Peak(s):	Mt. Meeker - 13,916 feet Longs Peak - 14,259 feet
Date Posted:	09/03/2014
Date Climbed:	09/01/2014
Author:	nathanc
Additional Members:	mlayman09

Because They're There
Because They're There (Meeker and Longs: Loft Route up, Keyhole Route down) Since moving to Denver two years ago, I've become familair with the shapes of the various high peaks I see every day, from the rolling ridge of Evans and its satellites, to the sharp point of Torreys peeking out from behind it, to the solitary massif of Pikes Peak far to the south. But the one that has always intrigued me the most is the majestic pyramid of Meeker and Longs, with its squarish summit profile and the long sweep of its east ridge capping off the view northward. I can see it every time I get on the light rail, pull into the parking lot of the grocery store, or take a jog through the park. Reading about this mountain, I learned that practically every part has its own nickname: the Keyhole, the Trough, the Loft, the Notch, the Beaver, the Homestretch... just saying the names is exciting. Having done my first "harder" 14er routes this summer, I looked forward to climbing Longs to cap off the season, before winter conditions set in again. Of course, "winter" in the high mountains applies to a much longer period of time than it does down on the plains... Matt and I rolled into the Longs Peak Campground just before 7:00 on the Sunday of Labor Day weekend, beneath skies clearing from an afternoon of thundershowers. While a National Park Service campground has many advantages over the typical 14er camping spot, such as paved roads, spacious tent pads, and flush toilets, there are also certain drawbacks, such as neighbors with priorities other than hiking. By 8:00, we were in our sleeping bags, prepared for an early start the next day, when a garrulous group from Mississippi pulled into the neighboring site and proceeded to strike up a lively conversation around the campfire... which lasted five hours. After finally asking them, as politely as we could, to quiet down, we got in a couple hours of shut-eye before the alarm rang the next morning. Getting ready in the dark, I wore my typical hiking gear of shorts (for ease in scrambling) and my favorite breathable T-shirt (to keep my back from getting soaked beneath my pack) and downed my typical pre-hike breakfast of a bagel, a nectarine, and a large bottle of water. Our plan was to take the Loft Route up to Longs, hitting Meeker on the way, and descend the Keyhole Route. We walked over to the trailhead and set off from the ranger station around 5:00, the clear Milky Way above boding well for the day's weather. Since we both hike fairly fast, we were aiming to reach Chasm Lake at sunrise and probably pass some other hikers on the way. With the wide, well-maintained trail ascending gently through the forest, we were able to roll off the miles at a good pace. However, by the time we reached treeline, we had passed only four hikers heading up--and at least ten hikers heading down. This was slightly unsettling: why were all those people who started so early turning around before it was even light enough to see? Once we got above the trees, we discovered one possible answer. A fresh, cold breeze was sweeping the tundra, with enough bite to make the landscape seem rather hostile. I immediately regretted my decision to wear shorts, but adding another layer on my upper body made things comfortable again, and we continued on. We could see the lights of Boulder and Denver down below between wisps of fog, with a dull red glow forming over Twin Sisters to the east. As we reached the Chasm Lake junction, the entire east face of the peaks came into view, from Meeker over to Ships Prow and the Diamond, a spectacular mountain wall that would belong equally well in the Sierras or the Andes as in the Rockies. We could see a single headlamp on the summit of Longs. Kudos to whoever was up there that early; hope you were rewarded with an inspiring view. On the trail down to Chasm Lake. The Loft is visible at left Sunrise at Chasm Falls Spurred on by the pink outline of the sun appearing on the horizon, we cruised down the trail to Chasm Meadows past the beautiful waterfall and scrambled up the rocks to the lake just as alpenglow hit the Diamond above us. Clouds were zooming off the summit at frightening speeds and splashing into salmon-colored froth overhead. The power of the Creator was clearly evident to me in this scene, compelling me to echo the angels' cries that the earth is indeed full of His glory. We spent a few minutes at the lake soaking in the view and enjoying a snack before scrambling back to the valley below the Loft Couloir. A rough, class 2 trail wound up the center of the valley, with occasional small cairns marking the way. The wind continued to swirl down from the ridge, and when we climbed high enough to emerge into the sunlight, it provided some welcome warmth to offset the chill. Alpenglow at Chasm Lake Close-up of the Diamond Probably the most spectacular mountain wall I have ever seen The route up to the Loft is well described on 14ers.com and was fairly straightforward to follow: once the trail ends, keep scrambling up the center of the couloir, then just before the dark cliff band with water running down it, turn left up a ramp. Climb over a couple large boulders, then switchback up to the right on a narrow ledge, which will deliver you back to class 2 terrain. There was a coating of snow on some of the rocks which made things a little tricky, but still manageable. Once we reached the Loft, the winds coming up from Wild Basin forced me to dig my windbreaker out of my pack, which was unfortunately the last layer I had brought with me. I realized I was in for a long, cold morning. Starting up the valley towards the Loft Matt climbing the ramp out of the Loft Couloir The trail to Mt. Meeker, starting from the south side of the Loft, switchbacks up a talus gully, which provided some shelter from the wind, to a point just below the west end of the summit ridge. From there, we scrambled along the narrow ridge crest to the summit block, which is actually just past (east of) the summit register. The summit block itself is a bit difficult to actually climb; I ended up standing on a little ledge at the base of it, putting one leg onto the summit block, and hoisting myself awkwardly up. It was just after 8:00. The summit had great views south to the Indian Peaks, west into the national park, and north to