Shortly after I met Shari Post back in 2002, she'd talked me into climbing Long's Peak. She'd climbed it once, was injured on it once, and, for reasons that I don't understand, wanted to do it again. Of course, it was mostly her and her husband Brad that got me hooked on 14ers anyway, so it seemed appropriate to climb with them. Lonny, Lisa, and I hiked the Keyhole route (which is the standard approach), while Brad, Shari, Alan, and his son Joe went up the Loft route - a shorter but more challenging route. We met at the summit and descended together. This is, by far, the most challenging 14er that I've done to date!
Before setting off on the trail
Trekking towards camp at Jims Grove (Battle Mountain)
Lisa on trail
Alan and Joe arriving at camp
Brad, Shari, and Lonny filtering stream water
Lonny and Brian, both looking particularly gay
Lisa, Lonny, and Brian setting off for the Keyhole route at 3:55 AM
The front range city lights before dawn
Sunrise over Mount Lady Washington (in the Boulder Field of Longs)
Alpenglow on the Diamond face of Longs and the Boulder Field
Lonny and Brian at sunrise
The Privies in the Boulder field!
Meanwhile: Alan, Joe, Shari, and Brad head up towards the Loft
The Keyhole
Lisa, and the Keyhole
Brian and Lisa picking through the boulder field
Lonny climbing towards the Keyhole
Lonny, looking down 2,000 feet into Glacier Gorge
Hikers heading along the trail towards the Trough
Brian and Lisa resting in the Keyhole
Looking back on the Keyhole from the trail
Loft: Brad, somewhere along the Loft Route
Keyhole: Lonny, taking in Glacier Gorge
Loft: Alan, resting along the Loft ascent
Loft: Alan, Shari, and Joe, ascending towards the Loft
Keyhole: Back on the Keyhole route, Lonny and Lisa begin their ascent of the Trough
Loft: Joe, Alan, Shari, and Brad atop the Loft
Keyhole: Lonny and Brian in the Trough (who knows what Lonny is doing)
Loft: Downclimbing towards Clarks Arrow
Loft: Downclimbing towards Clarks Arrow
Loft: Downclimbing towards Clarks Arrow
Loft: Downclimbing from the Loft
Keyhole: Lisa and Lonny atop the Trough, just before passing onto the Narrows
Loft: Alan with Clark's Arrow!
Loft: Brad with Clark's Arrow
Loft: The elusive and famed "Clarks Arrow"
Keyhole: Lonny along the Narrows (it really does drop about 1700 feet immediately to the left of him!)
Loft: Heading towards the Homestretch (the Narrows visible just barely above)
Keyhole: Lisa climbing the Homestretch
Loft: Another glance back at the Clarks Arrow location
The Loft and Mt. Meeker from the summit of Longs
The large expanse of the Longs summit
The Loft party ascends the Homestretch (note how busy it is!)
Lonny points to our camp site at Battle Mountain
Everyone atop the summit
Lisa and Brian
Alan and Joe
Starting our descent of the Homestretch (in the rain)
Photo-op over, now it's time to descend
Father and daughter of "Disaster Family", plus Eric, Brad, and Brian
The Narrows behind the Disaster Family
Shari, on the Narrows
Brian, on the Trough chokestone downclimb (in the rain)
Descending the Trough in little visibility
Looking down the Trough as the clouds broke just a little
Glancing upwards into the cloudy Trough
The "nifty v slot" as Roach's book describes it...
Brian, going through the V-slot
Taking a rest now that we're all through the Keyhole and the worst of the boulder field
Time for some Advil!
Longs Peak - enveloped in clouds
Lonny, Lisa, and Brian returning camp
Lonny, with his Buttery Herb Pasta
The group at the Battle Mountain trail split
Brad, pointing to the Loft
The car accident on the way home from Estes Park
Tire tracks, showing how close we came to hitting the "Bing Cherry Cider" stand.
The two blue cars (foreground and distance) that forced our maneuvers.