Colorado peak questions, condition requests and other info.
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Myself and gspup attempted Longs via the Keyhole Yesterday (Thursday 21-April). We met in the parking lot at 4:00am and hit the trail at 4:15am. It was a clear night, with an almost full moon and not a puff of wind. The temperature was only a little below freezing. As we worked our way up through the tress is was easy going as the snow had been packed down. However, above tree line there was no track and a lot of fresh snow. We put on our snowshoes and started breaking trail (gspup did 90% of this as I was new to snowshoes). It was tough going and we made slow progress through the deep fresh snow. Once we got to the Boulderfield it was a featureless snowfield. We got to the Keyhole shortly before noon. It was a beautiful day and still not a puff of wind, even in the nature funnel that is the Keyhole.
We started along the Ledges, but it was tough going. The snow was waist deep and route finding was difficult, I think we only saw two bullseyes once the left Keyhole. Shortly after 1:00pm we made the decision to turn around. Based on a drop dead turnaround time of 2:30pm we figured the going was so slow we would not have time to make the summit as wading through the waist-deep snow was exhausting. According to my GPS we were at 4058m (13.313ft). Visually it looked like we were a few yards shy of the intersection between the Ledges and the Trough, but our route had taken us a little above the usual meeting point. Once we turned around we took a good 20 minute break at the Keyhole and enjoyed some lunch while taking in the breathing taking views as it was a very clear day.. We did not see anyone else on the mountain during the day, but we did see some fresh tracks to Chasm Junction. It was a lot easier going on the way back and we were back in the parking lot by 6:00pm.
Anyway, my first venture into the Rockies did not end with a summit but I still had a very enjoyable day, with special thanks to gspup for all that trail breaking. As it has not snowed since, anyone venturing up this route today or over the weekend should have a good packed track to follow.
Had a great day Ger. You are an animal at your age, only hope I can be doing these sort of hikes in 20 yrs. Would be happy to hike with you next time you're out here ! A day on Longs with no wind and no people in sight is rare, you really got to experience the mountain in a way some never will. Here's a few pics.
