Gotta Get Back to Chasm Cirque: The Diamond-Longs Peak, CO

This is hands down one of the coolest places I have ever been. This 2000 foot wall forms the north face of Longs Peak, CO which tops out at over 14,000 feet. Me and my buddy Gray made the 9 mile hike in and spent 3 days bivied under an overhanging boulder trying to climb a crack system that runs nearly the entire way up the wall. Unfortunately, we only made it 600 feet up the wall. In the end, the altitude, ice, route-finding, and overall enormity of the entire cirque proved too much for us. However, our failure did result in some serious memories. I soloed up 70 degree ice in approach shoes sans crampons and ice ax with only a rock to use as a pick. Probably the scariest "lead" of my life. The 600 foot north chimney took roughly a peice of gear every 50 feet or so and at that time in my climbing career those kind of runouts were pure horror for me. Anyway, I hope to go back at the end of this summer and climb this monster. Matter of fact, after 2 summers in Yosemite and the Sierras, I hope to climb a few routes on the Diamond. Until then I'll dream about that monster of a wall lurking high above Rocky Mountain National Park.