My First Hike, My First Fourteener!

The Climb

We signed in at the trail head at 1:15 A.M. and began our journey to the summit of Longs Peak. It seemed like the time flew by as we walked and talked, stopping occasionally for a rest and drink of water. Soon we broke out of the tree line and we could see lights from the city below. We weren't sure which city it was, maybe Longmont or Denver, who knows but it was far away from us.

As the sun began to rise we had reached and hiked through about half of the boulder field before stopping for breakfast. This consisted of Granola Bars and "GORP" (Good Old Raisins and Peanuts). Then we headed for the "Keyhole". It was not easy finding the best route, but once we stepped through to the backside of the mountain and looked out into the glacier basin, we decided that it was well worth the effort. At this point we had to decide whether we should go on or not. It was only 7 A.M. and we only had a mile or so to go to the summit. There was no Question, we were going to give it a shot. The storms were not supposed to roll in until 4 P.M. so we had plenty of time to summit and descend to safety long before then.

We navigated the "Ledges" without much problem although I will admit to a fair amount of uneasiness and "height fright" in some places in this section. After the ledges came the "Trough". We were not prepared for the difficulty and length of this part of the climb. And it was a climb at this point. The "Trough" was filled with a combination of large boulders, smaller loose rocks, and tons of loose gravel and dirt that they call "scree". Though seemingly never ending, we made it through and pulled ourselves up into the "Narrows".

The name "Narrows" is self explanatory. I took only one picture here. The rest of the time I held on to the mountain. Once through the "Narrows" it was on to the "Home Stretch".

They told us that the "Home Stretch" looked worse than it really was. I am not too sure. At this point, we were worn out and ready for some rest, but we were not going to stop now. So, on we climbed to the summit.

It is hard to describe the feeling that welled up inside me at the moment that I stepped out onto the summit. I was physically and emotionally drained. I could hardly talk. Ask my Dad, he'll tell you. I could not completely hold back the tears. There is just something special about working so hard toward a goal that you are not completely positive that you can reach, then when you finally succeed there is such a release of joy and sense of accomplishment that your words can't be found.

The Descent

We summited at 11:01 A.M.. We took pictures and ate lunch. PB&J and more GORP was the meal of choice. We started down at about 11:30. The climb down was not a lot faster than the climb up. We got down the "Home Stretch", past the scary "Narrows", and down through the trough before the first drops of rain started to drop. It was around 1:00 P.M. so we took out our rain coats and kept going. Remember the storm was not expected until 4 P.M.

Minutes later the rain worsened and the thunder and lightning started. It makes a guy a little uneasy when you see the lightning and here the thunder at practically the same time, especially when you can see where the lightning hits which is at the base of the mountain below you! This was bad. The rain would make the rocks slick and the lightning of course was potentially deadly. We kept on moving, slowly and cautiously through the rain, but soon we had to stop. It started to hail, yes HAIL! At this point, all we could do was stop, get low and wait it out. It finally let up after about 20 or 30 minutes! We were soaked to the skin. We had not gotten our rain gear on soon enough because of the surprise storm so we were in danger of hypothermia. Our fingers were numb, feet were freezing and our whole bodies were shivering almost uncontrollably. As far as I could tell, our situation was dire.

At this point, I was convinced that if a miracle did not take place, I was going to die on that mountain and I would possibly watch my Dad die too. That may seem a little extreme to you, but you have to understand how cold it was, how wet and cold we were, how dangerous the terrain had just become, and how far we had to go. The temperature had dropped and the wind picked up. I don't know how cold it was, but let’s just say that the hail was still on the ground hours later. I don't think that I have ever been so cold in my life. The trail that we had to travel that was difficult when dry, was now wet, covered in hail and treacherous! For a short time, I did not see a way out. I began to panic. I'm not proud of it, but that's the truth. I did not "lose it" for long, because soon my panic turned to prayer. I did not have the words to describe my predicament. One thought kept coming to my mind...my family. I do not mean to leave any of my family members out or make them think that they don't matter to me, they do. But at this point, all I could think was that I was going to die and leave my wife a widow and my kids without their daddy. This thought was more than I could handle. Once the hail stopped, we had only one choice. We had to move. As we moved I prayed for a miracle, SOMEONE, or SOMETHING to help us make it. And then I prayed for something very small, I prayed for warm fingers so that we could feel the rocks and hold on. That sounded dumb to me when I said it, but soon I felt warmth in my fingers. They warmed just enough so that I could feel the rocks. That was proof to me that God knew that we were there and that He was going to help us through this.

