In mid-October, I made my first-ever trip to the east face of Longs Peak (14,259’), with Kelly Cordes, Anne Gilbert Chase, and Allie Oaks. While climbing Field’s Chimney on the lower east face, I noticed a stunning line of ice drips high on the left side of the Diamond. Later, I was amazed to learn those ice dribbles had likely never been climbed. The only recorded climb there was an old aid route, Baknn’s A.P. (5.7 A1, McCallister-Tryda, 1977). [Baknn’s ascends just left of The Obelisk pillar, which defines the left side of the Diamond, and well to the right of The Window mixed route or Window Pain (Cooper-Donahue, 2013), a rarely formed WI6+ runnel. Bruce Miller and the late Mike Bearzi attempted Baknn’s A.P. as a mixed line in the 1990s, “bailing below the start of the real difficulties.”]

As a rock climb, Baknn’s was mungy and destined to obscurity, but as a mixed route it looked dreamy: drools of blue ice pouring from golden granite cracks. Maury Birdwell was game to check it out, so a week later we headed up.

Approaching via Lambs Slide and the Broadway traverse, we started up The Window at an elevation of about 13,400 feet, then traversed right to join a crack line shared by two fairly obscure routes, Black Death and the start of The Wobblisk. A long, tricky pitch brought us to the ledge beneath Baknn’s. The next 60 meters were magical, one of the finest winter pitches I’ve climbed: a blade of ice pouring from an overhung corner, a thinly iced chimney, traverses past daggers, and beautiful thin runnels to an icy ledge.

Above, the proudest finish was obvious—a crack system angling left, past two more icicles and a roof—but it looked properly hard. The “easy” way out didn’t look very easy, and that’s what we chose. I wished for safety goggles as I hooked up a gently overhanging, mossy corner, thankful for bomber cams as my vision grew blurrier. After 65 meters, a big ledge crowned the headwall. We continued up to Kiener’s Route, traversed to the Notch, and descended via the Loft late into the night.

The next morning, I was already dreaming of returning for the proud finish. Josh Wharton was keen, so ten days later I was back on Longs with him. The lower pitches flew by. My first attempt on the crux ended with a whip down low. I lowered, pulled the rope, and a long time later, I called “off” after perhaps the hardest pitch I’ve climbed on tools in the mountains. We called our first line Wobbly Baknn Strips (WI5 M7+, about 250 meters of climbing above Broadway) and the harder finish Baknnator Indirect (WI5 M8).  

                  —Dane Steadman