Hey guys, my wife and I will be coming to RMNP in July to do Longs, Spearhead, Pagoda, and sharkstooth. Are these within walking distance of each other or do they all have different approach trails?? Any help would be great. Thanks in advance. Dan and Jeb.

Everything is within walking distance, given enough time!

I have only climbed Sharkstooth and Longs. I have never used the same trailhead for those. I don't have a trail map handy to look to see if they are connected by trails, but I expect so. If so, it just depends on how much hiking you want to do between climbs.

Spearhead and Pagoda are right next door in Glacier Gorge, sharing an approach. I believe you can get up that side of Longs, or take a trail around to the east side; most of the standard routes come in from there. Sharkstooth shares some of the approach with Glacier Gorge, but is up a separate valley. It really depends what you prefer to do.

I would recommend doing 3 different days with the four peaks.
You can knock out Longs and Pagoda in a day.
Do Spearhead another day and Sharkstooth on another date as well.
There are opportunities for the latter two to combine a loop or even another peak if you choose.

Alpine days are quite short in July.

Longs and Pagoda could be linked via Keyboard of the Winds and Spearhead and Pagoda could be linked via Chiefshead. Sharkstooth couldn't really be linked with either for a day trip unless you climb one route in the dark or you luck out with a rare thunderstorm free day.

Two days camped in Glacier Gorge could get you Longs, Pagoda and Spearhead (with options spanning a wide range of technical difficulty based on desire). Then move your bivy to the Gash and do Sharkstooth on the third day. Lots of good stuff to do on Otis if you've got a fourth day and good weather (Wham/Zowie etc).

Which route on Pagoda are you planning on doing? Based on your interest in Spearhead and Sharkstooth, you might be interested in the North Buttress, which is an excellent route and does not get enough attention. The start of the North Buttress is very close to Spearhead but the trail is not well established and does have quite a bit of additional elevation gain. The approach to Sharkstooth only has approximately 1 mile (assuming you use the shortcut) in common with the approach to Spearhead/N. Buttress of Pagoda. Spearhead and the N. Buttress of Pagoda could be conveniently done from the same camp.

Hey guys, thanks for the replies. Se more details may be in order. We are coming out on July 26 and staying that entire week until the 3 of aug to climb. We plan on the cables on longs, north ridge of spearhead, the butress of pagoda and the northeast ridge of sharks tooth. (Not in that order). We'd also like to squeeze in a run up mount Elbert if we have time just because. We had thought about staying in back country nearly entire time if it made sense.
Any additional thoughts??

Thanks again.

Dan and Jen.

SgtUSMC wrote:We plan on the cables on longs, north ridge of spearhead, the butress of pagoda and the northeast ridge of sharks tooth. (Not in that order). We'd also like to squeeze in a run up mount Elbert if we have time just because. We had thought about staying in back country nearly entire time if it made sense.
Any additional thoughts??

Do Keyhole Ridge on Longs instead of the Cables route.

If you get a good weather day, I would say to do the North Ridge on Spearhead to Chiefshead via the 5.7 rib and then finish with the 5.7 west ridge on Pagoda. That is a huge "if" with regards to the good weather day but it is possible (I had a day like that on Sharkstooth in early Aug last year on one of those rare days with 0% chance of t-storms).

I'd say spend the final day craging at Lumpy or SPlatte instead of Elbert, but i understand the lure of state high points.

Sounds like an awesome trip. Not sure what time you'll be arriving on the 26th, but I would probably reserve that day for picking up supplies, permit, etc. I don't have experience getting a bivy permit on the weekends but it might be easier starting on a Sunday night.

The following itinerary might work for you:
27th - Hike to base of Spearhead to bivy
28th - Climb Spearhead
29th - Climb Pagoda
30th - Move bivy to the Gash
31st - Climb Sharkstooth and hike out
1st - Rest or climb at Lumpy Ridge
2nd - Long's Peak

I've done the routes your considering and they're all top quality with the exception of the Cable's Route. It's a long way to carry a rope for not much worthwhile climbing. After climbing the other technical routes in your itinerary, have you considered fun scramble up Long's? I really enjoyed the route via the Loft and Clark's Arrow with a decent of the Keyhole Route. A lot of fun scrambling on that route. People complain of route finding issues, but I found it quite obvious. Also, Kiener's is a lot of fun too with an amazing setting. My preference would be Kiener's or the Clark's Arrow over the Cable's Route but, either way, you'll have fun.

Enjoy!

Hey guys, any word on how the lanbs slide conditions are shaping up on the kieners route this far?? Jen and I will be out in just a few weeks for some of the climbs previously mentioned. Thanks in advance.

Dan n Jen.

Here is a report dated June 27:

http://14ers.com/php14ers/peakstatus_en ... ecnum=3380