Royal Flush 

Given the accessibility and enjoyable, well-protected climbing, this is a great climb. Not many places where you can walk 5 minutes on a paved path and get 1500' of pleasant sport climbing. The lower pitches aren't particularly noteworthy, but they are still enjoyable (especially the mantle). The upper pitches are really great. We climbed the route in 8 5th class pitches (no simulclimbing), plus the noted scramble + move the belay type pitches. P1-3 link, and the remaining 5th class pitches linked in sets of 2. The only pitches where linking created rope drag were 13-14, but it was still doable. Kudos to the developers for a lot of hard work. Route is mostly clean, but a few loose holds still exist.

It reminded me of an out-of-place Flatiron, but it had less consistent grade, a lot of bolts and was a little broken up. It is a good route, but it's not a destination climb. The grades are mostly consistent with gym ratings, and the pitch lengths a bit overstated. That's not a problem - it's just an FYI.

Also, don't expect the route to be 'obvious' from the posting here- it is not and may be hard to follow if this is your guide to it.

Good comments. Not a destination climb for high end climbers, but something of this character is rare, fun, and a great day out for the rest of us....I agree, route finding could be eased up quite a bit by a quality topo. Tony? I suspect you have exceptional skills in this area?

James, I'm pretty much "Mr Off Route" himself, and I can't draw any better than I could in first grade- and relative to my classmates, I was bad at it then, too. I wish I could be of more help, but all I can really offer is elaboration on the text if people want it.

FYI, I talked to Tim about the route, and I didn't get the impression that he'd be super psyched to see it published in full anywhere with topos and such. I don't regard it as being his route in any way more than authorship, but all things equal to me, I can leave it alone.
So, I just fugured to leave the 'mystery' in this one and let people know that it was not super simple.

Still, if there is intent to be more clear, I can attempt to clarify in text a bit.

Thanks, Tony B. Fair enough. With route finding skills and the write-up, I suspect most people will find it pretty easy to follow. I'll be seeing Tim soon enough myself and carry on from there.

Really fun afternoon climb. I'm fairly new to climbing so this was my first multi pitch, first of many. I have to say good job to who put this route up, I can only imagine how much work that took. Only complaint is how it is slightly confusing finding the route, better cairns would be nice.

I wouldn't consider this to be a "sport" route, in the sense that a 5.9 sport climber might not be comfortable on it. It is a tad more adventuresome than 5.9 sport routes especially concerning runout, weather, route-finding etc. Plus, you must really feel comfortable with slab climbing. On lichen and moss.

But I do think it is a fun route, and I applaud the work put in by the first ascentionists. Other than the road noise it is a great day out. Definitely link pitches and watch the weather.

Fun climb. Don't let the number of pitches intimidate you. Here are the seven pitches w/ a 70 meter rope:

Pitch 1: Combine pitches 1, 2, 3.
Pitch 2: Combine pitches 4, 5.
(The walk right to "Pitch 7" (no climbing required))
Pitch 3: Combine pitches 7, 8.
(Hike up left through the woods (little climbing required))
Pitch 4: Combine pitches 10, 11.
(Hike across boulder field)
Pitch 5: Combine pitches 13, 14. Your belay is 30 feet up the vertical wall, not the one at the end of the lower angled terrain.
Pitch 6: Combine pitches 15, 16. Long draws help reduce drag in two key places. Pitch 16 was really fun.
Pitch 7: Combine pitches 17, 18. If you bring some gear, you can climb past the pitch 18 top anchors to set your belay. This allows for an easy scramble to the top (4th class and easier). Somewhat loose, so rig your rope to not dislodge rocks on your buddies.

I never felt short on rope, so it went pretty well. Not sure how a 60m would do. It took us 4-5 hours with route finding. Thanks for bolting this route. Have fun.

