Lower + UPPER East Face Longs Peak

Other routes I've climbed on Lower East Face Longs Peak:

Kor's Door (5.9-, 6p) • Stettner's Ledges (5.8, 6p)

Category: Colorado (RMNP)Lower East Face top-out Elev: ~13,300 ftZumie's Thumb summit Elev: ~13,900 ftRock Type: Granite
Date: August 7, 2022 (Sun)Trip Report #: 566Partner: Nate Arganbright

Link-up on Longs Peak:

LOWER EAST FACE: Stettner's Ledges (5.8, 6p)
UPPER EAST FACE: Zumie's Thumb (5.9, 7p) + Exit Pitch (5.10, 1p)

Link-up of Lower and Upper East Faces of Longs Peak for 14 pitches of 5.6-5.10 climbing.

Intro

The previous weekend, Nate and I had climbed Royal Flush (5.11c, 10p) on Chasm View Wall (a wall of sunny granite just right of the Diamond in Chasm Lake Cirque). We enjoyed the area and the rock so much we decided to return the following weekend. We spent the weekend in Chasm Lake Cirque, under the towering granite walls of the Diamond. It is a rather spectacular place to hang out—one of my favorite bivy locations in RMNP.

Initially, the weekend forecast was for "90% rain", but at the last minute NOAA decided that they really didn't know(a) and that "20%" was a more reasonable prediction. Obviously, work to be done with weather models! But Nate and I had already decided we were going no matter what to keep the weekend alpine streak going, so in the end the bad weather forecast but actually good weather ended up being in our favor by keeping crowds away and allowing us some pleasant weather to actually climb in.

On Saturday we climbed Indirectissima (5.9, 4-6p) on Chasm View Wall. On Sunday we did a long day link-up of Stettner's Ledges (5.8, 6p) on Lower East Face of Longs Peak with Zumie's Thumb (5.9, 7p) on Upper East Face of Longs Peak.

Stettner's Ledges is a famous route that follows the long system of right-facing dihedrals that defines the boundary between Stettner's Buttress and the Diagonal Wall. It was a visionary climb at the time of its first ascent. For awhile it was one of the more popular climbs on Longs Peak, but today has fallen a bit into obscurity. We thought this route had lots of good 5.8ish climbing with a great position.

Zumie's Thumb climbs a narrow pinnacle atop a 600-foot buttress that towers above the south end of Broadway Ledge on Longs Peak. According to the guidebook description, the climbing on the buttress itself (until the final crux 5.9 pitch) does not exceed 5.6, but we felt that we repeatedly got into 5.8ish DFU terrain despite the fact we kept to the route. Getting back to walk-off terrain from the Thumb is a bit complicated. The guidebook mentions rappelling back down to the top of Lambs Slide, but this looked very unappealing, so we climbed a 5.10(ish) DFU pitch on the opposite cliffs to get to walk-off terrain. I enjoyed this route for the adventure, position, amazing summit, and the problem-solving of how to safely get off, but Nate decided it was not worth the risk of the looser rock and descent shenanigans this route has to offer. To those who like a bit of adventure, heads-up terrain, and a day with lots of climbing, I recommend the Stettner's Ledges with Zumie's Thumb link-up. A nice addition for an even longer day and another summit would be to tack on the summit of Longs Peak— this would involve negotiating the Notch by either a rappel or via Gorrell's Traverse (5.4), and then head to the summit via The Stepladder (5.5).

The following page provides a trip report for the link-up of Stettner's Ledges with Zumie's Thumb as well as photos from our overnight in the Chasm Lake Cirque. Enjoy!

Route Overlay

Time Stats

Leave bivy in Chasm Lake Cirque: 7:05 am
Start climbing Stettner's Ledges: 7:52 am
Top of Stettner's Ledges (Broadway Ledge): 10:13 am (2:21 to climb Stettner's Ledges)
Start climbing Zumie's Thumb: 10:57 am
Top of Zumie's Thumb: 1:28 pm (2:31 to climb Zumie's Thumb)
Reach walk-off terrain: 2:51 pm
Arrive back at bivy in Chasm Lake Cirque: 4:20 pm
Longs Peak Trailhead: 6:35 pm

lower east face

Stettner's Ledges (5.8, 6p)

Pitch-by-Pitch Photos

Approach

2nd-3rd

Starting from Longs Peak Trailhead, hike to Chasm Lake Cirque. Kick steps up the Mills Glacier right of Lambs Slide (how far right depends on how icy it is and where you can avoid the most ice) then scramble up broken rock to the highest ledge beneath some right-facing corners. It was rather icy for us, so we chose the shortest and lowest-angle route though the snow to the left end of the rock alongside Lambs Slide and from there scrambled mostly 3rd class rock (after an initial DFU 5.0 rock step getting up onto the rock buttress off Mills Glacier) to the base of the route.

