8/7/04 – Mount Meeker, Longs Peak & Pagoda Mountain – "Two-Man Homerun", return trip via Sandbeach Lake

14.5 miles, 6310'      map of route


Waking up at 12:30 a.m. was rude – what an accursed hour! Oh wait, many people are still awake at 12:30 on a Friday night, but few of them are seeing it from the wrong side. We met Kurt Traskos 45 minutes later at our place, and Erin drove us to Lyons where we met up with Mark Fisher. We caravanned up to the Copeland Lake TH where we left Erin's 4Runner for the day, and we piled into Mark's nice, new truck for the remaining few miles to the Longs Peak Trailhead. We arrived shortly after 3:00 a.m., but Longs climbers had quite nearly filled the lot. We took one of the last remaining spots near the trailhead, and started hiking at 3:30. We cruised up the trail, and good conversation helped us while away the lamp-lit three miles to the Chasm Lake Junction atop Mills Moraine. Once there, the sun was just starting to light the eastern sky above the plains. Back in 2001, on independent trips to Longs Peak, both Kurt and Erin and I mistakenly went up the Chasm Lake Trail to Chasm Meadows before realizing our errors and having to backtrack to rejoin the Keyhole route on Longs. This morning it was nice to head this way and to intend  to! At the rear of Chasm Meadows, we left the trail and started hiking south toward Mount Meeker's buttress-studded north face. As we ascended on talus toward the Iron Gates, the morning light cast on the Longs cirque was stirring.

Up and over a minor rise in the talus, we found ourselves staring at the Iron Gates. The Iron Gates are a pair of buttresses guarding a gully that leads to Meeker's northeast ridge. The hiking here is all class 2 on talus except for the last 20 or 30 feet, which involves some light scrambling. The incredible views of Longs and hiking next to fabulous rock features are the chief attractions as you approach the northeast ridge crest.

The wind grew fierce atop the ridge crest, and we took a break at the notch atop the Iron Gates gully. The views to the south opened up, and we gazed at Copeland Mountain and the Indian Peaks. When we resumed the climb, we noticed that by staying south of the crest, we were sheltered from the winds. I was slow to get started up again, and I started trailing the group immediately. Also, my hands had grown numb, protected from the wind only be my light gloves (my winter gloves weren't in my day pack for the first time this year, and of course, this was the first time I wanted them all summer!). I balled them up inside my gloves to get them to start warming, but just then, I stepped on a loose rock that rotated 90 degrees. Normally, this is no problem; I use my poles to regain my balance. But with my hands inoperable, fists stuck inside my gloves, I toppled backward helplessly, with Erin watching in horror. The mountain gods smiled on me, though. My pack with my helmet strapped to it took the brunt of the fall into a boulder, a boulder positioned as though it were meant to catch me. I was lucky. I ended up with only a bruised tailbone, but I can envision cracking my head on a rock and a lot worse from my clumsiness. Maybe some would consider it a strange lesson to learn, but I vow to never again walk on talus without the use of my hands. They're just too valuable when something unexpected happens. 100' above, Mark and Kurt thought Erin and I were just tuckered and taking another break. The wind had obscured my surprised yelp, and they had no idea about my fall until we reached them. Unfortunately, this wouldn't be the only accident among our group today.

After my incident, it didn't take much longer for us to reach the unranked summit of Meeker Ridge. From here, the view of Longs is simply stunning, catching a unique profile of The Diamond. After another break, we tackled Meeker's summit ridge, the crux of the Iron Gates route. The descent from Meeker Ridge was the most difficult part for us. There's an exposed move that was made much more nerve-racking because of the crosswinds blowing in the direction of the exposure. Kurt didn't mind it, but the rest of us had to build up some courage. After a move like that, I was dreading the knife-edge section of the ridge, but our movements on the knife felt very secure, our feet on ledges and our hands on the knife's edge. Once across, getting atop Meeker's summit boulder was a fun final challenge for our centennial thirteener of the day. From the summit the views of Meeker's Flying Buttress were astounding, but we had time for only a short rest before we left for The Loft.

