The Narrows, Going Down (pg.1)...
August 16, 1999

by Jerry Cates

Standing at the base of the Home-Stretch, I could see the full length of the Narrows, all the way to the place just this side of the Trough, where the Narrows connects with the ridge separating the west slope of Longs from her south slope. In the photo on the left, below, the trail over the Narrows meanders from the lower right, through the middle of the photo, and up the side of the mountain to the top of the Trough, which shows as a black area on the ridge of the mountain just above and to the left of the center of the photo. This ridge is an excellent example of an arête, formed by glacial dynamics acting on both slopes. 

For the most part, the Narrows looks worse than it is. That can said on this day, because the weather is cooperating. But look at the sky. Nasty weather is beginning to threaten, and if fog swoops in, or if so much as a light rain begins to fall, the trek up the Narrows gets ugly. Temperatures are not far above freezing. Add water from a cold sky and a brisk breeze and the result is slippery ice on the trail...

At one or two points along the Narrows route, it seemed a hiker could choose between going up and over a boulder in the way, or taking the less-safe route around on the side. In fact, there was only one choice- safely going over the top. Sometimes the boulders had narrow crevices in them that made the going even safer by providing additional hand and foot-holds, like the one in the foreground of the photo on the right, above, which was taken about halfway along the Narrows trail.

Next: the Narrows, going down, page 2...

Longs Peak Menu ... Bugsinthenews ... Books About Longs Peak