I had long wanted to climb Longs Peak. It's one of those peaks that truly has its own identity - its massive form standing out along the northern Front Range, with its distinctive flat top and imposing 'Diamond' face. Last year (2004), I'd hiked up to Chasm Lake just below the forementioned Diamond to get a feel for the mountain. Naturally, I was hooked.

It wasn't until this year (2005), that a good opportunity presented itself. I'd climbed several peaks this summer and felt I was in pretty good shape. In a bookstore, I came across a book on Longs Peak and became fascinated with the first official ascent of the peak - by John Wesley Powell in 1868. The route, titled Keplinger Couloir, was named after one of the men in his party that initially scouted the route. The more I read, the more I wanted this to be my first ascent of Longs Peak as well. Bushwacking into a pristine valley, high camp at an alpine lake, and climbing one of the most popular mountains in Colorado in solitude. Sounds good to me.

Then, one of my co-workers, mentioned his interest in climbing a 14er this summer. Lou had done Longs once before via the Keyhole Route, but once I told him about this alternative route, he was hooked. Less than a week later, we're off.

(31 August 2005 - Wednesday) Lou and I left work early, obtained a backcountry permit from the Wild Basin ranger station, and parked at the Copeland Lake Trailhead just before 5 pm. The 'Plan' was to quickly hike up the Sandbeach Lake trail (~4 miles) and then bushwack into high camp at an unnamed lake south of Longs Peak. High camp would be at around 11,000 feet. We figured we'd have good light until 8:30 or so. We made good time along the trail. Stopping only briefly to pat ourselves on the back for making such good time while carrying 40+ lb packs. We made the cutoff point before 7 pm. All was good - especially the weather. Once again, a pat on the back.

We proceeded to bushwack. And bushwack. And bushwack. It would be an understatement to say that we underestimated this portion. Light soon faded and we still had not made the lake. We put on the headlamps (there was no moonlight that night) and kept on - navigating by the silhouettes of Mt. Meeker, Longs, Pagoda Mountain, and the ridge to our south. GPS would have worked great...too bad we didn't have one. My legs were cramping, too many pats on the back and not enough fluids. Then we hit the 'evil' willows. We were close to fast running water - the sound would indicate water flowing into or out of the lake. The willows were head high. After five or ten minutes of route finding to higher ground, and high-stepping the Rockettes would be proud of, we were on level ground again. We were done. 9:15 pm. Time to camp. We found the first level piece of ground and pitched the tent. Good night.

Well, at least somewhat a good night. A bit windy. A bit cold. And Lou complaining about a porcupine outside the tent ?!? :) We decided to get up a little early (5:15 am) to get going as soon as possible. We estimated on the topo map that we had a 500' ridge above us to get to the main basin below the couloir. At 5:45 we exited the tent and turned to face Longs Peak.

(Thursday) Alas, no ridge. We were on the top of the ridge. Nothing but an easy walk around the basin to the couloir. Good Morning! We could not have picked a better campsite - even in the daylight. In fact, I would not be surprised if Powell's original campsite had been in the same place.

The walk around the basin was uneventful. We purified some water halfway across to 'fill the tanks' prior to the climb. As we neared the base, we had a much better view of the couloir. It's rather wide and the footing was better than we expected. It was steep. But certainly not all scree. In fact, the rocks were good sized and the footing decent. Only the occassional 'rock surfing' required.

We looked back to see the sunrise catch the ridgelines to the South. Lou spotted a coyote making his way across the basin we just crossed. By the time I switched to my telephoto, he was gone. Bummer. Does anyone have a 17-500mm lightweight zoom lens for a Canon? Right.

As we climbed, the walls around us grew as we moved towards the Palisades. This rock feature is clearly visible from far away, but to stand below it is very awe inspiring. It was just after this that Keplinger, in the waning light the night before the historic ascent, mistakenly kept going up towards the Notch. Although the summit seemed well within his reach, he was forced back. The story goes that Powell had someone light a fire near the base of the couloir to guide him back down.

Here we began our traverse to the left (West) to meet up with the bottom of the Homestretch. The Homestretch is the last section of the Keyhole Route. It's a climb up a rock face directly to the summit. It's steep, but not horribly so. I heard some say you go up on all fours and come down on all fives. Not sure it's that steep; however, it would become very interesting when wet or iced.

As the last section of the standard Keyhole Route, we ran into people. Bummer. :) There were only a few. But we'd been alone to that point, and hadn't seen another person since we left the trailhead. It sort of spoiled the mood if you will. Made me even more happy about the route we'd taken.

We made the summit just before 10 am. There were about 8 others on the summit. All had come via the Keyhole and started at about 2:30 to 3:30 am that morning. The morning was clear and beautiful. We ate, took pictures, made a few phone calls ("Hey, guess where I am?"), and enjoyed the view.

We discussed possible routes back down. We needed to return to our tent and packs; thus, our options were limited. We decided to just return the way we came. We left the summit at roughly 11 am.

Two and a half, knee pounding, hours later we were breaking camp. Our thirty something legs were hurtin'. Packing up camp allowed us just enough time to tighten up. We then put on the 40 lb packs and proceeded down the ridge. The first few steps were rough - trying to loosen up again. Once we got off the ridge, things were better. The bushwacking went much better in the daylight...hmmm. Gotta remember that. GPS. Gotta remember that too.

We found the Sandbeach Lake trail once again and begun the long walk down to the trailhead. "Dead Men Walking". We stopped at the Hunter's Creek crossing to purify some water, quench the thirst, and then non-stop it back to the truck. Just after 5 pm we're back. Our 24-hour trek is over.

A great time. I've already forgotten the pain. :)

Lance Livingston