Long's Peak, CO

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Here we are at the top! Well, not the top of Long's Peak, but nearby Estes Cone (for the GPS obsessed, that's N 40deg 17'44.6" W 105deg 34'03.7" el. 10991'). Diane, Tony (pictured) and I had driven out to Boulder, CO on Thursday and stayed with their friend Aleka. The 4 of us drove into Rocky Mountain National Park the next morning and staked out ground at the campsite near the Long's Peak trailhead. We spent the day rambing around on the surrounding trails, which led us to the top of the Cone.

OK. Now onto the real journey. We began our summit attempt at 2:00am Saturday morning. Aleka and I walked by the light of the full moon, while the hundereds of other hikers around us walked with the aid of headlamps. Once we had gained some elevation, we could see a trail of lights moving up the mountain behind us. Dawn came at around 5:00am, as we approached the Boulderfield campground that sits under the peak.

The Boulderfield doesn't get it's name for nought. We climbed over boulders and loose rock towards the Keyhole.

Partway up the boulders looking at the east face of the mountain.

Once we arrived at the keyhole, the awesome landscape behind the mountain was visible.

Looking down from just past the Keyhole (called the Ledges--I hope this is obvious).

We traversed the Ledges and then made a grueling ascent of the Trough (not shown), a steep and slippery segment that basically goes straight up.

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