Storm Peak & Mt Lady Washington

August 9th, 2007

Report Summary

Today, while Ali and Sandy climbed Longs Peak, I climbed Storm Peak and Mt. Lady Washington. The weather was very good; one of the best days of the vacation. We all started from the Longs Peak TH at 5:20AM. They pulled ahead soon after the start so I was essentially solo the whole day. It was a clear, crisp morning, and when I cleared the woods and got my first views of the summits, they were painted with alpine glow. As I left Granite Pass and headed up to the Boulderfield, I had to decide on a route up Storm. The Boulderfield privies helped me out; a brief visit to them put me directly below the east face. The modest crowd was set on the Keyhole route. As soon as I headed west from the privvies, it was just me and Storm Peak. On the way up, every glance left offered a view of Longs north face and the Keyhole. I reached the summit ridge at 9:00AM. I was on the north end of the ridge in a kind of saddle between two rock formations. Technically, the summit is on the other end of the ridge, but I can say that fact didn't lessen my experience. The views from Storm are fantastic. The summit ridge is narrow, so you can enjoy Longs, Meeker, and Glacier Gorge at the same time. Black Lake is almost 3,000ft below. All the sights of Glacier Gorge, from Chiefs Head Peak to Mills Lake, can be seen in one, easy turn of the head.

My next destination was Mt. Lady Washington. As I descended from Storm, I angled towards Longs and bottomed out below the Keyhole. I decided to skip a trip up to the Keyhole to save time. Plus, it looked a little crowded. My route arced across the Boulderfield towards the middle of the ridge between Longs and Lady. There's a rock formation there that looks like a camel laying down. It's a nice place for photos of the Diamond and Chasm Lake. From there, I scrambled along the ridge to the lower, western summit of Mt. Lady Washington, and finally to the true summit at about 11:00AM. The weather continued to be nice with mostly clear skies and a light breeze. Other than Chasm Lake, I don't think you can get better views of Longs east face.

I chose to descend into the Boulderfield and hike back through Granite Pass. I wasn't sure where Ali and Sandy were, but I thought I might meet them in the Boulderfield. It probably would have been faster, overall, to descend down the other side directly to Chasm junction. It's more than twice the amount of down climbing on talus, but it cuts off a good chunk of distance. In the end, they finished a little less than an hour ahead of me. I finished at 1:50PM.

Hike Stats:

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