A comparison of two renowned summits for those who seek loftiness, airiness and exposure: The two classic routes on the Grand Teton (13,775') and the two classic routes on Longs Peak (14,260') of Colorado ----------------------------------------------------------- Photo of Longs is below (with climbing route shown). I've climbed to the summit of Longs Peak five times between 1971 and 2016. I've ascended via the north face four times and via the Keyhole route once. I've always descended via the Keyhole route. I summited the Grand via the Owen-Spalding route in 2023 and summited via the upper Exum ridge in 2024. Links: Owen-Spalding 2023 Upper Exum 2024 If you seek maximum airiness/exposure for the least amount of technical climbing, I recommend the north face (old Cables route) of Longs Peak. The north face route has never failed to give me the jitters with its close proximity to the east face vertical drop-off of 1200' just to the left of and below the line of ascent. You can't help but be keenly aware of it. It is prominently in your field of vision. Any fall while climbing the Cables route sends you over that drop-off for a 1200' vertical free-fall along the east face. Unlike the Grand -- which is dominated by couloirs and chimneys -- the north face of Longs is unbroken faces all the way up. You have that airy feeling the entire time you are ascending. On the Grand -- especially on the so-called high- exposure upper Exum route -- you are mostly enfolded by couloir walls or on a ridge so broad that you have little in your field of vision -- peripheral or otherwise -- which will afford you much sense of airiness or exposure. That includes the so-called high-exposure Step Across. The only means to acquire a sense of exposure during the Step Across is to look between your legs while you are clinging to the face. I had no interest in going to such an extreme, as I considered the pitch to be all business. The only time I saw substantial vista while ascending the upper Exum was when I purposely paused between a couple of the upper pitches and made a point to look off to my left and then off to my right. Sure enough, I could see that I was in a very special place. I never thought to look behind me at the top of pitches. Perhaps not worth all the climbing even if one thinks to do so. The upper Exum is a long haul. This is a bit of a guess on my part on behalf of the reader, because I was fit enough to be fresh on the entire climb. Most people don't train as much as I do in preparation for a climb. (The steepest drop-offs are to the left and right, rather than behind you, so I don't feel like I missed out on much by not thinking to look behind me.) If you want to climb the Grand, I recommend the Owen-Spalding route for the best exposure and best views. As a very significant bonus, it is much quicker and easier to climb. It's true that one descends via Owen-Spalding even when ascending via the upper Exum, but that double-experience might not be worth the trudge up the upper Exum if you are not a strong climber. ------------------------------------------------ The north face route (old Cables route) on Longs is rated 5.4, but in my opinion has just one 5.4 move, with the rest of the route being class 4 climbing. The Keyhole route is class 4 climbing and is the standard descent route on Longs. If you are keen on doing an extended and steep friction pitch as part of a summit, then you'll find the very long section of slabs immediately to the right of the Homestretch on the Keyhole route of Longs Peak to be the ultimate friction pitch: In 2016, I ascended via the Keyhole route. As usual, I left the trailhead a couple hours later than the other climbing parties. (The last of them had logged in at 2:00 A.M. and I at 4:40 A.M.) I caught them all at about 13,000' elevation, meaning that I found myself behind a very long line of climbers strung out along the Homestretch, consisting of six unrelated climbing parties, in clusters. There were about 30 climbers in total. Though they were all in their twenties, they were climbing slowly. I found myself suddenly "in the moment" and went out onto the slabs to the right of the climbers and essentially friction-sprinted on all fours for a couple hundred or so linear feet. I've never seen anyone on those slabs on any of my six trips along that route. If you fall there, you fall thousands of feet just as though you were falling through air. It's that steep. Weirdly, I was 62. Once past the line of climbers, I moved back into the Homestretch gap and high-tailed it to the summit. Conversely, in 1974, while descending the Keyhole route, I encountered a long line of climbers working their way up the Homestretch. Seeing how daunting it would be to wriggle my way past them, I found myself suddenly "in the moment" and went out onto a series of narrow ledges just to the right. Ever "in the moment", I began leaping vertically downwards from one narrow ledge to the next. I recall there being about seven or eight such narrow ledges, spaced about eight to ten vertical feet apart. I remember catching a lot of air with each leap. There was nothing but a split-second pause between leaps, as I was reading each leap in advance. Any fall would have been thousands of feet. I was just twenty years old then, with legs like Gene Kelly's. ------------------------------------------------ The north face route that I've always used is known as the old Cables route. The steel cable was removed in 1973. My stories about those climbs are below this photo:My four Longs Peak Cables route ascents: 1971 ---- I was with my cross-country team, between my junior and senior year of high school. We climbed the route by hanging onto the cable. The cable ran about 150 linear feet up the steep north face, directly above a shear vertical drop of 1200 feet. 1973 ---- The cable had been removed. I free-soloed the route. I encountered a mass of ice blocking me from performing the final manuever -- a mantle -- from the correct position. It's an awkward and scary left-tilting mantle even when attempting it from the correct position. Since the ice mass had forced me far to the right, I had to thrust myself far to the left as I attempted to mantle up onto the ledge, which itself tilts leftwards towards the adjacent vertical drop-off of the east face. It looked impossible. A failed attempt would send me over the edge for a 1200' free fall along the east face. I did not consider down-climbing to be an option. I was alone on the mountain in early September, severely underdressed, and shivering from cold and fear. When just another five-second delay would mean losing my grip on the rock face and falling over the east face to my death, I attempted the mantle, knowing that a failed attempt would also mean falling over the east face to my death. I considered that to be a very likely outcome. But it turned out to be easier than it appeared. Other than that mantle, it was strictly class 4 climbing, in my opinion, at least in the upwards direction. Why everyone who writes about the route calls it 5.4 all along the route, is roped the entire route and carries a great amount of hardware and slings is a great mystery. I'm a novice climber. 1974 ---- From the boulderfield, I spotted a small party far ahead of me working their way toward the Cables route. I high-tailed it to up their position and asked to join up with them. I received just one brief belay for the single move at the top of the route -- that treacherous mantle. There was no ice on the route this time. As for the rest of the route: same opinion again -- strictly class 4. 1977 ---- This time I was the lead climber for my two companions -- Balthazor and Miller. At the mantle at the top of the route, I received a belay from Balthazor below me, then belayed my companions up. There was no ice on the route this time either. All three of us novice climbers climbed unprotected the entire route up to the mantle. We all agreed that it was strictly class 4 until one gets to that mantle at the top of the route. Owen-Spalding <-- back to Grand 2023 Upper Exum <-- back to Grand 2024