Longs, but it was extremely exposed to the wind, so we high-tailed it back down to the Loft. View down the Loft from Meeker Looking west on the summit ridge of Meeker Matt on the summit of Meeker, with the view north towards Longs The next stage of our route required us to negotiate the couloirs on the south side of the Longs past the elusive Clark's Arrow. I was a bit apprehensive about the route-finding aspect of this section, but once again, it was fairly straightforward. A more detailed description can be found in this helpful trip report, but it basically goes like this: head towards the west edge of the Loft, aiming for the base of the slope leading up to the Beaver to your right. When you reach the first cairn on the edge of the valley, look down the slope to find another cairn, perched prominently on a rock jutting out into the valley; this is the "key cairn." Just past the key cairn, climb down a steep gully with a few tricky class 3/4 moves to navigate the boulders until you reach a ledge leading to your right past a large boulder. (This seems slightly harder but slightly simpler than the route described by Roach.) As soon as you pass this boulder, look over your shoulder to see Clark's Arrow behind you, then traverse right (north) to reach the bottom of Keplinger's Couloir. Having skipped our usual summit snack on Meeker, we took a break here to refuel in a little nook sheltered from the wind. Keplinger's Couloir had more snow and ice in it than the Loft Couloir did, and it was difficult to climb up some of the granite slabs without slipping. Rocky terrain in Keplinger's Couloir. Clark's Arrow is barely visible on the tall oblong slab just left of center We eventually reached the base of the Homestretch, where we saw other climbers for the first time since the turnoff for Chasm Lake. The thin layer of snow and ice had turned the Homestretch into a serious scramble requiring intense concentration. The mild exposure to our right wasn't enough to trigger any fear of heights for me, but if it had, I would have quickly clammed up in searching for ice-free footholds in the cracks. One climber lost her grip and slid a few feet down to the next crack, but recovered before any harm was done. Any time I felt a hold start to slip on me, I pressed harder against the rock with the others to keep from suffering a similar fate. After several minutes of painstaking progress, we finally reached the summit just before 10:00. I was amazed that such a large, relatively flat space could exist on top of such a rugged mountain. We ventured over to the west side of the boulder-covered expanse to look down into Glacier Gorge and were nearly blown back to the middle by fierce winds coming up from below. Chasm Lake from the summit of Longs Glacier Gorge from the summit of Longs After a few minutes of exploring the summit, we were ready to head down. By this time, a fair number of climbers were coming up the Homestretch, making our progress excruciatingly slow. Every few steps, I had to wait until the climbers ahead of me had descended far enough that I wouldn't take them out if I slipped. As I stood there shivering in the wind, all I could think was, "Lord Jesus, help me to get off this mountain safely... and as soon as possible, please!" I think I scraped my leg on a rock, but my legs were numb enough now that I couldn't really tell. Matt discovered one of his gloves had worn a hole in it, and he couldn't feel his index finger. When we reached the bottom, we turned right onto ground we had not traversed before. Once again, the snow on the Narrows required extra caution, but we were soon safely across. The Homestretch On this side of the mountain, the winds coming up from Glacier Gorge were positively insane. Turning the last corner, we looked down the Trough, a long, knee-busting descent which was now filled with several inches of snow. Here we met a descending climber complaining of blurred vision; when I hiked 20 feet below him, he could barely tell I was there. He was still able to move steadily, so we agreed to stay with him down to the Keyhole to make sure he found his way safely. The chockstone at the top of the Trough presented a particular challenge. Perhaps the easiest route was covered up due to the snow, but the best route I could find involved downclimbing into a small slot, dangling from the edge of the slot with both arms, and launching yourself sideways onto a patch of flat snow a few feet below. When we finally turned the corner onto the Ledges, the snow became much sparser, but we couldn't let up our concentration; I thought the most exposed spot on the entire route was at the metal stake just before the Keyhole (coming from our direction). The winds funneling through the Keyhole reached one last peak of howling intensity, and then, as we reached the shelter, suddenly, blessedly, dropped to almost nothing. After several hours of physically and mentally taxing effort in the wind and cold, we were exhausted. Having another summit snack to make up, we had lunch and relaxed with a few other climbers on the rocks below the shelter. Climbers descending the Trough Chiefs Head and Green Lake from the Ledges From here, all that remained was a long, gentle descent, our bodies gradually regaining their heat as we descended to warmer climes. Just below the Boulderfield, we passed a park ranger on her way up with three llamas and wondered what they were carrying up this high. When we returned to the Chasm Lake junction, Matt finally warmed up enough to take off his down jacket, and we took another short rest, admiring the spectacular view one more time. Below the junction, the trail was fairly crowded with hikers taking advantage of the long holiday week to enjoy the national park. We reached the trailhead at 3:15, for just over 10 hours on the trail, including stops. Thankful to have returned safely, we quickly packed up and hit the road back to Denver. Matt and I agreed that the Loft, given the snow conditions that day, had been a much easier route than the Keyhole, and I would definitely recommend it anytime the Loft Couloir is snow-free. While the day's adventures had been a blast (literally and figuratively), it was not an experience we wished to have again, at least under those conditions. But if there's ever a (preferably calm) summer day in Denver when we feel like climbing a mountain, Longs and Meeker will still be there, waiting... Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Because They're There

