Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Long's Peak

I was wondering how one would compare the Mountaineer's route on whitney with the Keyhole route on Long's peak. I am not a technical climber, but I was wondering if I would be able to hike both of these routes.

Last year, someone compared the two

http://www.whitneyportalstore.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=001668

I only made it to just above Iceberg Lake on the MR...but up to that point I felt that the entire Longs Peak hike was a fair bit easier than the MR. The footing on Longs Peak is pretty darn good..even in the "Trough"...whereas the area above Iceberg on the MR seemed to have a lot more loose "scree".

There are definitely some exposed sections on the Longs Peak Keyhole Route..but the footing is generally good.

Regards...

BeachAV8R

I would agree with Beach that Longs via the Keyhole is easier than the MR. Did a dayhike of Longs last July in about 11 hours, and that was kind of strolling with nice breaks and a leisurely lunch on the summit. The MR is much shorter but steeper, with just a little route finding if you haven't done it before. Longs had no route finding demands - a clear path all the way. I have only done the MR as a two day trip, broken up with stays at UBS or Iceberg. I can't think of any bothersome exposure on the MR...Longs has one or two places with a dropoff, but as Beach says the footing is excellent. I have heard the crowds on Longs are bad, but I got lucky going on a Monday after a rainy weekend and there were only about 5 people on the summit. And it's flat out beautiful. The view from the Keyhole with take your breath away.

Yeah Marc...when we were there we caught it toward the end of the season..so we only saw a few people. It was very nice. And reaching the Keyhole and staring out from there was almost a spiritual experience. I will never forget standing there, braced against the rocks and hearing the freight train of wind roaring through that gap. The valley sprawled out below was just incredible. It was probably one of the most intimidating places I've ever stood...just awesome.

And Marc is right..there is no route-finding necessary for the Keyhole Route..the path is very nice and the destination from the Boulderfield up to the Keyhole is always visible..so even though there is no set path up there you always know where you are going. Once through the Keyhole you just have to keep an eye out for the "bullseyes" and you won't have any problem. The biggest concern I think is making sure you find the Narrows when coming back down the Homestretch...I guess it is possible to pass it and keep going downhill when you shouldn't..

You can find a description of our hike up Longs on our web-site..but the linked pictures are currently down (I'll put them back up soon..my image server was deleted..)...

http://home.carolina.rr.com/beachav8r/longs.html

BeachAV8R