Beginning the approach.

On Mills Glacier approaching the base of the rock. We chose to come from the left, to minimize our time on steep snow and ice. It was a 3rd class traverse to the base of the route after an initial DFU 5.0 rock step getting off the glacier. Photo by Nate.

A view down while ascending Mills Glacier.

Nate on the final steep, icy section before getting on the rock. I had chopped steps with a rock.

Pitch 1

5.6, 150'

Climb a corner on the left (5.4) or the right (5.6) to get started, then move right into a right-facing dihedral and climb to a small ledge.

Looking up from the base of the route.

Higher on Pitch 1.

Old piton near the start of the pitch. Lots of fixed pins on this historical route.

Another piton.

Pitch 2

5.4, 90'

Work around the right side of a flake, and then go up a right-acing dihedral to a big ledge with a large flake.

Looking up the start of Pitch 2. I traversed right onto slightly easier terrain and then cut back left.

Pitch 3

5.8, 140'

From the alcove formed by the flake, climb a steep corner with fixed pins (crux, often wet) and continue up a shallow dihedral with a two-inch crack. Belay on Lunch Ledge (a large terrace studded with big blocks). Try to belay on the south end of the ledge since the next pitch starts from the south end. This lead is called the Piton Ladder.

Nate starting up Pitch 3.

Higher on Pitch 3. This is some good 5.8 alpine climbing.

An old pin near the start of Pitch 3.

Another old pin. Lots of fixed pins on this historical route.

Pitch 4

5.5

Climb a corner or the steep flakes out left, then work up and left to belay on a ledge about 40 feet from the end of Alexander's Traverse.

Looking up Pitch 4.

Pitch 5

5.6, 120'

(via Hornsby's Direct Finish)

Follow shallow dihedrals up to a small ledge below a steeper section.

(An alternative—and easier finish—to the Hornsby Direct finish is to cut left on Alexander's Chimney. But the Hornsby Direct finish is nice and direct and offers good climbing.)

This is in the general area of where the first pitch of Hornsby Direct goes. I linked this with Pitch 4 with about 30 feet of simulclimbing (finding good gear for an anchor was a bit challenging, so I just kept climbing higher until I had pretty much climbed the entire first pitch of the Hornsby Direct finish).

Nate following the pitch. As you can see, this pitch is mostly 4th, with just a bit of 5.6 in places.

Pitch 6

5.8, 140'

(via Hornsby's Direct Finish)

Follow a right-facing dihedral past a roof and many foxed pins to Broadway. The dihedral just to the left may also be climbed, and is slightly more difficult.

(An alternative—and easier finish—to the Hornsby Direct finish is to cut left on Alexander's Chimney. But the Hornsby Direct finish is nice and direct and offers good climbing.)

Nate leading the second pitch of the Hornsby Direct finish. This is a pretty good pitch of climbing. I recommend the Hornsby Direct finish over traversing left to the easier terrain of Alexander's Chimney.

Top!

The route ends on Broadway Ledge.

Nate on Broadway Ledge. Diamond towers behind.

Descent

There are a few descent options: go right and rappel the Endless Summer Rappel route down the Diagonal Wall to Mills Glacier (I did this when I climbed Kor's Door in 2020); go left and rappel Alexander's Chimney (probably a bit loose); go left and descend Lambs Slide (ice or snow, somewhat steep, probably want crampons and ice axe); go left and get to the base of Zumie's Thumb and climb some more (which is what we did)!

It is possible to access the base of the Diamond by traversing rightward along Broadway Ledge, but it is pretty sketchy in one section. On my June 2020 climb of Kor's Door, we actually tried to traverse to the base of the Diamond to run up the Casual Route, but we were thwarted by a steep and sloughing snow patch hanging above Field's Chimney.

upper east face

Zumie's Thumb (5.9, 7p) + Exit Pitch (5.10, 1p)

Pitch-by-Pitch Photos

Approach

Steep snow or 5th class

One way to reach the base is to ascend Lambs Slide. This can be quite icy in the later summer. Another way to reach the base is to climb a route on the Lower East Face and traverse in from Broadway, and make this into a nice long day of climbing. This is what we did.