Because They're There
(Meeker and Longs: Loft Route up, Keyhole Route down)

Since moving to Denver two years ago, I've become familair with the shapes of the various high peaks I see every day, from the rolling ridge of Evans and its satellites, to the sharp point of Torreys peeking out from behind it, to the solitary massif of Pikes Peak far to the south. But the one that has always intrigued me the most is the majestic pyramid of Meeker and Longs, with its squarish summit profile and the long sweep of its east ridge capping off the view northward. I can see it every time I get on the light rail, pull into the parking lot of the grocery store, or take a jog through the park. Reading about this mountain, I learned that practically every part has its own nickname: the Keyhole, the Trough, the Loft, the Notch, the Beaver, the Homestretch... just saying the names is exciting. Having done my first "harder" 14er routes this summer, I looked forward to climbing Longs to cap off the season, before winter conditions set in again. Of course, "winter" in the high mountains applies to a much longer period of time than it does down on the plains...

Matt and I rolled into the Longs Peak Campground just before 7:00 on the Sunday of Labor Day weekend, beneath skies clearing from an afternoon of thundershowers. While a National Park Service campground has many advantages over the typical 14er camping spot, such as paved roads, spacious tent pads, and flush toilets, there are also certain drawbacks, such as neighbors with priorities other than hiking. By 8:00, we were in our sleeping bags, prepared for an early start the next day, when a garrulous group from Mississippi pulled into the neighboring site and proceeded to strike up a lively conversation around the campfire... which lasted five hours. After finally asking them, as politely as we could, to quiet down, we got in a couple hours of shut-eye before the alarm rang the next morning.

Getting ready in the dark, I wore my typical hiking gear of shorts (for ease in scrambling) and my favorite breathable T-shirt (to keep my back from getting soaked beneath my pack) and downed my typical pre-hike breakfast of a bagel, a nectarine, and a large bottle of water. Our plan was to take the Loft Route up to Longs, hitting Meeker on the way, and descend the Keyhole Route. We walked over to the trailhead and set off from the ranger station around 5:00, the clear Milky Way above boding well for the day's weather. Since we both hike fairly fast, we were aiming to reach Chasm Lake at sunrise and probably pass some other hikers on the way. With the wide, well-maintained trail ascending gently through the forest, we were able to roll off the miles at a good pace. However, by the time we reached treeline, we had passed only four hikers heading up--and at least ten hikers heading down. This was slightly unsettling: why were all those people who started so early turning around before it was even light enough to see?

Once we got above the trees, we discovered one possible answer. A fresh, cold breeze was sweeping the tundra, with enough bite to make the landscape seem rather hostile. I immediately regretted my decision to wear shorts, but adding another layer on my upper body made things comfortable again, and we continued on. We could see the lights of Boulder and Denver down below between wisps of fog, with a dull red glow forming over Twin Sisters to the east. As we reached the Chasm Lake junction, the entire east face of the peaks came into view, from Meeker over to Ships Prow and the Diamond, a spectacular mountain wall that would belong equally well in the Sierras or the Andes as in the Rockies. We could see a single headlamp on the summit of Longs. Kudos to whoever was up there that early; hope you were rewarded with an inspiring view.

