Condition Update | Longs Peak

Peak:	Longs Peak
Route:	Cables
Range:	Front
Posted By:	daway8
Date of Info:	11/28/2023
Date Posted:	11/28/2023

Condition Update
Failed to summit but never failed so gloriously in all my life!!! I'm in awe of this mountain now! My Frozen Finisher aspirations just turned to solid ice (at least for now) as did all pretentious hope of snowflaking Longs unaided via Cables (barring a freak storm that creates the walk-up conditions I found this spring). Utterly schooled by this route - didn't help that I didn't manage to start until 7:30am or that I had absolutely way too much stuff in my monster pack, though I persevered until almost 13,500ft, which is just below where the route really gets serious but also where the most epic views of the East Face I've ever seen are! That alone was a consolation prize adequate to redeem the day for me, though the pictures don't do it justice. But as for conditions... snowy from the get go but no flotation or traction needed yet. One super brief pile of snow right at treeline. Lady Washington pretty bare. Even the Boulderfield wasn't that bad to pick across. But going up to Cables I chose the snowfield - good grief - every flake that's landed on Longs this season is piled up right there. Waist deep at times. Avy antenna were firing like crazy since this was the one zone CAIC called out as some possible moderate danger. In the end, with some careful study and slow progress I deemed it ok to proceed up but not without a touch of unease remaining (I saw minor slides here last spring when I descended this route). Probably not huge danger yet but for sure keep your eyes on this slope. Only a slight wind slab on top that I noticed but that could change. By the time I got there with my way too late start there was no way I could have finished safely even if the above route wasn't being blasted by crosswinds and splattered with snow and ice (not sure what form of madness led to my delusion that I would cruise up a route pretty much everyone ropes up for in winter - temporary insanity I guess). Looks like I'll be looking at other options if I want to flake Longs this season... This could be a very epic climb for someone properly prepared but be ready for a little of everything if you go now - steep, deep snow; scattered ice and powder on class 5 rock... Not a route to be trifled with at the moment.

Condition Update

Failed to summit but never failed so gloriously in all my life!!! I'm in awe of this mountain now! My Frozen Finisher aspirations just turned to solid ice (at least for now) as did all pretentious hope of snowflaking Longs unaided via Cables (barring a freak storm that creates the walk-up conditions I found this spring). Utterly schooled by this route - didn't help that I didn't manage to start until 7:30am or that I had absolutely way too much stuff in my monster pack, though I persevered until almost 13,500ft, which is just below where the route really gets serious but also where the most epic views of the East Face I've ever seen are! That alone was a consolation prize adequate to redeem the day for me, though the pictures don't do it justice. But as for conditions... snowy from the get go but no flotation or traction needed yet. One super brief pile of snow right at treeline. Lady Washington pretty bare. Even the Boulderfield wasn't that bad to pick across. But going up to Cables I chose the snowfield - good grief - every flake that's landed on Longs this season is piled up right there. Waist deep at times. Avy antenna were firing like crazy since this was the one zone CAIC called out as some possible moderate danger. In the end, with some careful study and slow progress I deemed it ok to proceed up but not without a touch of unease remaining (I saw minor slides here last spring when I descended this route). Probably not huge danger yet but for sure keep your eyes on this slope. Only a slight wind slab on top that I noticed but that could change. By the time I got there with my way too late start there was no way I could have finished safely even if the above route wasn't being blasted by crosswinds and splattered with snow and ice (not sure what form of madness led to my delusion that I would cruise up a route pretty much everyone ropes up for in winter - temporary insanity I guess). Looks like I'll be looking at other options if I want to flake Longs this season... This could be a very epic climb for someone properly prepared but be ready for a little of everything if you go now - steep, deep snow; scattered ice and powder on class 5 rock... Not a route to be trifled with at the moment.

Comments or Questions

Hiker Mike	Not Snowflake Time 11/28/2023 9:51pm Sorry to hear you did not summit. But you only get a snowflake for a summit during the calendar winter. So, the good news is you had a warm-up hike and in a few weeks it will be winter. Time to try again!
daway8	Flake 11/29/2023 5:49am Yes, that was precisely my plan - do a practice run in the pre-season when there's no real compulsion to summit so I'd know if I was ready to tackle this in late December for the flake. But unless it gets way less intimidating once you go the extra 100-200ft up to the start of the class 5 stuff, I'm not sure I'm ready for this outside of summer conditions, especially solo and unroped...
Will_E	Glacier Gorge 11/29/2023 11:54am Is the answer to your snowflake question. Relatively easy route.
daway8	Re:Glacier Gorge 11/29/2023 12:25pm Ooooff, I've always cringed at the thought of taking the Trough all the way up from Black Lake - relentless, brutal gain (though probably better than dying in an avalanche on the Ledges). But if the Narrows were loaded like they were last spring - well that was rather sketch... But that's probably my most realistic backup plan for now until I scope out some of these other routes in summer and up my winter climbing game (I meant to try Cables this summer but never got around to it).
ltlFish99	Longs in Winter 11/29/2023 1:09pm The only time i successfully got to the summit of longs in winter was via the trough route from camp at Black lake on a unusually Warm Feburary weekend. The narrows had little to moderate snow, with the homestretch having minimal snow. It was quite nice being on the Summit with just myself and one other from our party.
AlessiaAscent	Epic as usual! 11/29/2023 2:06pm Good look getting the flake! You got this. Cables looks pretty deep for this time of year
two lunches	disagree entirely 12/1/2023 12:34pm on your assessment in photo 10. thanks for prompting a fun Q&A session about longs peak geology with AI.

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