Traversing Broadway between the top of Stettner's Ledges and the base of Zumie's Thumb. Photo by Nate.

There was a trickle of water running onto Broadway. We used the laminated topo to collect some.

Looking up at the buttress that the route Zumie's Thumb climbs. Directly above is some good looking rock and cracks. Unfortunately, the Zumie's Thumb route does not climb these, but climbs more junky weaknesses on the left side of the buttress. As far as I know there is no established route u these cracks in the photo, but there should be!

Pitch 1

Guidebook: 5.0-5.6Our Rating: 5.8

Guidebook description: Climb a grassy crack to a sloping stance beneath an obvious grassy gully.

Our Pitch 1. This could be the guidebook Pitch 1, although we did encounter what seemed to be a couple of 5.8 moves. If anything, the guidebook Pitch 1 is a bit left of this. This was a decent pitch of climbing.

Pitch 2

Guidebook: 5.0-5.6Our Rating: 5.8

Guidebook description: Take the gully to the bottom of two chimneys. Climb the right wall of the left chimney to a ledge at its top.

The grassy gully.

Here are the two chimneys. I tried to climb the right wall of the left chimney as described in the guidebook, but it was quite unappealing with moss and a couple of scary blocks. So I ended up downclimbing and climbing a decent 5.8ish corner system to the right of the right chimney. (My friend Kishen had climbed this route earlier in the summer, and when I talked to him after Nate and I climbed the route, he said that his route matched ours, except they stepped left here at the chimneys rather than right as we did.)

Pitch 3

Guidebook: 3rdOur Rating: 3rd

Guidebook description: Scramble (unroped) up and right for about 300 feet to a notch.

This pitch just goes to the notch.

Pitch 4

Guidebook: 5.0-5.6Our Rating: 5.6

Guidebook description: Climb the right wall of the buttress and belay behind a large flake.

Nate staring up the pitch. An unremarkable pitch.

Pitch 5

Guidebook: 5.0-5.6Our Rating: 5.8

Guidebook description: Traverse up and left to the top of a pointed flake, then continue to a big ledge that is about 100 feet below the left corner of the Thumb.

Looking up the pitch. Choose your own adventure. This pitch felt a bit runnout at times and I feel I did a couple of 5.8 moves near the top. But overall I thought the climbing was pretty good. The belay spot at the top was a really nice perch on a ledge below the Thumb feature.

Pitch 6

Guidebook: 5.0-5.6Our Rating: 5.10a

Guidebook description: Climb a prominent crack for about 25 feet, traverse left to another crack, and climb to a large platform beneath the south side of the Thumb.

Nate leading up the pitch. We went directly up and encountered what felt to be 10a climbing, so perhaps we missed the "traverse left to another crack." This pitch and the next pitch were the two best pitches on the route. Nate linked them into one lead.

Pitch 7

Guidebook: 5.0-5.6Our Rating: 5.10a R

Guidebook description: Work up the wall and gain an obvious crack that is followed to a large sloping ledge. A crack leads to the narrow summit.

The crack at the start of the pitch. This pitch and the previous pitch were the two best pitches on the route. Nate linked them into one lead. Nice lead Nate!

Steph following the airy final pitch. Photo by Nate.

Old pin just before what we felt was a "10a R" face section. Definitely want to be a solid 5.9 leader for this pitch.

Top!

The route ends atop the Thumb formation.

On top.

Looking down from the top. We opted to climb out of the notch rather than rappel all the way down to the top of Lambs Slide. Single rope rappel. If rappelling to Lambs Slide, perhaps rappel the other direction with double ropes and make sure to avoid the loose gully.

Looking north towards the summit of Longs.

Looking south towards The Loft and the summit of Meeker. We just need to get over there somehow....

Descent

Getting back to walk-off terrain from the Thumb is a bit complicated. Whatever option, be careful since there is a lot of loose rock in this area and the terrain is not somewhere you would want anything bad to happen. Bolts and fixed pins are in place atop the Thumb for rappel back to the gap. There are a couple of viable options from here.

Option 1: The guidebook mentions that you can rappel back to the top of Lambs Slide. You definitely do not want to rappel the gully (death blocks everywhere), so if you chose this option, it is probably best to start rappelling southward from the actual summit (the guidebook doesn't make this clear). Apparently you can get down by making three double-rope rappels (or five single-rope rappels) southward, and descend the west arm of Lambs Slide back to the main couloir. Descend Lambs Slide back to Chasm Lake (crampons and ice axe would be nice to have, essential in later summer), or climb to the top of Lambs Slide and descend The Loft.

