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Questa Flatiron Rock Climbing

Climbing Area Map

Routes in Questa Flatiron

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	Questa Flatiron Original Route T 5.10a 6a 18 VI+ 18 E1 5a
	Tell Your Feet Heads Up T 5.11a 6c 22 VII+ 22 E3 5c

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Elevation:	9,600 ft
GPS:	36.79562, -105.53732 Google Map · Climbing Area Map
Page Views:	4,000 total · 31/month
Shared By:	Jason Halladay on Oct 8, 2013 · Updates
Admins:	Mike Howard, Jason Halladay, Mike Hoskins, Anna Brown Page Updates (admin only)

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Access Issue: Seasonal Raptor Nesting Details

This climbing area is shared with raptors that nest on the cliffs. Help us maintain access and please avoid climbing near active nests/ledges that raptors are using. If a raptor is disturbed during nesting season it may exhibit aggressive defensive behaviors like vocalizing or dive-bombing. If you witness this behavior, retreat from your climb immediately and find a location on a different formation or a different part of the wall far enough away from the raptors that they are no longer noticeably agitated. If they remain agitated, then please leave the area immediately.
Raptor awareness is especially important during nesting season from mid-February to late May but needs to be considered through the end of August. Please report disturbed and/or nesting raptors to the Carson National Forest the appropriate district office (see below) and share relevant information here on MP. Human-raptor encounters can have negative impacts for the birds and climbers in the area. The Cason NF wants to maintain climbing access while protecting raptor reproduction and relies on climbers to recreate responsibly and share information in order to avoid the need for formal raptor closures.

Questa Ranger District
(575) 586-0520
Camino Real (Comales Canyon) Ranger District
(575) 587-2255
Tres Piedras Ranger District
(575) 758-8678
El Rito Ranger District
(575) 581-4554

Description

The Questa Flatiron is a smooth-faced 230' southwest-facing granite formation above The Legs formation. In fact, the flatiron is mostly an extension of The Legs but looks and feels separate enough to have its own name. The summit of the flatiron is a great perch offering unobscured views of the Questa Dome and surrounding area. Further adding to the satisfaction of reaching the summit of the flatiron is the fact that it involves fifth class climbing no matter how you try to tackle it.

Climbing on the Questa Flatiron makes for a great second route of the day after you've done a route on the main dome or on its own for a nice mellow introduction to the area. The second pitch of the Questa Flatiron Original Route makes for a great way to extend your climbing of Bear Mountain Picnic Massacre (Original 5.8).

Getting There

Primary approach: Hike up the main Questa Dome trail from the parking area for about 25 minutes until you see a major talus slope/drainage on the left. Scramble up this talus slope for about 15 minutes as the talus ends and you end up hiking up sparsely vegetated soil and downed trees. Keep and eye out for cairns and a low point in the faint ridge to your right. Cross over this blocky ridge at the cairns and descend easy, grassy terrain to the base of the flatiron.

Secondary approach: Climb the excellent Bear Mountain Picnic Massacre (Original 5.8) route to its top and then continue up beyond the bolt anchor at the top of the third pitch of that route to a decent sized tree with rap slings. Rap down a short distance from the tree to the base of the flatiron.

Tertiary approach: We climbed a pitch of adventurous ~5.9 from near the base of the Bear Mountain Picnic Massacre (Original 5.8) route directly up to the downed trees ledge at the base of the flatiron. There is some loose rock on this approach pitch and until that gets cleaned up, this isn't a recommended approach.