Should we go through The Keyhole?

Walking in the Dark

Arriving from Boulder at 2:15 AM, my climbing partner Alberto and I were graced with a half-empty parking lot, a cloudless sky, and a calm breeze. It was looking like it would be a great day. It would be my second time up Longs, Alberto's first (after getting chased off the mountain a few weeks earlier by an August snowstorm). We lit our headlamps and started heading up the trail.




Up until treeline, everything was perfect. The mountain then started trying to chase us off, with a steady, chilly wind. We put on the rest of our layers and continued to push toward the invisible giant in front of us. We made great time, crossing Granite Pass in just over 2 hours and . . . oh, crap!! Epic wind! On we went, passing by people to were turning back: a couple here, a group of four there, a petrified group of girls, holding each other up against the gusts. About halfway up The Boulderfield, Alberto calls back: "I'm going up to The Keyhole for the sunrise," and starts bounding up the boulders. I found it's much harder in headlamps than daylight! But I made it up, too.

What To Do?

I've heard that The Keyhole can be windy. But this was ridiculous. Retreating back to the shelter, which was quickly getting crowded with people who all have the same questions: "Should we bail?" "Do we really want to risk getting blown off the mountain?" Everyone who went up to look through the Keyhole came back with the same stunned expression. We all stood there, watching the sunrise and watching the parade of people arriving at the base of the boulders. We pondered what to do as we got more cozy, with some decided to wait a while, us included. Many people balked and headed back down. Finally, someone decided to test the air on the other side and go through, then return and report. It was good news: the viscous wind lasted only about 10 feet past the Keyhole. We left the shelter, braved the wind, and went through the Keyhole, a little more than an hour after arriving and 4:40 after leaving the car.

To the Top and Back

Ahh, no wind! It was amazing; the wind completely disappeared nearly immediately after leaving the Keyhole and the rest of the mountain immediately became less intimidating. At the Trough, we met a group from Kansas, who had driven from Kansas to the base of the mountain, camped at the Boulderfield, and now was pushing up the Trough. One of them was having a rough time with the altitude. I'm surprised only one of the three.




Now that the wind was gone, the day turned beautiful again.



I find the Narrows pretty unbelievable. While on it, I really didn't feel that it was that bad or exposed. But, I remember the view from the "Homestretch side" as being somewhat incongruous with the walk across: How can something that looks so dramatic feel much less so? Focusing on where you're going, I guess.









Finally, the Homestretch, which was great fun without wind or water. We made the summit in 6:00 from the car, including our long "rest" at the Keyhole. There weren't too many people at the summit, as they were probably all bottlenecked down below, wondering if the summit was worth it.









No too much happened on the way back. We passed plenty of people who had decided, like us, to go on and summit. Given the calm that we were in, we were amazed to find that, just like in the morning, the Keyhole was the keeper of a tornado. At the base of the Boulderfield, I saw only my second ever set of summer ptarmigans.



On down to the car, which felt like a much longer slog that on the way up in the dark. We stopped at Mills Moraine to take in the fantastic view of the east face, then headed down to the trees, the goblins, and the parking lot. Final trip time: 11:16, with at least 3 hours of being stopped.

It was a great day.

Images

View Should we go through The Keyhole? Image Gallery - 1 Images