Colorado 14ers: Longs Peak - Loft Route - Hike FAIL
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- Опубликовано: 29 сен 2019
- During late September 2019, a few friends and I made an attempt on Longs Peak via the Loft but battled steady winds all day. Eventually, about 500 vertical feet from the summit the winds were gusting at 50+ mph and we were forced to call it and turn around. It was frustrating, but the right call as we had several class 4+ sections of hiking to go.
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Summiting is optional. Descending is mandatory.
So important
Good decision making is the most important skill to master.
Thank you for uploading this. A reality check is always welcome
Absolutely and quite frankly, I needed one. Makes the eventual summit that much sweeter!
@@TheVirtualSherpa Keep up the good work man
Absolutely worth posting, glad you did. Important stuff here. Hey, you all still had some beautiful views my dude.
I'm glad you still went ahead and posted the video showing the wise judgment not to summit due to weather conditions. I've been caught in high winds before on Long's twice and it is no joke. Next summer I would like to try the loft route after taking in the views at Chasm (kazem) lake.
Chasm is beautiful and totally worth a hike up just to see it.
I was on crestone needle with extreme winds ,anchored to the wall .the wind was a roter over the top from the San Luis Valley.
mother nature bats last...she's fond of hitting a walk off in the 9th. Great video series- your authenticity is really real- You're gonna send the keyhole and wrap this thing up in good style....a good reminder for us all- "the summit is only the most obvious place to turn around."
Shes all about the dramatic and besides 1 or 2, one of the women I respect most in this world haha
Know when to hold em....know when to fold em....know when to walk away ...and know when to run. KL. Safety first! Thanks for sharing! Good lessons to learn from.
One of the best videos out there about climbing to the Loft. I was climbing this week and the winds were brutal. Good for you turning around, always encouraging to see people showing the safety side of experienced mountaineering.
Thanks Greg - appreciate it. Hopefully will be back to summit Longs that way in the future.
Thanks for showing how ,when and especially Why to bale out of a hike / climb. The mountain will still be there tomorrow to try again.
Had to pull the plug a few times, most recently last month on Shavano, opting not to go get Tab. Had an older 1st timer and a struggling 2nd timer with me. We were way late and the weather was building. They were game but I made the decision to head down and forego Tab. It was the right call for sure as the rain and lightning started up as we neared timberline and the two newbies’ pace slowed greatly. When you’re with others, and the most experienced, you really have to pay attention to them throughout the hike and exercise caution over courage sometimes.
Sorry that you didn't make it to the summit, but you all did the smart thing by turning back. No shame whatsoever in making a very rational decision given the wind velocity. Longs is a tougher peak than most people give it credit for... until they try to climb it. Most come back humbled.
100% agree, appreciate the kind words
Thanks for the honesty, I too failed longs, but am probably a tenth the climber you are, great vid!
After getting my 10th, I was thinking about your videos and the great effort you go through to film all of this. Thanks
I ran into rain and high (knock me down) winds between the lake and boulder field campground once. I think my `space' blanket helped warm me up overnight. Next day was beautiful! Glad you are fine, its the journey.
Thanks for posting this !! Shows a lot of maturity and thank god nothing bad happened , first or last 14er, I’m glad you trusted your gut .
Cheers and thanks - agree, could have been my 400th 14er, always tough but always the right call.
Off route from there up could get blown off the diamond or down to Boulder gulch , ouch !
Longs was my final 14er in 1991. What an awesome peak. You made the right decision turning back and posting this video. Look forward to seeing your successful summit.
Always a tough call, but ultimately you know your own limits, and that route isn't one to mess with in bad conditions.
Shit, I was on Bierstadt today(lol), and there were 46mph wind gusts, and a lot of people turned around before the scramble to the summit because the wind gusts were pushing them around.
I didn't turn around, but ultimately, if you're uncomfortable, that's the right decision to make.
An experienced hiker got picked up by a gust on the descent and rolled his ankle. The mountains can be unrelenting.
I didn't know this route existed! I did the Keyhole Route earlier this summer, and now I'm putting this on the list for next summer, looks like a cool challenge!
