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Base Camp
Up
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- Statistics:
- Date Hiked: September 7,
2008
- Miles Hiked: 11.0
- Elevation Gain: 5,000'
- Hiking Partner(s): John
Balciar & Jeff Shafer
- Description:
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This was my fifth summit of Longs Peak by the
fourth route. Kiener’s has been on my short list for a while so I was
excited to attempt this climb. The trip came together at the last
minute after I bailed on a friend to hike Saturday. When the dust
settled, the team consisted of James, Jeff, and John. Although Longs
Peak and the Boulder Field received 5 to 7 inches of snow on Thursday
night, Jeff was confident that the route would go.
- I
slept in until 2:00 am before grabbing my gear and riding bike over to
Jeff’s house. We picked up John on the way and were hiking from the
Longs Peak Trailhead by 4:20 am. As Jeff signed in at the trailhead
register, another climber told us we should have an “interesting climb”
given the recent moisture the area received. He was going to attempt
the North Face. Although I didn’t say anything, I certainly thought the
east side of the mountain would prove to be much easier than the
snowy/icy north side.
- I
struggled with my blood sugar levels all day and started off with high
readings. After about an hour, I was extremely low and it was time for
a break near the Jim’s Grove trail junction anyway. We refueled and
continued to Chasm Junction. I was still feeling poor as my sugars
remained low, and to top it all off I dropped my beanie. Jeff offered
to go back and get it which cost us 20 minutes. I ate some more and we
worked our way to the ranger hut, Chasm Lake, and the base of Lambs
Slide.
- The
recent snow likely made climbing Lambs Slide slightly easier; however,
there were sections of solid alpine ice near the top. In hindsight, I
should have made a greater effort to avoid the ice because you were
relying solely on front points with an alpine axe unable to penetrate
the ice. Fortunately we made the exit to Broadway without incident, but
John and Jeff had to wait for me a while because I was still moving
slowly. We scrambled up the first section of Broadway to the point
where I have normally roped up for the traverse. Not surprisingly,
Broadway looked totally different from my first two experiences.
Although we did not rope up at this point, we did keep our crampons on
for the remainder of the traverse due to a dusting of snow that remained
on the ledges.
- Jeff
started the traverse and was quickly at the second prominent point on
the route immediately before the infamous “step around” move. John and
I joined Jeff who then proceeded to climb under the protruding rock.
The first time I completed the traverse we didn’t even realize we made
the crux move. The second time, we did the high traverse and avoided
the step around altogether. Since I didn’t think it was too bad the
first time, I decided to try it again. I successfully completed the
move, but it seemed harder and more alarming when not on a rope. John
also went around instead of under and commented half way through the
move, “What have I gotten myself into?” If I ever traverse Broadway
again without a rope, I will be executing the belly crawl to get past
the crux.
- A
little more scrambling put us at the base of the Notch Couloir. After
previously seeing the couloir full of snow, it was a bit weird viewing
it under the current conditions. It actually looked somewhat menacing.
The crampons came in handy again since there was some snow at the base
of the Notch we had to cross to get to the first pitch of the Kiener’s
route. The first half of the first pitch was dry and fun; however, as
you entered the narrow confines of the chimney near the end of the first
pitch, the snow didn’t melt and the rock was a bit icy. Nevertheless,
we all made it up the pitch and completed the short traverse over to the
base of the second pitch.
- The
second pitch was completely dry and as equally fun as the first. After
climbing this section, we packed up the ropes for the day and started an
excellent class 3/4 scramble to the summit. This was definitely one of
the more pleasing scrambles that I have done. Jeff had completed this
climb before, so route finding was not an issue. As we approached the
apex of the Diamond, we encountered the large block steps where another
less dramatic step around move is executed. This is also where you
essentially cross over to the North Face and have an easy scramble to
the summit.
- Jeff
was recently on the North Face and not totally keen on descending this
route again given the loose rock and fresh snow. Climbers from the
Keyhole Route indicated that the Homestretch and Trough were in
generally acceptable conditions. As a result, we collectively opted to
go down the Keyhole Route instead of the North Face. The descent wasn’t
too bad, but I didn’t let my guard down and am never totally comfortable
descending snowy/icy rock. Jeff and John cruised down quickly. To make
myself feel better, I blame my down-climbing apprehension on the fact
that I’m not a skier. Whatever.
- The
Narrows and Ledges traverses before and after the Trough were a piece of
cake. I bonked again at the Keyhole and needed to eat some more. We
regrouped and removed layers at the Boulder Field to prepare for the
hike out. Jeff and I donned our iPods to assist with the remaining
miles. We stuck together for the most part between the Boulder Field
and Chasm Junction, but I had to work at keeping up with Jeff and John.
At Chasm Junction, Jeff and I peeled a base layer off our legs since we
had really warmed up over the last hour.
- I had
recovered from my blood sugar low at the Keyhole and decided to try and
make up some time since my partners were patient with my pace throughout
the day. I also felt much cooler after removing my running tights. We
made good time on the way out, and I was actually surprised at how fast
the generally brutal death march went. Not realizing it at the time, I
ended up passing the guy who was going up the North Face. I didn’t
think to ask him how his day was, so I don't know if they completed the
climb or not. It took us 7 hours and 10 minutes to summit and 11 hours
and 25 minutes round trip.
- It was
a good day in the mountains. In my opinion, the North Face route
doesn’t hold a candle to Kiener’s which was about 10 times more
enjoyable. The approach is more stunning by Chasm Lake, the base of the
Diamond, Lambs Slide, and Broadway as opposed to basically the Boulder
Field. Also, the technical pitches seemed slightly more challenging and
diverse than the North Face. Finally, and the scrambling above the
short technical pitches of Kiener’s was a lot more solid and fun than
the loose moderate scrambling on the North Face. Just my opinion.
- Maps:
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Click here to view a
2D map of
the area where this hike is located.
- Photographs:
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