Longs Peak - Wow, that was tough!

[rggibbons]

My hiking buddy Jim and I did Longs Peak yesterday, here in Colorado, and had quite a day. It's only 7.5 miles to the top but that muthah is tough! It feels like almost half of it is scrambling on boulders and there are many areas that are quite exposed. The well-known Narrows, in particular, is pretty hair-raising. It's in the last picture, where you actually go along that ledge way over on the right side - Yikes! I can't say it's my favorite hike by any stretch, but it's certainly unique and I'm glad we did it. It is wildly popular, though, and there were lots of people even on a Tuesday.

I'm also going to be in L.A. in late October and am hoping Jim might fly out so we can do a C2C on Saturday, October 30th. I'm sure there'll probably be a lot of people on the trail around that time. If I can get away I might also try to go to Palm Springs on Sunday, October 24th to *just* do a Skyline. It would be great to see some of the regulars again! Sure do miss that mountain! ~Robert

[Hikin_Jim]

Good pix!

[zippetydude]

Wow, that looks tough! Well done. So, I see you're still in shape for Skyline...hope to meet you in person this time. Be sure to post when you're out and about this way.

z

[KathyW]

Congrats on Longs - that's a beautiful mountain - it was my first Colorado 14er (I've only been up 15 of them), and one of my favorites. Capitol and Sneffels are ones I really enjoyed too.

[Kevin]

The stone hut to the left of the Keyhole is visible in one of your photos. The windows makes it look like something out of an adventure movie.

[tinaballina]

Robert, nice....miss ya.

[Ellen]

Howdy Robert

Thanks for the trip report and pictures Good to hear you're coming back out for Skyline. We look forward to seeing you again. Please let me know if you'd like a place to stay -- I'm about an hour away in Riverside.

Miles of smiles,
Ellen

[rggibbons]

Thanks so much, everyone, for all the nice comments! I'll definitely be in touch as we get closer to late October and hopefully see some of you on Skyline And thanks so much, Ellen, for the nice offer! I'll let you know how our plans shape up and if I need a place to stay. It would be really great to see you on the trail again - or start on the trail and then meet again at the bar an hour or so later as I drag myself up the ramp

[whitneyfan]

Yes, Longs is a wild ride. I hiked it on Aug 11 this year.
Very windy that day and I thought I might get blown off the mountain coming through the Keyhole.

I could decide if it was more difficult than Mt Whiney main trail or even the mountaineer's route.

I summited Mt Whitney for the 3rd time via main trail 2 weeks later and decided that was more difficult for me. Certainly there is more climbing on Longs Peak, but the length of Whitney drags me down, and I now think the Mountaineer's route is definitely harder.

Longs has some great views.
I am wondering why the route could not go straight up the slope in your second photo. It looks like a direct route straight to the summit.

[bluerail]

Glad to hear your doing good and still having fun suffering Robert. Seems your one of those people that get missed and talked about. Anytime your around let people here know, I'm sure everyone would enjoy your company.

Is it just me, or does the sky look alot more blue in Colorado ? The pictures sure look it, it's been years since I've been there, but I really enjoyed it when I was.

-steve