We crept along the ledges, through the water runoff and hail until at last we could see an opening in the distance. It was the "Keyhole"! That was what I needed. I was thinking that if we could only get there we could then take shelter in the Agnes Vaille (the hut). The Agnes Vaille is a stone memorial that was built in memory of a climber who died on the mountain. It was small, only about 6 or 8 feet in diameter, but it was shelter. I wasn't sure what we would do from there since we had about 6 miles to go to get down, but at least we would be out of the wind and rain.

It was not an easy trek for two exhausted and frozen guys who were soaked to the skin, but we finally reached the "Keyhole" and looked toward "the hut". My heart jumped into my throat. I saw a cloth hanging in the doorway! There was someone already there! More people meant more heat and maybe someone who could help! I yelled toward the hut, "Is anybody in there?". A man stuck his head out the door and I asked if they had room for two more. When he said that of course they did, the biggest smile must have filled my face because he smiled right back at me. Remember that I had prayed for something or someone to help us, well part one had been answered. God provided a shelter.

Dad and I pulled ourselves into the Agnes Vaille and saw that there were about 10 other people in there already. Four were sitting on a built in rock bench. They were the coldest of the group. One was in danger of hypothermia and the other three were close to it. "Hap" was in charge in the hut. Hap had some survival training when he was an eagle scout or scout master or something like that, I'm not completely sure. As soon as we stepped in, Hap began assessing our condition. "Is your core warm?" "Are you wearing cotton or fleece?" "What kind of socks are you wearing, cotton or wool?".

Within about ten minutes of our arrival at the Agnes Vaille, I heard someone talking on a cell phone. I was surprised that there was service up there. He let me use it to call Anita. According to Anita's phone I called her at 3:00 P.M. that meant that it took Dad and I about 1.5 to 1.75 hours to wait out the hail and cross the ledges in the freezing cold rain and wind. I told Anita that I had very little time to talk but that we were trapped in the hut at the "keyhole" and someone had already called 911 and the Ranger Station and we were waiting for info from them. Soon after that, a few of the earliest visitors to the hut began to head out down the mountain. But right after they left a group of ten more hikers piled into our shelter. Among them were two M.D.'s. They then took the reins of control from Hap who wanted to head out for the trail head also.

Over the next hour and a half, there were several calls made to the Ranger Station concerning the condition of the two coldest among us and whether there was anything they could do to help all of us with some warm dry clothes in order to get off the mountain. At one point the rangers told us that the weather was not going to clear up and that we may have to spend the night there. I got hold of a phone and called Anita again. It was 4:40 when she answered and I explained the situation in a little more detail and that I would call again when I knew for sure what we were doing for the night. From here on the timing is mostly guess work for me because I had no watch and didn't ask about the time, but around 30 minutes or so later two search and rescue members appeared at the door with a portable stove to give hot drinks to any who wanted them. Then at about 5:30 two rangers arrived with limited supplies, but with the assurance that more were on their way. Part two of my prayer had been more than answered. God didn't send someONE, He sent many someones. He sent Hap, two doctors, six rangers, then another doctor and a medic.

At 6:00 the exodus began and we all did eventually get down and we were very thankful to be back safe and warm with our loved ones.

God shows up in small ways with warm fingers and in big ways with a shelter and more qualified people than I could have asked for. He is AWESOME!

Dad is having breakfast in the Boulder Field with the sunrise and what ground we had covered behind him.

Here I am also having breakfast in the Boulder Field with the "Keyhole" and the ground we have yet to cover behind me.

Another shot of the awesome sunrise. Pictures just don't do it justice.

Looking across to the "Keyhole". Yes, it is as far away as it looks.

Longs Peak's diamond. It is huge.

Dad is soldiering on toward the "Keyhole". Unfortunately, it is now uphill over the boulders.

Just before we got to the "Keyhole", we took time to pose in front of the "hut" actually named the Agnus Vaille after a climber who lost her life on the mountain. Little did we know that this memorial would be instrumental to us surviving our descent later in the day.

Taking in the view from the "Keyhole" itself. Getting to this point is no small feat especially for those of us who were not in the best of shape to start with.

We are now on the "Ledges" looking back toward the "Keyhole". This is where the hike began to get a little more technical for us novices.

Here, Dad is looking back down the "Home Stretch". We are about halfway up the "Home Stretch" toward the summit. It is said that this part is not as steep as it looks. You be the judge.

This is shot is a little out of order. I actually took it on the way down. I think I took it from the "Narrows". I was not fond of them.

Once we summited, this was the sign that was posted at the entrance/exit.

The view looking out from the summit. Breathtaking!



My Dad, sitting on top of Longs Peak. Way to go Dad! I'm proud of you.


You knew that I had to put one of me sitting on top! It felt great, I didn't have the words to describe the feeling at the time and I still don't.