I post my hike fails. That way others hopefully wont make the same mistakes I did. Besides, its all about the adventure anyway. Getting to the top is good but if it's not in the cards.. well then you always got next time.
hey dad :) huge fan!
Good source!! Just did Maroon bells traverse and honestly it was ur video that gave me the confidence to do it! Awesome video. Keep making GREAT DECISIONS!
Awesome to hear!
Yes! Safety first and am happy you all made the decisions
Thanks for posting this.
Trying to do that on only 3 hours sleep! I like your narration, very inspirational. The part about shivering in the 4am cold was scary, makes me think about hypothermia.
Love your videos!
The wind really is so gross up there. I was up there once this year when it was dead calm. That almost scared me more....ominous feeling. Hope you bag it soon.
Having summited the keyhole route, we've discussed the loft route before. You can't go straight at the summit from the loft. The notch is in the way.
I loved seeing the ascent up the loft. Great views of what to expect there. Thanks for sharing and better luck finding Clark's Arrow next time.
Hope to make it back there soon!
Lots of people get off track where you guys did and doing so can turn that into a pretty hairy situation. On-route the Loft isn't too crazy, but it's definitely no joke and takes a lot of time. Still my preferred way up Longs for sure, though!
Great commentary. Thanks for the IG shoutout
Good call on turning around, no summit is worth dying or getting injured. Not trying to be a dick but the lake is pronounced like "kazm". Love your videos, good luck on bagging that last 14er!
Thanks man and no worries about the pronunciation -someone else already corrected me in a far less polite way.
That route down the back of the Loft is tough to find, we had a very similar day to this.
I just did this route on 7/20/20 it was a crazy route. And believe me the wind was all crazy going to the summit. But the summit wasnt windy at all
The mountain will always be there, live to climb another day.
Smart move. As in all alpine sports - weather conditions prevail.
Thanks!
Thanks for the donation, really appreciate it.
"500 vertical feet from the summit"
Did you stop where the video stops? This route goes downhill so I am curious where you felt you needed to stop, and what you meant by this.
The last footage has you at the top of the "loft", then you start descending to the left of the false peak between yourself and Longs. I did this yesterday for the first time, and those first descending moves were the crux of the route for me. That was extremely lose and sketchy.
All in all, fantastic video and channel. Cheers.
Surviving to talk about it... priceless.
I didn't even know about the loft route... i went through these winds on the decalibron. absolutely fucking miserable. when people don't understand what it's like i tell them to wait for winter.... get on the highway and then stick your head out the window and you can't bring it back in for 5 hours. lol anyways thanks for posting it! were you going to descend the keyhole or back down the loft?
According to the longs peak book a swiss mountain climber commented there are no mountains in colorado worth climbing. He died on longs peak. The author pointed out he didnt live long enuf to eat those words. If climbers can wait in their tents on everest for better weather for several weeks nothin wrong with waiting a day. More experience equals more common sense apparently. Seems like the degree of danger on longs is relatively high.
Too bad ya had to turn back but dying on Longs would be disgraceful after all the crazier stuff youve summited. Even still its an easy one to underestimate leading to so many fatalities.
Do you plan on going back up the loft route or standard?
I think I still have some PTSD from the loft haha so the plan was to go up Keyhole on the next try.
The Virtual Sherpa I’ve hiked the keyhole route twice. I think you’ll think it’s fun. I’ve also turned around on Longs in September on account of wind. Both of my successful summits were in late July and late August. Something about September makes the wind ruthless
@@TheVirtualSherpa Once on the Loft, cairns are prevalent that clearly (IMO) show the route to the down climb into Keplinger couloir...just saying. Done this many, many times and never had an issue finding my way across the loft to the down climb. Its on the NW as you cross the Loft. Can't miss it!
That wasn't the summit you pointed out. It was the top of the beaver. To summit Longs from the Loft is a LOT more complex. You really have to know the route. Good thing you turned back.
BTW, you pronounce Chasm with a HARD "C", like "chrystal", not soft like "chair".
smart life choice to abort safety first always, some dont and die....happy climbing looking for more....liked and sub'd...Jj
thanks and appreciate it!
“Chasm” is pronounced “kasum”, just fyi.
U ain’t no sherpa stop it.