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Lower East Face Longs Peak, Tight Squeeze (5.8, 6p) + Upper East Face Longs Peak, Kor’s S’mores (5.10, 6+p)

Lower East Face Longs Peak + Upper East Face Longs Peak

Route:

Tight Squeeze + Kor's S'mores

5.8, 6p + 5.10, 6+p

Link-up of Lower and Upper East Faces of Longs Peak for 12+ pitches of 5.6-5.10 climbing.

Region: Colorado

Elev: Lower East Face top-out Elev: ~13,300 ft Upper East Face top-out Elev: ~13,900 ft

Rock type: Granite

Type:

Date(s): July 13, 2024 (Sat)

Partner(s): Nate Arganbright

Related trip reports:

Lower East Face Longs Peak, Kor's Door (5.9-, 6p)

Lower East Face Longs Peak, Stettner's Ledges (5.8, 6p)

Upper East Face Longs Peak, Zumie's Thumb (5.9, 7p)

Route Overlays

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Intro

In July 2018, Dougald MacDonald and Kelley Cordes put up a route on the Upper East Face of Longs Peak climbing all the way from Broadway to the top of The Beaver in six long pitches of climbing. Two of the pitches are high-quality low-end 5.10 corners. When combined with a route on the Lower East Face, MacDonald and Cordes' route creates a direct line all of the way up Long's big east face in about 12 pitches of climbing. They called their route Kor's S'mores, likely a play on the popular Kor's Door on the Lower East Face that would provide a natural way to get reach Kor's S'mores.

In July 2022, Nate and I had linked the Lower and Upper East Faces via a link up Stettner's Ledges (5.8, 6p) to Zumie's Thumb (5.9-10a, 7p). This had been a fun long day of climbing. So it sounded fun to link Kor's Door (5.9-, 6p) (which I had climbed in 2020) on the Lower East Face with Kor's S'mores on the Upper East Face. However, as we approached the Lower East Face, we spotted a party gearing up at the base of Kor's Door. Since we had already climbed Stettner's Ledges and always relishing the opportunity for some new pitches and new beta collection, I voted to climb Tight Squeeze (5.6 or 5.8, 6p), a route ascending prominent right-facing dihedral system just left of Stettner's Ledges. Tight Squeeze was first climbed in 1962 by Paul Mayrose and Bob Bradley, and for whatever reason (I actually thought the route was quite good—solid rock and interesting features) has not become a popular route so it has probably seen few ascents since.

The following page provides a trip report for our link-up of Tight Squeeze with Kor's S'mores as well as photos from our overnight in the Chasm Lake Cirque beneath the towering face of the Diamond. Enjoy!

Time Stats

Leave bivy in Chasm Lake Cirque: 6:59 am
Start climbing Tight Squeeze: 7:47 am
Top of Tight Squeeze (Broadway Ledge): 9:58 am (2:11 to climb Tight Squeeze)
Start climbing Kor's S'mores: 10:07 am
Top of Kor's S'mores (The Beaver): 1:55 pm (3:48 to climb Kor's S'mores)
Arrive back at bivy in Chasm Lake Cirque: 4:22 pm

Climbs We Did

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Pitch-by-Pitch Photos

Approach

2nd

Hike up past Chasm Lake. Cross the Mills Glacier to reach the toe of the buttress. Scramble up a 4th class rock band right of Lambs Slide to the base of the route.

Pitch 1

5.6 or 5.8

Climb the face out firhg to tget started, then work around the right side of the roof (5.6) and continue to a good ledge. The first ascent party climbed through the roof (5.8) and cut right to the ledge.

Pitch 2

5.7

Layback up a corner for 15 feet, go right oer a flake, then climb a shallow, right-facing dihedral for about 80 feet and traverse left to a small ledge.

Pitch 3

5.7

Climb up and left from the belay and climb a chimeny to a belay stance midway up the chimney.

Pitch 4

5.6

Squeeze up the chimney for about 20 feet, then climb the face on either side. Follow the crack that continues from the chimney to the top of the fourth pitch of Stettner's Ledges.

Pitch 5

5.6

Hornsby's Direct finish

The route intersects Stettner's Ledges at the top of Pitch 4. From here you can continue to the Alexander's Chimney finish (5.4) or Hornsby's Direct finish (5.8). We chose Hornsby's Direct. From the top of the fourth pitch, follow shallow dihedrals up to a small ledge below a steeper section.

Pitch 6

5.8

Hornsby's Direct finish

Follw a right-facing dihedral past a roof and many fixed pins to Broadway. The dihedral to the left is also possible. Since Nate and I had climbed the Hornsby Direct finish on a previous ascent of Stettner's Ledges, we decided to climb the dihedral to the left this time.

Pitch-by-Pitch Photos

Approach

4th

To get from the top of the Lower East Face to the start of Kor's S'mores, scramble up from Broadway on about 100 feet of 4th class terrain.

Pitch 1

5.7/5.8

Climb moderate corners and cracks above Broadway. You're aiming for the right side of a prominent pillar/flatiron with an attractive, right-facing corner system. There may be a few ways to reach this. Move right below the foot of the flatiron to a belay beneath the corner system.

Pitch 2

5.10

Climb the corner. Excellent stemming and face climbing with good small protection. It is probably best to climb all the way to the ridgecrest, through a chimney system.

Pitch 3

3rd

Move up to the base of the second pillar/flatiron, staying on the ridge crest. Belay high on the right side, because the next pitch is long. Most of this pitch is walking and could be scrambled, but it also goes quickly on a rope. This is also a long pitch, probably longer than 60m, so it can be simulclimbed or broken up.

Pitch 4

5.10

Climb the corner. Finger cracks lead up into the main corner system. Continue up to a steep, intimidating wide section. Fortunately, cracks inside the offwidth offer handholds and protection. It is a long and sustained pitch of 5.10- climbing. Belay on top of the pillar.

Pitch 5

5.8 or 5.9/10

Continue up the left side of the attractive low-angle ridge crest, then move up and right across the face of the buttress to a point where you can either climb directly through a steep crack in a corner (5.9/10) or move around to the right to a hand-traverse and face climbing exit (5.8). This pitch haas a lovely airy position high over Chasm Lake.

Pitch 6

5.8

End with a short, nondescript finishing pitch. The easiest way is to go right around the final tower.

Top

The route tops out near the top of The Beaver.

Descent

3rd

From the top of the Beaver you have two options. The quickest option is to scramble (3rd) down the Beaver to the Loft and take the loose trail back down to Chasm Meadows. The second (and more rewarding) option is to rappel into The Notch (or downclimb Gorrell's Traverse (5.4) to The Notch) and climb up The Staircase (5.5) to the summit of Longs Peak and to descend from there via the Cables Route. We went down via The Loft, and I consolled myself that I had already summited Longs Peak 8 times this year....but still, 9 sounds better than 8....