Longs Peak

Route: Keyhole Route
Posted On: 10/14/2024, By: jackfox
Info: Great conditions today (10/13)! Arrived at the lot at 4:15 and it seemed about 2/3 full. Made it to the boulder field by 7:05 and summit by 9:45, back to car by 2. Grueling day, the down climb is sketchier than the up climb! Exposure wasn't all that bad, felt well in control at all points. I can see how any amount of moisture would make the ledges, narrows, and homestretch very dicey! Small snow patches on the trough, easily avoidable. 

Route: Keyhole Route
Posted On: 10/13/2024, By: andrewyee11
Info: Route was dry the whole way until the Trough which had a bit of snow near the centre, which was mostly avoidable by staying just climber's left. Had the summit basically to ourselves, not too many people on the route at this time of year. Water available for filtering entering the Boulder field. Pretty low wind for the whole route except for some light breezes coming through the Keyhole. Exposure was minimal/super manageable as experienced hikers. Our tired brains really appreciated the beautifully maintained trail over the last miles back down. 

Route: Keyhole Route
Posted On: 10/7/2024, By: jdlilly
Info: Weather and conditions were perfect. There were a few small patches of snow in the Trough, easily bypassed. The rest of the route was completely dry. 

Route: Keyhole Route
Posted On: 10/2/2024, By: Lucky Day
Info: Dry conditions up to trough. Some snow in the trough, but easily avoidable. Rest of the route was dry. I descended cables and that involved a bit of post-holing. Overall it still feels like summer up there so get it while you can! 

Route: Loft Route
Posted On: 9/29/2024, By: csf-lhiver
Info: Did Meeker, Longs, Storm, and Washington but will just post conditions all in this as the Loft Couloir was the most significant portion. The Loft Couloir is holding hard snow and ice through the scrambling/exposed section. Which made it a bit sketchy in the dark as the sun hadn't risen yet to see exactly where to go to avoid it, even with a headlamp. I was kicking steps in the snow through here. Clarks Arrow technical section is dry along with the rest of the route through Kiplinger's. Going through Homestretch and The Narrows of the keyhole is dry. It's only The Through that has ice near the top. Spikes could be helpful to have. The rest of the route is dry. Storm and Lady are dry. 

Route: Keyhole Route
Posted On: 9/28/2024, By: shaines90
Info: Boulderfield is totally dry now. Cables route holding lots of ice and some snow - saw a group that was planning to hit that bail on it today and go Keyhole instead. Keyhole route is clear until the Trough, which is holding a fairly significant amount of snow and ice, primarily along climber's right. Microspikes could be helpful, but you'd be taking them on and off pretty rapidly for several short snow crossings on the easiest paths. The standard climb at the top of the trough (Picture 12 on the route description) is VERY icy - everyone had to navigate some fairly exposed ledges to the left in order to avoid the danger on the normal path. Ledges, Narrows, and Homestretch totally dry. 

Route: Loft Route
Posted On: 9/29/2024, By: raivat14
Info: Bring microspikes. The top of the loft couloir where you go left to get around the headwall was covered in snow and ice. It has massive exposure and would be mega sketchy without spikes or crampons. Similarly, for the descent we descended via the keyhole route. Lots of snow and ice on the main couloir descent after the homestretch. 

Route: Cables
Posted On: 9/26/2024, By: blockingthesky
Info: Summer conditions to Boulderfield, then snow starts filling in moving towards Chasm View. Got just below the base of Cables; no summit. It was dry enough to maneuver to that point without getting the socks wet, but the base of Cables proper has a good snowfield. Pockets of snow, ice and water continue above on the route; see photos. Spoke to some hikers who reported an almost totally dry Keyhole route, save for avoidable snow near the top of the Trough. 

Route: Keyhole Route
Posted On: 9/27/2024, By: Eagle Eye
Info: A nice hike yesterday on the Keyhole Route. As said in the (same day) Cables route Peak Conditions, there is a hard crust of snow in most of the Trough section of the route. This adds some difficulty to the crux at the top of the Trough. I noticed some of the painted Bulls Eyes are really faded away depending on the direction they are facing. In many places below the Boulderfield the trail has been worked on and looks great. No campsites were occupied in the Boulderfield. (Water is flowing in places there, too.) 

Route: Keyhole Route
Posted On: 9/29/2024, By: AndrewSled
Info: Started on the later side at 5am but still had more than enough time to get down before dark even with a pretty leisurely descent. The route was quite clear overall without any snow on the narrows or homestretch. A few parts were slightly wet but nothing that really interfered with my ability to hike it. The only section with significant snow was the trough but honestly this ended up being pretty helpful for me as I heard this section can have some looser rock. Id recommend bringing microspikes for this part but a fair number of people in other groups got up without them so if you are comfortable with steep hiking in snow you may not need them. This section got pretty wet later in the afternoon so it might be best to try to clear this part quickly. A little bit of snow was also around the boulderfield right before the keyhole but this part wasnt bad at all either. Overall very solid conditions and a very low wind day. This was my first class 3 14er and I had a great time although the steepness of the homestretch got a little scary at times. Assuming more snowfall hasnt come through since my hike I think its a great time to make the ascent! 

Route: Cable Route
Posted On: 9/15/2024, By: cwshalstead
Info: Both the boulderfield approach and topout scramble were completely dry but there was a fair amount of ice on the climbing portions of this route. The first two pitches (as marked by the eyebolts) were easy to avoid but the last section I was not able to find a good way around it. Didn't feel comfortable climbing the upper section of the slab past a small bulge so went straight over the ice. Was not as easy as you would hope for when soloing 5.4. 

Route: Cables
Posted On: 9/15/2024, By: vandenbusschebr
Info: Did the cables route September 14, 2024. Most route was dry and clear, but the dihedral gulley where the cable bolts are was filled with ice. The face slab right of the gulley was dry. we climbed the face slabs, then carefully traversed to the bolts then back to the face. lots of scree scrambling to the summit. 

Route: Cables, Keyhole
Posted On: 9/14/2024, By: blockingthesky
Info: A bit of ice on Cables alongside the eyebolts, all pretty easily circumnavigated. The entire route below and above the technical pitch was otherwise totally dry. Keyhole route is also 98.5% dry, save for some easily avoided ice patches at the bottom of the Trough. Found great water in Jims Grove, and trickles in the Boulderfield sufficient to fill a flask. 

Route: Keyhole Route
Posted On: 9/12/2024, By: jemthebrewer
Info: Summited today (my 10th time on the summit of Longs!) on an excellent morning to be on the peak! Got to the trailhead at ~3AM and I was approached by a gentleman by the name of, "Bob," who asked if I was familiar with the route? I told him, "yes, I am," so he asked if he could tag along and I was happy to oblige. Bob did a great job on his first summit, although he was a bit confounded by the move at the top of the Trough (I usually go straight up and he traversed over on the climber's left). Anyway, the rock was dry, the summit had little wind, and the energy of the parties going up/down was super positive. Some precipitation was rolling through after 1 PM, thankfully we were down to the Chasm Lake junction by then. 

Route: Keyhole Route
Posted On: 9/9/2024, By: V1per41
Info: All rock in the trough and homestretch was completely dry today.