It was nice to take a reprieve from scrambling during our jaunt across The Loft, the expansive Longs/Meeker saddle. While the group aimed for The Loft's northwest corner, I had to take a small detour. We were all impressed by Pagoda Mountain, and I had to head further south to acquire a panorama shot of our final goal for the day. Unfortunately our group would have another mishap here. While we descended from The Loft to join the Clark's Arrow route on Longs, Mark took a nasty spill on a large slab. Erin and I had to get out of his way – Mark had gone from climbing partner to dangerous projectile. Quickly, Mark halted his tumble with his hands, but he tore one of them up badly. Kurt bandaged him efficiently, however, and we returned to the pressing matter of routefinding on the backside of Longs. Some cairns popped into view, and we descended into a gully and around a corner where Kurt spied a white arrow, Clark's Arrow. We were now on third-class terrain below the magnificent Palisades. We made the tiresome ascent up to the Homestretch, where inquisitive climbers from the Keyhole route greeted us. The Homestretch itself felt longer than any of our previous climbs of Longs. We were wiped once we reached the top, so we took a lunch break at the edge of the Diamond, a striking view of Meeker serving as the backdrop to our meal. It was strange, after spending so much time with no one else around, to be surrounded by the hordes on Longs' summit. We saw a bizarre sight there before we left: someone was cooking ramen noodles with a gas stove. I've never seen someone cooking hot food on a summit before!

We were tired, but we left the comfort of the summit and downclimbed the Homestretch. Per Roach's Grand Slam directions, we left the Keyhole route at the base of the Homestretch and started making a descending traverse west toward the Keyboard of the Winds. Deep scores on the talus were a stark reminder of the constant state of flux our mountains are in – a rock slide had occurred here recently. Our easy descent was interrupted by the "pesky cliff band" that Roach describes in the Grand Slam route. There is supposedly a third-class route through this cliff band, but we used a nice class 5.0-5.2 downclimb to get through. Mark termed this "the toughest climbing" he's done on a mountain, and he was pleased to test his abilities. At the saddle between Longs and Pagoda we had keen views into Glacier Gorge, but the weather was beginning to look threatening. Mark decided to begin the descent into the basin south of the saddle while the Kurt, Erin, and I made the 400' push for Pagoda's summit. An awe-inspiring view of Longs and Meeker was the reward for our efforts.

We hurriedly made our way back down to the saddle and then began to follow Mark down into the basin. The loose slope we descended, which cuts through the otherwise continuous cliff band, was miserable, and we were all glad that we hadn't ascended it. We lost our footing several times on the slope, and Kurt bashed his hip pretty nicely in one such incident. Reunited at the base of the slope, we four took a well-deserved break in an idyllic and solitary setting in the cirque surrounded by Pagoda, Longs, and Meeker. Once we resumed the descent, Pagoda's buttresses and cliffs, its dramatic south ridge, and Longs' interesting south slopes were great reasons to keep looking back.

In the heart of this secluded basin we bushwhacked through willows and weaved through cliff bands, entering forest for the first time in half a day. Kurt led the charge on the bushwhack while the rest of us followed. We found Hunter Creek without trouble, and I suggested we start looking for a use trail that I had read about in the 13ers book. We didn't find this use trail, however, and when I reread the route description later, the reason was obvious: the use trail ended at 10,500', well above our position! With this option proving fruitless, I directed Kurt southwest, veering away from the creek. We reached a boulder field amidst the trees, and from a high point, Kurt saw Sandbeach Lake. It was mercifully close, and we cranked through the remainder of our 3-mile bushwhack.

Sandbeach Lake was quite unique. Appropriately, the lake featured a nice sand beach – in my experience, this is an oddity to encounter in Colorado's backcountry. There were people sunbathing and fishing at the lake, and we wearily asked a couple for directions to the Sandbeach Lake Trail. From here, Kurt and Erin led a two-hour death march to the Copeland Lake Trailhead, which felt like it would never arrive. We finished our hike at a quarter of six, over a fifteen-hour day. At the car we lustily guzzled from some 90-degree water we left in Erin's 4Runner because our reserves of water had run dry during the hike to Copeland Lake. Erin drove us back to the Longs Peak Trailhead, and then we caravanned to Lyons for dinner at Oscar Blue's.

A few weeks removed from the trip, I'm still thrilled about our climb of Meeker, Longs, and Pagoda. What a great way to experience Longs anew! We saw it from so many angles; now the only side we haven't personally observed of Longs is from Glacier Gorge. Thanks Kurt and Mark for being great climbing partners. We're going to remember days like this for years to come!