It was August 1996 when my two daughters, Jenn and Angel, and I left Pennsylvania and headed west. We took the Dodge van, all the gear we needed, and thoughts of climbing one of Colorado's more demanding 14'ers, Longs Peak. This was Jenn's first trip to Colorado and she had her video camera to capture some of the most beautiful scenery in our country. Little did she know that less than three months later, she would be living in Colorado with her husband and two young daughters. Angel had been on a road trip with dad two years earlier to be absolutely blown away by the splendor of the Tetons.

After two days and approximately 1800 miles, we arrived at our motel in Estes Park. Rocky Mountain National Park was a stones throw away. We planned to spend a couple of days preparing ourselves for our summit attempt. The altitude back home is just above 400 feet so it was going to be tough getting used to the lesser amount of oxygen at 14,000 feet, in our limited amount of time. A hike of Flattop Mountain (approximately 12,000 feet) was decided on for the next day. It turned out to be an excellent hike with us getting the workout we needed. We also had great views of the West face of Longs Peak, our planned route of ascent.

Longs Peak is the highest mountain in Rocky Mountain National Park standing at 14,255 feet. It is 15th among Colorado's 53 peaks over 14,000 feet. The mountain was named after Major Stephen H. Long, who made the first official sighting on June 30,1820.

Having previously secured a backcountry permit for a campsite at Boulderfield, we arrived at the Longs Peak Ranger Station at 2 a.m. the following morning. This was to make sure we would have a place to park. It is a 7.2-mile hike to Boulderfield, where we were going to spend the night and continue up to the summit the following morning via the Keyhole route. We hit the trail at about 4 a.m. It didn't take very long to find out that something wasn't right. The previous day's hike, not enough sleep, and carrying large packs, all were taking their physical toll. We were exhausted and decided to turn back. This was something we did not expect and it was hard to swallow. The drive back to the motel was very quiet and we were all pretty upset, to say the least. We went to the backcountry permit office to cancel our reservation so that someone else who might be looking for one of the few sites in this area would get lucky.

Just as we were leaving the park it hit me - plan B! I told the girls that if we took a rest day and only carried the bare necessities, we could climb the mountain in one long day. Of course they both agreed. I think they both knew how much it meant to me. Now we were all excited once again.

We hit the trailhead the next day at 4 a.m. and we all felt great. After passing Boulderfield at about 12,000 feet, our next objective was the Keyhole. The wind and exposure from there was quite intimidating. If one decides to continue, which we did, it's down and left to The Ledges. The Ledges travel across the west face of Longs Peak to a couloir called The Trough. Climbers and loose rock are major factors in this area. Some actual hand-over-hand climbing is required in places. At the top of The Trough, one reaches the legendary Narrows. The narrow trail and shear drops can either be exhilarating or extremely frightening.

At the end of the Narrows is the final ascent, a feature called the Home Stretch. Here climbing on all fours is a must. Soon we would be on the top of one of Colorado's highest peaks. After nine hours of hiking and climbing, we had reached the top spot. Congratulations and hugs were in order and signing the register was a must. We could only inhale the beauty of it all briefly due to the darkish clouds directly overhead. Now came the hard part - the down climb. With headaches from the lack of oxygen and knees screaming with every step, all I could do was smile at our accomplishments. I felt especially proud of the determination of my two daughters. After a total of 14 hours we arrived back at our vehicle, laughing in pain and the joy of the day's events.

Three months later we were back helping Jenn and her family with their move when dad had another brainstorm. Why not knock off the highest 14'er in Colorado while we were there? This time it would even be even sweeter - dad and his three children, Jenn, Angel, and Allen Jr. on top of Mt. Elbert.

—Al Clark, Living the Life with MountainZone.com