"This is a tough day climb that ascends Longs Peak and the four peaks surronding it. The peaks are climbed in the following order: Mt Meeker, Longs Peak, Mt Pagoda, Storm Peak, and Mt Lady Washington. This has been a popular peak-bagging test piece for years, and it has been done in ten hours."

This excerpt from Gerry Roach's chestnut: Rocky Mountain National Park - Classic Hikes and Climbs, is the best introduction to this morning's outing. But it was Bill Wright who got me out the door at the ungodly hour of 6 am (and that was a compromise). When does this guy sleep? Gerry actually ends his description with: "Go ahead, break the record. Sprint down to the trailhead!"

OK.

A friend of Bill Wright-it-up had done this route a few weeks ago in the exceptional time of 6:21. This sounded too fast to improve upon, but nonetheless, I followed Wrightitup up the trail, and onto the Loft Route. He was actually ahead, out of sight, when I bumped into Gerry and Jennifer themselves. What a treat! We couldn't talk long, as Wrightitup was setting a blazing pace and I was concerned about losing him entirely, but as I slogged up to the Loft, there was renewed lift in my step.

Besides that I hadn't seen them in a year, Gerry was undoubtably the person who named it the Grand Slam to begin with. "Game on!" I thought to myself, taking this as a sign from the Universe that I should quit my slacking and get a move on. Us Boulderites are like that: too hazy to think for ourselves, we are unable to take a decisive action until first the "Universe" gives us a "sign".

I zipped to the top in 1:52, with Wrightitup still 3 minutes ahead - like I said, he was on fire - finally reeling him back in on the downhill. We did the Clarks Arrow traverse, then hit the summit of Longs in a very respectable time of 2 hours, 28 minutes. (I'm taking these times from the chart Bill already has given me; when you go with him, you don't have to keep track of anything).

We hit Pagoda in 3:01, and I must say, Wrightitup had not only set a fine pace, but had chosen impeccable lines. Efficient route-finding is key in such endevours, and I owe this entire trip to his outstanding early pace-setting and great navigation. And for getting me out of bed. From there we had it in the bag ... I got a little ahead after Storm Peak, we did "sprint down to the trailhead", and did indeed "break the record".

It was a fine day. I was surprised to arrive at the Longs Peak TH only 5:19 after starting, with Bill an insignificant :10 behind that. Have a go sometime yourself ... there's lots of fun to be had in our mountains.

Buzz