LA Freeway (Long's to Arapaho Traverse)

"LA Freeway" is the complete ridge traverse from Long's Peak to S. Arapaho Peak, tagging 19 officially-named summits en route and staying as close to the ridgeline as practical. Unnamed spot heights and unofficially-named features such as the Chessman are optional. It's about 38 miles with 21,000' of gain. Much of it is easy scrambling and hiking (or running) across tundra, but there are several 4th Class and low 5th Class sections, with optional harder variations. It was first done over two days in 2002 by Buzz Burrell. The current record (2019) is a remarkable 16h 29min by Kyle Richardson. See

https://fastestknowntime.com/route/la-freeway-co

and

https://www.kyleprichardson.com/blog/2018/8/3/la-freeway

.

Lack of water can be a problem once you get past Longs Peak. The ideal time for an unsupported attempt is early summer, when there's enough residual snow to provide water but before the summer monsoon. If attempting this in late summer, you may need to enlist friends to meet you en route with water, or pre-place your own supplies. In mid-July 2020, after a hot and dry spring, we found water at these locations:

• A small pool on the S slopes of Mt Alice at 40.2310 N, 105.6699 W.

• Several small pools about 0.25 SW of Ouzel Peak at 40.1837 N, 105.6748 W. Water has been reported here as late as September.

• A small pool at the saddle between Mt. Toll and Pawnee Peak.

• A small pool near Pawnee Pass.

• A large perennial tarn at the base of the snowfield between Navajo Peak and Arikaree Peak.

According to USGS topo maps the officially-named summits are Longs Peak, Pagoda, Chiefs Head, Alice, Tanima, The Cleaver, Isolation, Ouzel, Ogalalla, Sawtooth, Paiute Peak, Toll, Pawnee, Shoshoni, Apache, Navajo, Arikaree, and N. and S. Arapaho. (These are the USGS spellings. MountainProject prefers "Long's Peak" to "Longs Peak"). There are several other features with unofficial names, such as "Ooh La La", "Algonquin", and "Deshawa". Purists attempting to better Kyle Richardson's record will need to include points 12,277' and 12,391' ("Red Deer") between Ogalalla and Sawtooth, which are otherwise easily bypassed.

1. Start from the Long's Peak trailhead, and climb Long's Peak by any route. The fastest is usually the N. Face Cables Route (5.4,

mountainproject.com/route/1…

), but in early or late season this may be covered by snow or verglas.

2. Descend the Homestretch on Long's Peak, continue descending to the Long's/Pagoda col, and scramble up to Pagoda. On the descent, there's a short 3rd Class section through a cliff-band at 13,250'. The easiest way can be tricky to find from above; approximate location is 40.2526 N, 105.6214 W.

3. Downclimb the W. Ridge of Pagoda to the Pagoda-Chiefs Head col (5.7,

mountainproject.com/route/1…

). Or reverse the Pagoda W. Ridge Bypass (one or two easy 5th Class moves,

mountainproject.com/route/1…

).

4. Scramble up Chief’s Head, and hike down to the broad saddle between Chiefs Head and Mt. Alice.

5. Scramble up the Hourglass Ridge on Mt. Alice (3rd Class,

mountainproject.com/route/1…

). Drop down to the Boulder-Grand Pass.

6. Hike up to Tanima Peak, and drop down to the base of The Cleaver. Scramble up The Cleaver (3rd Class), and climb down a short distance to Isolation Notch, just beyond The Cleaver.

7. From Isolation Notch, the most direct route is to traverse a short distance right (west), then head up and left across an exposed face (5.5?) to regain the ridge crest. An easier variation is to drop down a gully on the right, losing about 150-200', then follow an upward-sloping ledge for several hundred feet on the west side until one rounds a corner and a 3rd Class gully comes into view. Follow the gully back to the ridge crest. Either way, follow the ridge crest to the summit of Isolation Peak.

8. From Isolation Peak, a long section of hiking, boulder-hopping and occasional easy scrambling leads across Ouzel, Ogalalla, "Ooh La La", Point 12,277', and "Red Deer" to Buchanan Pass. Make a detour to tag the summit of Sawtooth, and continue to "Algonquin" (12,574').

9. After "Algonquin", it gets interesting again. Climb to the summit of Paiute via the N. Face Bypass (5.5,

mountainproject.com/route/1…

). It might be possible to do an easier 3rd Class variation.

10. Continue as described for the Audubon-Arapaho Traverse (

mountainproject.com/route/1…

).

Start at Long's Peak trailhead. End at the 4th of July trailhead below South Arapaho Peak.

If you think you need protection on easy Class 5, then this route probably isn't for you.