Jan 21 - 27

01-21-2013
Mon-AM: 2:06, 4500' ~ Flatiron Trifecta+Green Mt.
Ended up being pretty tired, so after hitting the first three Flatirons I just slogged to the top of Green instead of scrambling the last two as well. Tired legs. Appt at Peak Performance Acupuncture in the afternoon.

01-22-2013
Tue-AM: 5:47, 5000' ~ Longs Peak (14,255')
Up Kieners down Cables with Joe. Really good outing. Got to Chasm Lake in 1:14 and the entry to Broadway at 1:48 or so. Waited for Joe at the ledge before the first crux even though we both felt really comfortable today, like we could've soloed it.  Roped up and I led as we simul-climbed across Broadway and up the Crux Cracks before packing the rope and marching up to the Diamond Step and the summit. Really nice kicked-in steps in the upper snowfield, made things easy. Got to the summit at 4:12 where we didn't spend too much time before rappeling the North Face and then running back down to the trailhead via the Jim Grove trail.  Lots of wind between treeline and Chasm on the way up and then on the Boulderfield on the way down; otherwise, a perfect day.

01-23-2013
Wed-AM: 2:05, 4500' ~ Odd Flatiron Trifecta+Green Mt.
Starting from Chautauqua, scrambled the 1st, 3rd, and 5th Flatirons before heading up to the summit of Green.  This is a really nice two hour outing because it links up the best Flatirons with the most sustained and quality climbing, and the off-trail connections between each of these flatirons are really logical. Tired legs after yesterday's long effort.
PM: Climbing, w/ Joe. 4th Elephant Buttress in Boulder Canyon, Northwest Face.

01-24-2013
Thu-AM: 2:01, 4500' ~ Odd Flatiron Trifecta+Green Mt.
Same exact run/scramble as yesterday, except that I had a lot more energy. Would've done the full Quinfecta, but wanted to be a little rested for another run up Longs tomorrow. Acupuncture afterwards.
PM: Climbing, w/ Joe. Dome in Boulder Canyon. East of the Sun and East Slab.  By the time we climbed the East Slab the sun was down and the moon was high.

01-25-2013
Fri-AM: 4:56, 5000' ~ Longs Peak (14,255')
Up Kieners, down Cables. With Joe. Not too windy, but kind of a chilly day with misty clouds blowing across the upper reaches of the mountain. Simul-climbed Broadway and the Crux Cracks again, but we're getting it quite dialed in, so it goes really quickly. The snow on upper Kieners was, unfortunately, a bit drifted so that our kicked steps from Tuesday were pretty much gone, which made this section much harder work. 3:37 to the summit and a 1:19 descent.

01-26-2013
Sat-AM: 2:04, 4500' ~ Odd Flatiron Trifecta+Green Mt.
Nice warm morning, but I was moving slowly on the talus with tired legs and an ankle I rolled on yesterday's descent. Felt good on the scrambles, though.

01-27-2013
Sun-AM: 2:01, 3000' ~ 3rd Flatiron+Green Mt.
Easy run from my doorstep. Thought the rock was going to be wet after the rain (!) last night, but it was drying quickly in the rising sun and I didn't have any issues, even without sticky rubber. Descended Ranger to Gregory.  Good to test the hip with some more sustained running, but it is still tight/twingy.

Hours: 21hr
Vert: 31,000'

Similar to when I did the Kieners Route on Longs Peak for the first time this past summer, it's been hard to stay away from it this past week after notching my first winter ascent.  It's just such a nice line on the mountain that is technical and exposed enough to keep things interesting but not too scary or difficult.  So, three trips up Longs in eight days.  In between I've been getting in as much scrambling as possible, trying to maximize this warm January weather and take things a little easier on my hip flexor.  In the coming weeks I'll probably branch out to a couple other 14ers (but Longs is so close and so much fun!), and hopefully start incorporating more sustained running into the routine as the hip allows.  Gotta start preparing for the flat profile of the Tarawera 100K at some point with longer continuous runs, but I need to be mindful of whether my legs will hold up to that.

Summit of Longs Peak. Photo: Joe Grant (and that's proper film, not Instagram :)

Joe (the tiny speck) at the bottom of Lambs Slide.

Joe on the entry to Broadway. Upper Lambs Slide behind.

Broadway and the Lower East Face. Photo: Joe Grant.

Joe just above the crux of the Broadway traverse.

Joe on upper Kieners after the Crux Cracks.

Steep snow.

North Face of Longs (Cables route is just to the right of the Diamond).