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The Home Stretch, Going Up... |
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by Jerry Cates |
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The Home-Stretch is the steepest part of the hike. It is still not a "climb," being, in truth, more of a serious "scramble." But from below, looking up, it appeared to have all the earmarks of a true technical climb. The topo map showed I would advance horizontally about 400 ft., while ascending 275 ft. vertically, making this, on average, a 34 degree slope.
This is 21% steeper than the Trough couloir. Worse, the route here is not strewn with boulders that would brake descent in a fall. Instead, the hiking "trail" was formed out of relatively smooth rock. It appeared that if I slipped, I'd slide all the way down without stopping.... In fact, in June 1980 a 16 year old Boy Scout slipped on the home stretch, and started running downhill in an attempt to regain his balance. He fell, hit his head on a rock, and, sadly, was killed by the blow.
Me, at the base of the Home-Stretch: Note the climbers behind me... Besides all this, one other psychological impediment affected my frame of mind. Just below the Home-Stretch, the south slope suddenly drops off precipitously. I first looked upward, at the steep slope ahead, and then turned around to assess the backdrop- where I would land after a "fall" or slip on the Home-Stretch, and all I could see was air. The Pagoda Mountain valley stretched out below, and there was no doubt in my mind that going over the edge meant falling all the way to the bottom- and the bottom was an incredible 2,000 ft. below. I had heard that many hikers make it all the way to the Home-Stretch, only to give it up, turn around, and go back without attempting to scale this last 485 feet of trail. That wasn't going to happen to me. But I had to turn my back on the Pagoda Mountain valley, and pretend it wasn't there, in order to get to the top... Next: The Summit, Pg. 1... Longs Peak Menu ... Bugsinthenews ... Books About Longs Peak |
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