Option 2: (This is the way we went.) Climb a pitch out on the other side to easy terrain. Walk off via The Loft (or, for an even longer day and another summit, head for the summit of Longs Peak— this would involve negotiating the Notch by either a rappel or via Gorrell's Traverse, and then head to the summit on terrain no more than 5.5.). We searched for the easiest and best rock way, and found a pitch of climbing that felt about 5.10 DFU. There are several options that look climbable, but most look 5.10-5.11 and the rock is a bit suspect. Overall, I feel that climbing a pitch out is probably the safest way out, since I am never a fan of several rappels in loose and unknown terrain.

I took this photo of Zumie's Thumb a couple of weeks later from near the summit of Mt. Meeker (I was doing a Meeker + Longs link-up). We rappelled into the gap and had to climb out on the left, from where we could easily scramble down to the Loft.

Rappelling (single rope) into the notch behind Zumie's Thumb. We opted to climb out of the notch rather than rappel all the way down to the top of Lambs Slide. If rappelling to Lambs Slide, perhaps rappel the other direction with double ropes and make sure to avoid the loose gully. Photo by Nate.

We initially tried to climb this out of the notch, but found the rock to be crumbly. No go. Nate bailed off a stopper.

We ended up climbing this to get out of the notch. The rock was fairly decent, but as always watch out what you pull on on untravelled rock. There was a runnout 5.9-5.10 face section on good rock. (My friend Kishen had climbed this route earlier in the summer, and when I talked to him after Nate and I climbed the route, he said they chose the same exit pitch— confirmation that this is probably the best choice for the "easiest/safest" way out.)

Belaying at the base of the pitch, gazing at the rugged terrain all around.

A cairn on a ledge near the bottom of the pitch. Guess someone else has come this way!

Mid-pitch.

Nate's efficient and effective anchor at the top of the route. One piece gear, one piece bomber rock. Photo by Nate.

Cool clouds near the summit of Longs.

Descending towards The Loft. A bit of a slog down now, but pretty mellow terrain from here on out.

Descending the Loft. The right side of the prominent buttress has the route Scots on the Rocks (5.10a, 4p). I've not climbed this route but it looks worthy of checking out.

Descending the Loft.

The geologist in me is fascinated by metamorphic rocks.

other photos

Below are some other photos from our weekend in the spectacular Chasm Lake Cirque.

Our bivy

We bivied in Chasm Lake Cirque. What a spectacular place to spend a couple of days—one of my favorite bivy locations in RMNP.

Our bivy. Chasm View Wall towers above.

Our bivy.

Enjoying a book and hot chocolate on Friday evening. It was raining on Friday evening, but we stayed reasonably dry in the bivy and with our bivy sacs.

Oatmeal (cinnamon roll or maple brown sugar flavor) has become my standard dinner. So warm and filling and tasty!

I'll always like oatmeal.

Nate's dinner. Photo by Nate.

My mom had sent us some Canadian chocolate bars. Each weekend we bring two (one for each night). This weekend it was a mint Aero and Bounty bar. Thanks mom!

Poptart and coffee for breakfast.

Yum. Sesame sticks. Photo by Nate.

Enjoying a sunny afternoon at the bivy after a morning of climbing Indirectissima.

I've read this book before, but Stephen King is worth re-reading.

A view down at our bivy.

Chasm Lake.

Water can be collected within 5 minutes of the bivy. I did not treat mine but Nate treated his.

Not a bad view for reading.

Evening view.

I guess Nate and I like to read.

After it got dark, the moths came out. There were hundreds of them flying around outside the bivy, presumably catching bugs. I had never seen anything like it. I tried to capture it with my camera, but it doesn't do it justice. But this flash captured their presence at least!

In this photo (sans flash) you can see a bit of the ripple appearance of the moth flight patterns. It was really quite captivating to watch.

Morning alpenglow on The Diamond from our bivy.

Morning alpenglow on Zumie's Thumb, Lower East Face, and The Diamond from our bivy.

Morning light on Zumie's Thumb, Lower East Face, and The Diamond from our bivy.

On Sunday evening when we arrived back at the Longs Peak Trailhead, it was as empty as I have ever seen it. We could thank the "90% rain" forecast for that. It never rained on us on Saturday or Sunday despite the forecast. NOAA don't know(a).

Flora, Plants, Birds, etc.

Although the wildflowers were past their peak, there were still several flowers dotting the landscape. There were also several rosy-finches up in the Chasm Lake Cirque.