Nate and I had planned to embark on a midweek climb of The Diamond, but he had some last minute work obligations. So I regrouped and decided to do a solo link-up on Longs. Now that most of the early-summer snow had melted, it was a good time for a Kiener's to Cables lap. I would take Kiener's up and Cables Route on the North Face down.

Also known as the Mountaineer's Route, Kiener's is the easiest continuous line on the east face of Longs Peak. I had climbed the upper section of Kiener's multiple times after ascents of the Diamond, but had never climbed the route from its start at Mills Glacier. The route follows a series of chimneys and ramps that delineate the upper left margin of the Diamond. By late summer, the route above Lambs Slide is snow free and Lambs Slide is just hard-packed snow that is easy to ascend with crampons.

The Cables Route on the North Face is the most direct of all the moderate routes on Longs Peak, and is a popular descent route. The Cables Route is a good snow climb in the winter and spring, and a good scramble (mostly 3rd with a short 5.4 section) in the summer. Previous to this trip report, I had descended the Cables Route multiple times after ascents of the Diamond (usually my partner and I rappelled the 5.4 section although once we downclimbed it), but didn't have an official trip report for the route. (Update: I now have ascended Cables Route, in both the winter and summer; click link for trip reports.)

Kiener's up and Cables down was quite an enjoyable morning lap of Longs. The entire adventure took me 5 hours and 45 minutes, my quickest time to date for a car-to-car summit of Longs Peak.

The following page gives overlays and photos from the adventure. Enjoy.