On the trail down to Chasm Lake. The Loft is visible at left

Spurred on by the pink outline of the sun appearing on the horizon, we cruised down the trail to Chasm Meadows past the beautiful waterfall and scrambled up the rocks to the lake just as alpenglow hit the Diamond above us. Clouds were zooming off the summit at frightening speeds and splashing into salmon-colored froth overhead. The power of the Creator was clearly evident to me in this scene, compelling me to echo the angels' cries that the earth is indeed full of His glory. We spent a few minutes at the lake soaking in the view and enjoying a snack before scrambling back to the valley below the Loft Couloir. A rough, class 2 trail wound up the center of the valley, with occasional small cairns marking the way. The wind continued to swirl down from the ridge, and when we climbed high enough to emerge into the sunlight, it provided some welcome warmth to offset the chill.

Probably the most spectacular mountain wall I have ever seen

The route up to the Loft is well described on 14ers.com and was fairly straightforward to follow: once the trail ends, keep scrambling up the center of the couloir, then just before the dark cliff band with water running down it, turn left up a ramp. Climb over a couple large boulders, then switchback up to the right on a narrow ledge, which will deliver you back to class 2 terrain. There was a coating of snow on some of the rocks which made things a little tricky, but still manageable. Once we reached the Loft, the winds coming up from Wild Basin forced me to dig my windbreaker out of my pack, which was unfortunately the last layer I had brought with me. I realized I was in for a long, cold morning.

Matt climbing the ramp out of the Loft Couloir

The trail to Mt. Meeker, starting from the south side of the Loft, switchbacks up a talus gully, which provided some shelter from the wind, to a point just below the west end of the summit ridge. From there, we scrambled along the narrow ridge crest to the summit block, which is actually just past (east of) the summit register. The summit block itself is a bit difficult to actually climb; I ended up standing on a little ledge at the base of it, putting one leg onto the summit block, and hoisting myself awkwardly up. It was just after 8:00. The summit had great views south to the Indian Peaks, west into the national park, and north to Longs, but it was extremely exposed to the wind, so we high-tailed it back down to the Loft.

Looking west on the summit ridge of Meeker

Matt on the summit of Meeker, with the view north towards Longs

The next stage of our route required us to negotiate the couloirs on the south side of the Longs past the elusive Clark's Arrow. I was a bit apprehensive about the route-finding aspect of this section, but once again, it was fairly straightforward. A more detailed description can be found in this helpful trip report, but it basically goes like this: head towards the west edge of the Loft, aiming for the base of the slope leading up to the Beaver to your right. When you reach the first cairn on the edge of the valley, look down the slope to find another cairn, perched prominently on a rock jutting out into the valley; this is the "key cairn." Just past the key cairn, climb down a steep gully with a few tricky class 3/4 moves to navigate the boulders until you reach a ledge leading to your right past a large boulder. (This seems slightly harder but slightly simpler than the route described by Roach.) As soon as you pass this boulder, look over your shoulder to see Clark's Arrow behind you, then traverse right (north) to reach the bottom of Keplinger's Couloir. Having skipped our usual summit snack on Meeker, we took a break here to refuel in a little nook sheltered from the wind. Keplinger's Couloir had more snow and ice in it than the Loft Couloir did, and it was difficult to climb up some of the granite slabs without slipping.

Rocky terrain in Keplinger's Couloir. Clark's Arrow is barely visible on the tall oblong slab just left of center

We eventually reached the base of the Homestretch, where we saw other climbers for the first time since the turnoff for Chasm Lake. The thin layer of snow and ice had turned the Homestretch into a serious scramble requiring intense concentration. The mild exposure to our right wasn't enough to trigger any fear of heights for me, but if it had, I would have quickly clammed up in searching for ice-free footholds in the cracks. One climber lost her grip and slid a few feet down to the next crack, but recovered before any harm was done. Any time I felt a hold start to slip on me, I pressed harder against the rock with the others to keep from suffering a similar fate. After several minutes of painstaking progress, we finally reached the summit just before 10:00. I was amazed that such a large, relatively flat space could exist on top of such a rugged mountain. We ventured over to the west side of the boulder-covered expanse to look down into Glacier Gorge and were nearly blown back to the middle by fierce winds coming up from below.

