In August 2024, I did the "LA Freeway", a 38-mile ridge traverse from Longs Peak in RMNP to the Arapaho Peaks in the Indian Peaks (LA=Longs-Arapaho). Wanting to maximize my chances of success, I chose to bring bivy gear and spend one night out halfway along the traverse. Due to late summer conditions and plan to bivy, I stashed a couple of gallons of water on the route in advance. The entire adventure took me 39 hours and 45 minutes, breaking the previous self-supported female FKT by several hours. Doing something like this solo and executing with success was a special experience.
My sister Jenny is also really into long traverses in the mountains. It must run in our blood. So I sent her my trip report. Then I got a text from Jenny: "Looks amazing! I could fly down in early September and we could do it in a single push, fast and light!!!!!!" My first reaction was like "Do I really want to head back up there? I just got off that LA Freeway without getting killed or caught!" But then I got to thinking about doing it in a single push with a psyched partner who was also my sister who I hadn't seen in a year and setting a new bar for how fast it can be done by a female team, and the idea grew on me. I texted back: "Let's do it!". Our plan became to break 24 hours.
We were also joined by my friend Linn Kelley, who had done the LA Freeway at the same time as I had, but was also interested to go for it again in a single push.
Overall, we had a successful single push LA Freeway, and set the new female (supported) FKT of 29:51, just over 8 hours faster than the previous female supported FKT and about 10 hours faster than my previous self-supported FKT done as a solo overnight. It was also quite fun to be up there with Jenny and Linn. However, despite the overarching positive experience of the adventure, I finished quite unsatisfied with my physical performance and our overall time (directly related to the physical performance). I pinpointed several things that we could have done differently to better our time and increase our enjoyment of the experience. These things are discussed late on this page.
Highlights or otherwise memorable experiences along the way include:
- Getting halfway up the Cables Route (5.4) on Longs Peak only to find the latter half coated in thick ice. While debating the value of our lives vs burning a couple of hours by retreating and going up another route (the NW Couloir (4th) or Keyhole Route (3rd)), we heard a party arriving at the eyebolt at the top of the iced up corner, preparing to rappel. It turned out to be Dom, an Estes Park local guide who I had met once or twice before. Chagrined and feeling like a gumbie in trouble but inspired by the idea of saving either our lives or a couple of hours of time, I asked if it would be okay if we tied into his rope to safely make the exit moves from the ice-encrusted 5.4 crux. He was happy to do so, so the three of us gumbies got safely to the top of the Cables Route and continued on our merry way. Thanks Dom!
- Seeing sunset while on the ascent of Peak 12277. I love seeing sunset from high up in the mountains.
- Taking a 1.5 hour break from 3:30-5am on the ridge between Shoshoni and the Chessmen, encased in a gold foil mylar emergency blanket. I was a bit too cold to ever fall asleep, but Jenny caught a few winks.
- Seeing sunrise on the ascent of Navajo Peak. My body instantly felt rejuvenated and like it was okay to be moving again.
- Switching my cell phone off airplane mode for the first time and getting a text message from my dad (in British Columbia) shortly thereafter: "You're on Deshawa already?!". I guess my phone is set to discoverable and he had just coincidentally checked. From then on he followed our progress by tracking my phone.
- Encountering my friend Will and his friend Anna at the summit of North Arapaho Peak, and mournfully declining his offer of a Snickers bar because I wanted to keep the "supported" nature of our FKT just due to the rope assist on the icy Cables Route; but then there were Will and Anna waiting for us at the Fourth of July trailhead so they could find out our final time and give us the Snickers bar. It was the best Snickers bar I've ever tasted.
The following page gives a trip report for my second time doing the LA Freeway, just three weeks after my first time on it. Thanks Jenny and Linn for always keeping the spirits high and being such fun gals to spend 30 hours with!