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Continued
Longs Peak Winter Solo,
14,255’
1/25/03
Aron Ralston
Published 8/01/03
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19. Summit shot, at 12:10
p.m. on Saturday January 25th, 2003. Calm and warm, but low visibility.
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20. I went over to the North Face and took a few photos
of my lower (some say better) half dangling carefree over the precipitous
snowfields and rock barriers of the 'Cables' route.
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21. Another shot looking down the North Face of Longs
Peak, into the chasm's maw.
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22.
Ready for descent, I decided against downclimbing the chimney, which
would've been faster, safer, and easier than what I ended up doing.
But in the end I got off that damn Homestretch. (How many times
did I think to myself, “It's called that cause I'm gonna have
to stretch to get home”?) Even in writing this, I wonder if
my adrenaline supplies have restocked themselves yet. It was hairball,
epic, and the most death-defying climbing I've done on a winter
14er solo to date. I pushed my limits here—I'm not sure I've
ever felt so far out there as when I was facing down the only option
I had—the down-sloping traverse of cutting steps across 30'
of 50-degree boilerplate ice with one tool, no crampons, and gloved
microcrimps for handholds (generously spaced every 8 feet or so).
Ahh—the drama. Bottom line, I got down, I made some dicey
moves to get to my pack, retrieved it, put on my crampons, and safely
maneuvered back to the Trough Couloir and my descent.
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23. View from the Keyhole to Storm Peak, covered in the rime from
the past three days of storm—coool.
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-Aron
Ralston
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