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The Trough, Going Up... |
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by Jerry Cates |
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Fully half of the distance across the west slope is spent in the Trough. The Trough is a geological structure which some prefer to call a couloir. That's a fancy name for a steep gully. This couloir is strewn with large boulders, which had to be scrambled over to get from the bottom to the top. Here my hands got a vigorous workout, and my ankles got stretched on each step upward. I was thankful for the light running shoes on my feet. Heavy leather boots might have made this part of the trek much harder. On the other hand, heavy leather boots would also have given me better ankle support, something I didn't need this time because luck was with me. If I had twisted my ankle in those light running shoes, I might have suffered a sprain or a break that more substantial footwear would have prevented. A sprain or break on this part of the trail would have created serious problems. Today I believe the light running shoes were too risky, and next time I head up this trail I'll wear the heavy leathers. The hike up the Trough couloir commenced just below 13,280 ft. elev., and extended upward to an elevation of 13,870 ft., where I crossed over into the Narrows. Reaching the top of the Trough advanced my progress about 1,100 ft. horizontally, and 590 ft. vertically, making a 28 degree slope, on average.
As I stood at the bottom of the Trough, looking up, I could see that it presented little or no risk of a fall, but the physical challenge alone was discouraging. It was going to be a lot of hard, brute-force work. Every step upward taxed both muscles and stamina, and a misstep risked twisting an ankle. Negotiating the trail on a busted ankle would be dangerous, so I took my time, breaking regularly, drinking often from the water bottle, and snacking on a small quantity of GORP at each rest stop. At the top of the Trough, a large rectangular block of rock sought to burgle my last ounce of upper-body strength. This is the only obstacle in the Trough that required me to pull my body up and over it, with no provision for pushing with my feet. Once on this rock, I got a glimpse of Longs south slope, which dropped steeply into a gorge formed by the cirque that created the east slope of Pagoda Mountain. I have photos of that, on the way back... Next: The Narrows, Going Up... Longs Peak Menu ... Bugsinthenews ... Books About Longs Peak |
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