Flat iron routes

Hello, I have been climbing a long time but just moved to Denver this past fall. A friend of mine has a goal to climb the flat irons in boulder....what routes would everyone suggest and best routes to get to the very top? Thank you!

Thank you! I have just never around the flat irons so I just didn't know what routes to look at to make it to the top.

Contrary to the post above, there are some fabulous routes in the Flatirons. Often the slabs are very moderate in nature and offer some of the longest climbs in the area. Know that many of the routes are very runout and expect that a rating without a R still will usually have at least 20 feet between pieces. Here are some of my favorites...

Maiden: North Face 5.6S
Matron: North Face 5.6
First Flatiron: East Face Direct 5.6S
Third Flatiron: East Face 5.2
Third Flatiron: College Dropout 5.7S
Fi: Fi Fun 5.1
Seal: East Face Left 5.4S
Front Porch: Tiptoe Slab 5.3S
Back Porch: East Face 5.6

There are many more. Have fun.

BC

Thanks you for the input so far and all the beta is extremely helpful! My main concer at the moment is which routes will get to the top of each of the flat irons?

East Face route of the 4th Flatiron is pretty fun and will take you all the way to its summit. Plus it is not currently closed for raptor nesting. Though the summit is not as dramatic as most of the other major flatirons, it gets you way higher than the 1st or 3rd and you don't have to downclimb or rap off it (though the descent is a bit of a PITA).

I would highly recommend Jason Haas' well-researched guide, Climbing Boulder's Flatirons and start with one of his lists (e.g. Top 50 5.8 and Under, Top 10 Easy Climbs in a Day) or Gerry Roach's top 10 classics.

Note that there are currently raptor and flood closures in effect, so some of the routes/approaches are off-limits.

fossana wrote:I would highly recommend Jason Haas' well-researched guide, Climbing Boulder's Flatirons...

+1. If you are going to climb more than a few routes in the area, you may as well just get the book. It assigns stars to the good routes and lists lengths and all - that's really what you need.

eric kramak wrote:East Face route of the 4th Flatiron is pretty fun and will take you all the way to its summit. Plus it is not currently closed for raptor nesting. Though the summit is not as dramatic as most of the other major flatirons, it gets you way higher than the 1st or 3rd and you don't have to downclimb or rap off it (though the descent is a bit of a PITA).

I wouldn't recommend the 4th as your first Flatiron route. It is runout with some poor rock in those sections. I remember pulling off some holds while being 30-40ft runout. The route finding would be difficult for a first timer, also.

I am glad that I did it as part of a 1st,2nd,3rd,4th,5th link-up, so I don't have to repeat it!

I would also recommend Haas' book, it is one of the best.

hey i been climbing flat irons and always to the top and I think you just go ahead and definitely get the book. It is the BEST. Rositter is the BEST