So you want to climb Longs Peak?

The last few weeks have been amazing being "unplugged", visiting my dear friend Heidi in Cheyenne and spending 10 days in the mountains- camping and hiking with my family.

I'd like to take you on a journey with us up Longs Peak. Anyone who has attempted Longs knows you start at an ungodly hour, for example we started at quarter to 2am and had plenty of company.

By the time we reached the Boulderfield, the sun was starting to come up and create what is referred to as alpenglow. Isn't it gorgeous??

It was surprisingly not windy or cold like it normally tends to be. It was practically balmy - in the upper 50s, and let's not forget the perfectly starry sky!

We were keeping a decent pace and leap frogging with several other groups who were stopping to rest but going faster than us. Slow and steady wins the race, right? We noticed, however, a certain climber was keeping pace with us and as we encouraged him to pass, he said no, he was really slow.

Well, he wasn't so slow to us and we invited him into conversation. His name was Mike and he was a math teacher in St. Louis who came to climb, alone, after a vacation weeks ago with his boys, ages 7 and 11. His ultimate goal was to climb Mt. Elbert and bring them back a rock from the summit.

We abandoned our trekking poles at the Boulderfield, as beyond there you need your hands for climbing and they are just a liability. As we neared the Keyhole, it became apparent that Mike was having major issues with the exposure of the hike climb. It is always pretty windy at the Keyhole, and you walk into a whole new world - one where one misstep could be it. Up to this point, there are no drop offs, you're hiking through a forest, up steep paths, through a boulder field, but there's nothing "scary." You walk through the Keyhole, an opening where the mountain blocks the sun, the wind practically blows you over (most days- today wasn't too bad, actually) and onto ledges looking straight down thousands of feet. It is overwhelming for the senses.

 nearing the Keyhole, in the Boulderfield

 the Keyhole from close up

This picture is taken from the point where the guys above are sitting in the Keyhole, the exact time of day as the previous picture. If it means anything to you, the tiny lakes down there are Italy (left), Green (just to the right of Italy) and Black (far right), all in Glacier Gorge.

Jeff and Mike crossing the Ledges. See the Keyhole behind Mike to the right? It is less windy once you get past the Keyhole, thankfully.

 Mike was, as I said before, was really struggling mentally at this point. Jeff and I have tried this climb together in the past, but he just couldn't get past the Ledges. I believe that part that did it for him was a particular section where they actually drilled bars into the rock. One bar is more helpful on the way up and the other stops you from catching momentum and falling off the trail on the way back.

I've climbed on Longs several times before and was turned around a few times because of other members of my party, once even as close as 1/4 mile from the summit, and have summited twice. But, I wondered, would Jeff get over his fear of heights? Would the altitude be too much for him? Would he prefer to turn around with Mike?

Read more tomorrow!