Longs Peak

The trip report on this page represents the 15th time I have been to the summit of Longs Peak.

I can see Longs Peak from my living room window, and one of my favorite ways to spend a day is an adventure to the summit. I have put together a "Longs Peak Page" summarizing the routes I have done on Longs Peak. Check it out by clicking the link above.

Other routes I've climbed on Longs Peak: The Beaver (5.5) + Clark's Arrow (3rd) + Gorrell's Traverse (5.4) • Keyhole Ridge (5.5-5.6) • Keyhole Route (~14.5 miles, 5100 ft gain, 3rd, summer) • Keyhole Route (~14.5 miles, 5100 ft gain, early spring ascent) • Kiener's (4th) • Cables Route on North Face (summer, 5.4) • Cables Route on North Face (winter & spring ascents, M2) • Cables Route on North Face (downclimb, 5.4) • The Loft + Clark's Arrow (3rd, mod snow, spring) • The Trough (3rd, mod snow, spring) • The Diamond (multiple routes, 5.10a-5.12a) • East side Keyboard to Upper Keyhole (3rd) via "A Walk in the Park" Traverse (aka "The Great Wheel") (~15 miles, rock up to 5.4, 13 hours car to car) • East side Keyboard to Upper Keyhole (3rd) via Estes Skyline High Route (~50 miles, rock up to 5.4, 3.5 days)

Category: Colorado (RMNP)Summit Elev: 14,259 ftRock Type: Granite
Date: July 27, 2022 (Wed)Trip Report #: 562Partner: solo

Route up: Kiener's (4th)

Route down: Cables Route on North Face (5.4)

A fun fitness morning solo lap of Longs.

Intro

Nate and I had planned to embark on a midweek climb of The Diamond, but he had some last minute work obligations. So I regrouped and decided to do a solo link-up on Longs. Now that most of the early-summer snow had melted, it was a good time for a Kiener's to Cables lap. I would take Kiener's up and Cables Route on the North Face down.

Also known as the Mountaineer's Route, Kiener's is the easiest continuous line on the east face of Longs Peak. I had climbed the upper section of Kiener's multiple times after ascents of the Diamond, but had never climbed the route from its start at Mills Glacier. The route follows a series of chimneys and ramps that delineate the upper left margin of the Diamond. By late summer, the route above Lambs Slide is snow free and Lambs Slide is just hard-packed snow that is easy to ascend with crampons.

The Cables Route on the North Face is the most direct of all the moderate routes on Longs Peak, and is a popular descent route. The Cables Route is a good snow climb in the winter and spring, and a good scramble (mostly 3rd with a short 5.4 section) in the summer. Previous to this trip report, I had descended the Cables Route multiple times after ascents of the Diamond (usually my partner and I rappelled the 5.4 section although once we downclimbed it), but didn't have an official trip report for the route. (August 2022 update: I did a link-up of Meeker with Longs and again downclimbed the Cables Route; this time the conditions were a bit icy. February 2024 update: I did my first winter ascent of Longs Peak, via the Cables Route. June 2024 update: I did my first summer ascent of the Cables Route, solo.)

Kiener's up and Cables down was quite an enjoyable morning lap of Longs. The entire adventure took me 5 hours and 45 minutes, my quickest time to date for a car-to-car summit of Longs Peak.

The following page gives overlays and photos from the adventure. Enjoy.

Route OverlayS

Time Stats

Longs Peak Trailhead: 6:50 am
Base of Lambs Slide: 8:54 am
Summit: 10:17 am
Chasm View (base of Cables Route on North Face): 10:48 am
Longs Peak Trailhead: 12:35 pm
TOTALS: 3:27 up, 2:18 down (car-to-car: 5:45) (quickest car-to-car time to date; although I had a faster ascent time for my Cables Route ascent in June 2024)

Photos

Approach

2nd-3rd

From the Longs Peak Trailhead, hike up to Chasm Lake, and from there to Mills Glacier.

Sign at the Longs Peak Trailhead. Toilet paper is one of the Eleven essentials.

A nice morning.

Some cute llamas I passed on the hike in.

Alpine columbine. One of my favorite flowers. There are a lot of these on the Longs Peak approach.

Diamond towering above Chasm Lake. I've climbed the Diamond 20 times as of this trip report and cannot wait to climb that alpine wall of granite again.

Kiener's Route

4th

Begin from the south side of Mills Glacier. Ascend Lambs Slide (crampons and light axe useful). About 200 feet before reaching the top of the couloir, exit right and gain the south end of Broadway. Traverse Broadway to the right for about 1000 feet to reach the bottom of the Notch Couloir. This traverse is fairly easy except for an exposed step-around above Hornsby's Direct Finish. Cross under the base of the Notch Couloir, and ascend the other side to about 50 feet above Broadway. From here, there are lots of options, but the basic idea is to climb up chimneys and corners, keeping it no more than 4th class, until the terrain eases up to 3rd class. (I did manage to keep it to 4th, although some sources list Kiener's as 5.4 for this section; there are certainly 5th class options, but 4th class can always be found.) From here, head up toward a reddish buttress on the upper right skyline, above the Diamond. This is mostly 3rd class with an occasional move of 4th class. Near the reddish buttress on the skyline, mantle over some ledges, and traverse right around the red buttress on a good ledge. Turn west and scramble 200 feet up talus to the summit.

Looking up Lambs Slide.

Crampons were useful. Especially near the top where some bare ice was showing through. I was glad for my lightweight ice axe, which I used to chop a few steps to get through a particularly steep icy section.

Runnel of water through the ice.

Beginning of Broadway.

On Broadway. Nice exposure.

Old piton en route.

The base of the Notch Couloir. I ascended the rock right of the snow.

Chimneys above the Notch Couloir. I kept it 4th class.

More scrambling. I kept it 4th class.

Upper Kieners Route. The terrain eases up to 3rd class.

The "step-around" move near the top of the ridge on the skyline. After this, just head for the summit.

Old rusty can encountered en route.

Top!

The top of Longs Peak is 14,259 feet. The highest summit in RMNP. Enjoy the view! And the crowds.

On top. Some random guy waved as I took the photo.

Descent via the Cables Route on the North Face

5.4

The 5.4 section of the route is about 150 feet of right-facing dihedral. Otherwise, this route is mostly 3rd class.

By descent: From the summit of Longs Peak, descend 3rd class, aiming for Chasm View. An eyebolt marks the top of the dihedral. Carefully downclimb (or make two rappels off eyebolts if you have a rope; I downclimbed). The terrain eases at a slab. The route ends at Chasm View, where once can gaze out at the towering walls of the Diamond.

By ascent: If using the Cables Route for ascent rather than descent, pretty much reverse the descent. Starting at Chasm View, climb a moderate slab and then the right-facing dihedral for 150 feet to an eyebolt and easier ground. Scramble south up 3rd class slabs and boulders to the summit.

Click this link to go to a trip report for a solo summer ascent of the Cables Route, which includes some history of why the route is called Cables.

On the summit headed towards the Cables Route descent.

Start of the Cables Route descent. 3rd class here.

This is the second half of the dihedral for the Cables Route. Rated 5.4, but the rock is solid and the climbing is secure in climbing shoes and I did not feel any wish for a rope.

This is the first half of the dihedral for the Cables Route. Rated 5.4, but the rock is solid and the climbing is secure in climbing shoes and I did not feel any wish for a rope.