across the south side of Longs. It is safest when conditions are dry. Photo #13 was taken from theflat spot between the top of the Trough and the start of the Narrows. Carefully climb around a couple of badlypositioned rocks and continue on the Narrows - Photo #14. Descend slightly and continue to follow the routemarkers. Photo #15 was taken after crossing most of the Narrows. Photo #16 (also looking back aftercrossing) is a closer look at some of the features in the Narrows. After crossing the Narrows, scramble up ontomore difficult rock to reach a point where the remaining route to the summit is visible - Photo #17. The finalpitch is called the Homestretch (40.25406 N, -105.61628 W). It looks worse than it is, although water or ice willmake it much more difficult. A bit of concentration is still required in this area to keep the difficulty at Class 3.Again, follow the route markers. Climb up through a couple more sections of rock to reach the final portion ofthe Homestretch - Photo #18. This pitch is straightforward - follow the cracks up to the summit. Care must betaken to avoid a slide down the smooth rock. In total, climb about 300' up the Homestretch to reach the flatsummit (40.254902 N, -105.615738 W) - Photo #19. Photo #20 is the view of Mt. Meeker.

Notes:    This is a long hike with plenty of scrambling on the last mile. In summer, start very early to avoid afternoonthunderstorms. Also, dogs are not allowed on this route. IMPORTANT: This route is in Rocky MountainNational Park. The Park has special regulations and restrictions and does not allow dogs on Longs Peak.

Page 3: Longs Peak - Keyhole Route (Route #1) Peak - Keyhole Route (Standard).pdf · Longs come into view, as well as Storm Peak (13,326') ahead. Follow the trail south into the Boulder Field

Topo map #1:

Topo map #2:

Page 4: Longs Peak - Keyhole Route (Route #1) Peak - Keyhole Route (Standard).pdf · Longs come into view, as well as Storm Peak (13,326') ahead. Follow the trail south into the Boulder Field

Elevation profile:

Page 5: Longs Peak - Keyhole Route (Route #1) Peak - Keyhole Route (Standard).pdf · Longs come into view, as well as Storm Peak (13,326') ahead. Follow the trail south into the Boulder Field
Page 6: Longs Peak - Keyhole Route (Route #1) Peak - Keyhole Route (Standard).pdf · Longs come into view, as well as Storm Peak (13,326') ahead. Follow the trail south into the Boulder Field