This route climbs Longs via its obvious, left skyline. Starting at the Loft, It strives to stay right on the crest of the southeast ridge.
Much of this is simply 3rd class with HUGE exposure to your right, looking down the east face, and across the Diamond's profile. Soak it in, and stay as close to edge as you dare, peering down at The vertigous East Face!
The Crux comes when you reach the Notch. The Notch is very intimidating to look into, it's a ways down! Some rappel 100' from slings on the right,into the Notch from here, or for a ropefree affair, try Gorrell's Traverse. To reach it, turn left(south) and scramble down to the 2nd of two Chimneys that drop west into the Notch.
Downclimb this(5.5 Chimney) to reach The Notch. Much care must be taken to find the easiest line, as the chimney keeps trying to cliff you out...VERY EXCITING onsight with no rope! Basically head down the first stretch of chimney until it looks unlikely to go straight down. Look right(climber's left) for a devious traverse that will deposit you onto the floor of The Notch.
From here, climb up to the crest of The Notch, and angle around to the north side.
Look for a passage leading up towards Long's summit. This is the Stepladder. Ascend this Chimney/ramp (5.5)system until the angle eases and you can easily scramble to the summit!
One could access just this pitch if desired, by heading up to the notch from Clark's Arrow....
Location
This route is accessed from the Loft. It ascends the obvious, and elegant skyline of the East face. A great and uncrowded way to climb Longs! easily linked up with Meeker for a MEGA-CLASSIC scramble day, one of RMNP's finest!
Protection
A light alpine rack and one rope will suffice, or just a sturdy pair of shoes, and your best routefinding skills....
Justin, great job on the vid. It's hard to video and climb well, on these alpine routes. I have a sick Sony HD handy cam if you're doing an alpine climbs soon, hit me back, maybe we could climb parallel routes and get some footage.
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