Flatiron question.
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George Bell wrote: Aside from the First & Third Flatirons, you are unlikely to run into other climbers in the Flatirons (and as others have noted the Third is closed in June). In most cases you can expect an hour approach or more.George? Isn't that a little exaggerated? A fit individual should reach almost any flatiron inside of an hour. Some take more, but I'd hardly suggest that "most" take an hour or more. |
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As mentioned before, Eldorado Canyon would be a good alternative, the red garden wall has many classic options and you can mix match a lot of the routes that cross the red ledge between Rewritten and the Yellow Spur to suite your comfort level. |
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Jon, your goal of mid-June, Boulder, Flatirons, 5-6+ pitches, 5.5-5.6 range, presumably of higher quality actually limits things down quite a bit. FWIW, the 1st Flatiron, IMHO, is much higher quality than the 2nd, 4th, and probably 5th Flatirons. Routes for your search patterns on the 1st might include: Direct Route, 5.6 PG-13/R, 7 pitches (popular) and Butterfly, 5.6 R, 7 pitches. Both are good, Butterly will be less crowded until you hit the ridge (North Arete). 30m rap off. The rest seem to vary outside your parameters. The approach will be ~1/2 hour. |
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Check out MacGreggor's slab by Estes park as well. A short but steep approach, with similar grades and length to the first flatiron. Main differences are it's granite (great view) and sub-alpine, so be sure to start early to avoid midday thunderstorms. |
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Actually, read the way Leo reads it, "staying in the 5.5-5.6 range" would be very limiting. I guess I read it as staying within that as an upper boundary, given that the OP mentioned the 3rd flatiron's standard route, which is 5.3. |
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Thanks for all the great information. I am completely open to climbing into the 5.8 range. I was just wanting to keep it easy because we have never climbed out west before. I was not sure how the grades compare from east coast to west coast. Ever once in a while you will run into a 5.6/5.7 east coast climb that will make you wet yourself. |
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Another good link-up: |
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KyleT wrote:... Gambit 5.8 - Shirt Tail Peak ...Closed for raptors. mountainproject.com/v/piz-b… Also pretty nice if you want to expand your climbing. Easy talus approach. |
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Tony B wrote: George? Isn't that a little exaggerated? A fit individual should reach almost any flatiron inside of an hour. Some take more, but I'd hardly suggest that "most" take an hour or more.Some people are faster than others, and people from out of town are likely to be at the slow end of the spectrum due to unfamiliarity with the area. I'd rather err on the side of slowness, as nothing is more irritating that having the locals state "all Flatiron climbs can be approached in under 30 minutes, dude!". Especially true now, with a foot of snow on the ground! |
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Fair and true enough. I think the snow will melt by June though... |