Long's North Face 1/23/2006

I (Alan) set out at the Long's Peak TH at 4:10am intending to hike to Chasm View and check out the North Face (Cables) route. I took some of my equipment in the (faint) hope that I would be able to summit as well, which made my pack extremely heavy. Everything went fine until I got to treeline, when the wind really picked up. After several stops to adjust/add gear, I finally got everything as good as it could be and marched on. The trail was difficult to follow in the dark, and my fingers were absolutely frozen, due to the approx. 0 deg F temp and 20-25mph winds and the fact that I was wearing some $10 skiing gloves. Since my fingers were frozen, I was unable to eat/drink like I should have and I paid for it about the time I hit the south slopes of Mt. Lady Washington. I felt absolutely exhausted but couldn't take off my gloves to eat or drink, so I just forced myself on. Things got a little better once I reached the boulderfield and the wind died down some. At about 10:30, I reached Chasm View and the start of the North Face Route. I climbed up maybe 40 or 50 vertical feet when I got to a place I was unprepared for, especially with frozen fingers, so I aborted the attempt (there WILL be another soon!) The face was in good condition and appeared to be easily climbable with the right protection (especially with a belay partner). This was a great experience and taught me a lot about going up high in cold/windy conditions (like PB&J sandwiches still are edible when frozen solid, and gatorade turns to slush very quickly at 0 deg unless you pack it inside of your spare clothing). It also taught me that I need a pair of overmitts REALLY bad!