After a few minutes of exploring the summit, we were ready to head down. By this time, a fair number of climbers were coming up the Homestretch, making our progress excruciatingly slow. Every few steps, I had to wait until the climbers ahead of me had descended far enough that I wouldn't take them out if I slipped. As I stood there shivering in the wind, all I could think was, "Lord Jesus, help me to get off this mountain safely... and as soon as possible, please!" I think I scraped my leg on a rock, but my legs were numb enough now that I couldn't really tell. Matt discovered one of his gloves had worn a hole in it, and he couldn't feel his index finger. When we reached the bottom, we turned right onto ground we had not traversed before. Once again, the snow on the Narrows required extra caution, but we were soon safely across.

On this side of the mountain, the winds coming up from Glacier Gorge were positively insane. Turning the last corner, we looked down the Trough, a long, knee-busting descent which was now filled with several inches of snow. Here we met a descending climber complaining of blurred vision; when I hiked 20 feet below him, he could barely tell I was there. He was still able to move steadily, so we agreed to stay with him down to the Keyhole to make sure he found his way safely. The chockstone at the top of the Trough presented a particular challenge. Perhaps the easiest route was covered up due to the snow, but the best route I could find involved downclimbing into a small slot, dangling from the edge of the slot with both arms, and launching yourself sideways onto a patch of flat snow a few feet below. When we finally turned the corner onto the Ledges, the snow became much sparser, but we couldn't let up our concentration; I thought the most exposed spot on the entire route was at the metal stake just before the Keyhole (coming from our direction). The winds funneling through the Keyhole reached one last peak of howling intensity, and then, as we reached the shelter, suddenly, blessedly, dropped to almost nothing. After several hours of physically and mentally taxing effort in the wind and cold, we were exhausted. Having another summit snack to make up, we had lunch and relaxed with a few other climbers on the rocks below the shelter.

Chiefs Head and Green Lake from the Ledges

From here, all that remained was a long, gentle descent, our bodies gradually regaining their heat as we descended to warmer climes. Just below the Boulderfield, we passed a park ranger on her way up with three llamas and wondered what they were carrying up this high. When we returned to the Chasm Lake junction, Matt finally warmed up enough to take off his down jacket, and we took another short rest, admiring the spectacular view one more time. Below the junction, the trail was fairly crowded with hikers taking advantage of the long holiday week to enjoy the national park. We reached the trailhead at 3:15, for just over 10 hours on the trail, including stops. Thankful to have returned safely, we quickly packed up and hit the road back to Denver. Matt and I agreed that the Loft, given the snow conditions that day, had been a much easier route than the Keyhole, and I would definitely recommend it anytime the Loft Couloir is snow-free. While the day's adventures had been a blast (literally and figuratively), it was not an experience we wished to have again, at least under those conditions. But if there's ever a (preferably calm) summer day in Denver when we feel like climbing a mountain, Longs and Meeker will still be there, waiting...

Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Comments or Questions

M_Dundee

Great Description of the Day
9/3/2014 1:50pm

My son and I were also up there on Monday 9/1 (Keyhole route) and backed off at the Homestretch due to the high winds. We also met the blinded climber at the Keyhole. My son who is not even 70 pounds was wearing a blue knit cap (much like the photo of Matt's red cap) pulled down to his collar. At the gap between the Narrows and the Homestretch the wind sucked the hat off his head. We decided the wind could just as easily peel my son off the mountain, so we retreated. At the the chokestone another climber (wearing Chaco's!) showed us the trick to not launching off the crack was to reach out with one foot to use a snowy rock point about 3 feet away from the chokestone as a step.

When we got back to Keyhole about noon we decided to have our lunch in the Angnes Valle shelter. There was another climber quietly sitting in the shelter and we set next to him on the bench. As we finished our lunch another two climbers came in and set at the doorway. The climber who was there first and sitting next to me asked if he could follow us down because he could not even see the two climbers in the doorway; 3 to 4 ft away. Between the four of us and over the next couple hours we talked/walked him down the Boulderfield. My son went ahead to the Boulderfield campground and got the ranger with the llamas to come up and talk with the blinded climber. Once we got down to the Boulderfield campground he was seeing a little better and hiked out with the other two climbers.

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Because They're There
(Meeker and Longs: Loft Route up, Keyhole Route down)

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Because They're There (Meeker and Longs: Loft Route up, Keyhole Route down)

14ers.com

Social

Mobile App

Because They're There
(Meeker and Longs: Loft Route up, Keyhole Route down)