Long's Peak via Lambs Slide - TR

[BurnHard]

I've been wanting to ski Lambs Slide ever since a friend mentioned it to me and showed me pictures of this beautiful line right next to the Diamond. I knew I still wasn't in good enough shape to hike Long's bottom-to-top in one day in winter conditions with skis on my back, but I wouldn't let that hold me back. Conditions were finally beyond perfect this weekend and so I set out Friday evening after work on a mission: hike up to near Chasm Lake and bivouac, cutting the daily vert in half, and set out for the summit the next day. So I did.


#1. Hiking up the Long's Peak Trail on Friday evening after work. What a way to end a weekday



The only time I did Long's before was last summer in running shoes & a camelback.
I remembered the trail from the Ranger Station to Chasm Lake to be much shorter.
But with 50+ lbs on my back (Atomic Big Daddy's in 190cm + Marker Dukes + Alpine boots) and tired from a day in the office, the trail turned out to be much longer


#2. Moon rising



I finally arrived at the saddle where the trail splits around Mt. Lady Washington. I was already tired and it was getting dark (~8pm) and decided to camp out there instead of pushing for Chasm Lake which would've been colder anyway. Found a big boulder with a nice flat spot next to it, dug some snow out, rollet my thermarest + bivouac bag + sleeping bag out, and made myself comfortable. Managed to take this long exposure shot of the valley before falling asleep.


#3. Valley under Moonlight (Longmont I believe)



Next morning, alarm clock set for 4am - initial struggle to get out of the warm sleeping bag into the freezing cold, took 15 minutes of convincing myself, plus another 10 minutes of jumpin-jacks to get myself warmed up. Packed up, stashed a bunch of un-needed gear under a nearby rock, and set out.


#4. Just after 4am at the campsite - ready to depart.



#5. Looking back at the sunrise



#5. Long's Diamond at the magic hour



After my initial plan of hiking to the right of Chasm Lake over to Mill's Glacier, I realized how solidly frozen the lake was and just crossed directly over it. Hiked up Mill's Glacier and headed into Lamb's Slide.

#6. View from Lambs Slide - ??



Long story short - I was out of water by 4.30am on Saturday morning, shortly after leaving camp. Don't ask why (Duh), in any case, I started getting seriously dehydrated. Halfway up Lamb's Slide I realized I was getting weaker from the lack of water, and started eating some salty peanuts with melted snow. This got me up to the top of Lambs where I stashed my skis and kept hiking around the Loft, hoping to still be able to summit. At ~13,700ft, seriously close to the summit, legs started cramping up from dehydration & exhaustion, and I decided it would be safer to turn around now and still be able to ski Lambs. A little bummed that I didn't summit, but still totally happy I would still get to ski the line I've been wanting to ski:


#7. Ski tracks down Lambs Slide



The skiing down Lambs Slide was absolutely AWESOME. A little hard and wind-slabby on the top, but absolutely awesome cream-cheesyness from 3/4 down.

#8. Looking back at the diamond (and my tracks on Mill's if you look closely enough)



#9. Chasm Lake



#10. Looking back - What a day...



This was an incredible journey for me. My first ski descent of a (part of a) 14'er in Colorado/USA AND my first solo trip out here.
I've done several solo ascents before, back home in the Italian (and Swiss) alps, but never a solo ski descent.
Snow & Weather conditions couldn't have been better, and I'm stoked to have had the chance to take some pretty pictures


Enjoy!
_Bernardo

[couloirman]

very nice work, goes to show you that a summit is never necessary for a great day out. I feel you on being out of water, has happened to me way too many times also. I was planning on giving this a go too sometime next week, lemme know if you want a partner for getting revenge...

[montanaskier]

dude.....that is serious. No idea what a beast you were when we took a pansy skin loop way back in the winter.

STRONG WORK

[MOHSHSIHd]

Nice pics man! The long exposure of the plains is sick!

[Ireallyliketoski2]

Very Strong effort indeed.

[Kya]

Nice dude. Solos are sweet.

[pappag]

FKNA dude!! Sorry to hear you didn't make it to the top, but this is nothing short of an awesome accomplishment.

[Hutch]

This is a beautiful photograph!

[HikeforTurns]

very nice bernardo. It is a beautiful line.

[montanagirl]

That's way cool! I've only been in summer, neat to see what can be done on snow.

[BurnHard]

Thanks for the great words guys! Solos are indeed sweet, so much time to yourself, to let your daily & weekly experiences go through your head and sink in - time to realize how lucky we are to be alive & to be hooked on such a great sport. All the worlds problems seem to vanish when you're hiking solo, everything that's not in the moment seems so irrelevant...

Anyway, 'nuff philosophizing.

[Deep Days]

Dooood. Nice photos. What are you shooting with? Not the full-on bulk-o-rama, I trust...?

Sweet TR. Looks like a marvelous day.

[BurnHard]

Dooood. Nice photos. What are you shooting with? Not the full-on bulk-o-rama, I trust...?

Sweet TR. Looks like a marvelous day.

Thanks dude!
LOL - Full-on bulk-o-rama
Canon 40D with Tamron 11-18mm and Canon 24-70/2.8 lenses. Yup, full-on, heavyweight equipment. Extra weight & bulk to carry, but totally worth it

[ccwaskier]

Thanks for putting in the bootpack...i am the guy you spoke to briefly crossing the lake on lotus's. Nice pics.

[BurnHard]

Hah! I figured one of you was a maggot - was too dehydrated & tired to even think about asking for change Did you guys make it to the top?

[ccwaskier]

We went to the top of the lambslide, but not longs summit, which was the plan from the beginning. It got pretty buttery and soft at around 12:30 and we got some good turns in.

[HikeforTurns]

Thanks dude!
LOL - Full-on bulk-o-rama
Canon 40D with Tamron 11-18mm and Canon 24-70/2.8 lenses. Yup, full-on, heavyweight equipment. Extra weight & bulk to carry, but totally worth it

agreed.


1234

[Lone Star]

if solo descent means you stole pictures from someone else's blog and posted them as yor own descent, then, damn, you killed it buddy!!!!

[BurnHard]

Damnit, you found out my secret - I was actually at the beach all weekend and fotochopped myself into the pic.

[_Aaron_]

#4. Just after 4am at the campsite - ready to depart.

You looky really excited.

[Powow]

We went to the top of the lambslide, but not longs summit, which was the plan from the beginning. It got pretty buttery and soft at around 12:30 and we got some good turns in.

See Bernardo!!!!! I'm telling you, this is the way to do it!

Nice work dude. As you know this has been my target for a while. Damn work and damn school.

[CG]

Nice work Bernardo, This is a truly great photo...

#5. Looking back at the sunrise

[hdcb166]

Some of those early photos are unreall !

[fortysix&2]

Nice job Bernardo. Great pics as always. Sounds like you practiced good decision making, too.

[mtnbikerskierchick]

That's a pretty hefty solo! Nice job!