Long's Peak COLORADO

Location: Long's Peak, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado
Route: Keyhole Route / Class 3 / 14.5 miles round-trip from trail-head to trail-head/ Elevation gain of 5,100ft (1554.48 meters) / Summit elevation: 14,225 ft
GPS: 40.254990,-105.615400 (this is the mountain's location)  



Shortly after leaving the treeline, the sun rises over the front range

Coming into the boulder field, the diamond lights up in the morning glow- this is what we live for

Somewhere along the narrows, if I am not mistaken this is just after the ledges but I'm not really sure. 

I believe this photo was taken looking North, from the summit

I believe this photo was taken looking Northwest, from the summit.

Looking West, From the summit


Alpine Spider



This is a great route for anyone. I'm not going to go into the "be prepared" discussion. The mountain should speak for itself in this respect. Well over 4,000 meters tall, it should be attempted with respect and your own level of preparedness should dictate your course of action and the gear you bring. Too many people "epic" on this moderate route, every year. Just a few days before I made my attempt, a young man fell to his death on an exposed section of the route. I saw the helicopter taking his body out, don't be fooled by "easy ground". 5,100 feet of elevation gain, a summit that is well over 4,000 meters, culminating in a round-trip car to car of roughly 14.5 miles. Plan on having a long day.

I did this Hike/Climb in August, in optimal conditions. I took a small pack with a thermos of tea, two protein bars and my camera. I was wearing running shorts, cross-country running shoes, a synthetic short-sleeve top, a hat and sunglasses. I also brought my RAB shell for staying warm while hanging out at the summit.

Looking back: My plan for this came out of the blue. I decided to have a go at this in the middle of the night. So without sleeping, I loaded up on Carbohydrates, water and my personal favorite . . . Coffee :)  Everyone in Colorado knows about this mountain. It dominates the skyline of Northern Colorado and towers above all other mountains in the area. I wanted to ascend this route the fastest I possibly could, but still doing so at a comfortable and constant pace. This boiled down to a mixture of fast walking, jogging, and lots of heavy breathing. I would generally run anything that looked "flat" and then walk as fast as possible up anything that gained in height.   


Location: Longs Peak, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado 80510, USA

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