This is a terrific, adventurous route. Look out for falling rock and wear a helmet. We climbed with a single 60m rope in 9 pitches, combining 2-3 “pitches” the whole way. The midway anchors should be considered rappel anchors not belay anchors. In addition to clipping the bolts we only placed 3 pieces of gear on the route, one small nut and two finger sized cams. A fairly relaxed 4-5 hours car to car with no simul-climbing.
Some notes:
-The route starts just up stream from the first power pole and just upstream from an old signed mine shaft.
- pitch 6 is a long traverse (3 bolts), descending a little to the base of the White Crystal Groove (cool feature) or you can angle up after the traverse bolts on an unprotected right ascending foot ramp that joins the Groove (pitch 7) almost half way up.
-pitch 12 is more than 100m of 3rd class.

Killer route, thanks so much for the bolts and the hard work installing!

How many bolts on each pitch? Thanks

A set of 8-10 quickdraws plus 4-6 extendable draws to cut down on rope drag is sufficient enough to climb each pitch. Trad gear is only needed if you are uncomfortable running it out on easy slab. All the cruxes are protected with ample bolts.

On pitch 18, I ran across an old iron, ring piton. Clip it, but don't fall on it is my advice. Plus, it would be really cool if it were left in place for the enjoyment of other historians.

Hello All,
I spoke with Peter and Tim the other afternoon and apparently the dynamic duo has been back at it on Royal. I did not get many details as it was raining and they had clients to attend to.
The details that I did get were that the new route is harder and not quite as long? Sorry for the lack of useful information but I will try to pry more details from them when I see them next.
Cheers,
Pat Thompson

I was going to leave a bunch of comments to help with route finding after Tony's comment, but I changed my mind. In fact, I think it's just about perfect for this "beginner", semi-alpine route. While it's not always super obvious which way is the right way (though it usually was to me), route finding is not difficult. The variations, at least all that we tried, are not much harder than anything on the standard route, so don't be afraid to try a line that looks like it goes. Be prepared for some minor climbing up and down and looking around and you'll find the route with the above description. To get to the start, all we did was park in the first parking lot off exit 201 (I-70) and walk west down the path to the first power pole and follow the trail/cairns. We were at the base in 5 minutes flat. The route doesn't get much sun in late summer, so dress accordingly. It was a little chilly at 7am.

We brought a small trad rack and didn't place one piece of gear. I'd still recommend bringing a very light rack of small cams if you don't feel super solid at the grade. There are occasional longer runouts but all cruxes are safe. Bring a 70m or longer if you really want to link every possible pitch and then a few extra draws. We linked tons of pitches with a 70m and still usually had rope left so a 60m is fine too. Pitches are always shorter than stated in the description. When it doubt, go for it!

I call it a beginner semi alpine route because there is some lichen and moss and loose rock but it's fairly minor by alpine standards. Wear a helmet and be aware and it's not a big concern. Also with all the bolted belays you can rap the route without leaving gear at any time so commitment factor is lower than normal. Would a 5.9 gym climber feel comfortable here? Maybe not. But real 5.9 outdoor leaders will have a blast, especially if they have someone to share the leads with. The upper headwall pitches are pretty steep and there are roofs at all grades throughout the route. I'm psyched the route equippers did such an excellent job and created a neat and unique route in the Front Range.

Also keep your eyes peeled in late summer, we had a delicious on-route raspberry snack!

Chris pretty much said it all! The routes are super fun (especially on the steeper headwall) and the variations are nice. There are some slab type faces that are runout a bit, but it is easier climbing. All the cruxes are well protected (much appreciated!). Thanks to Tim and Peter for all their hard work!

First, this is a great route with unexpectedly outstanding climbing on the clean rock between the tree-covered ledges. Clearly a lot of work went into cleaning and equipping the route. Thanks very much!

The only tricky route finding is locating the start of the climb on the upper headwall. "Follow the cairns" is not too useful if cairns are missing or if there are multiple cairned routes -- as there are now. Here is a better way to find the bottom of pitch 13: Cross the rock pile and aim for the bottom of the large, right-facing dihedral that eventually becomes the prominent, central gully on the upper wall. Once at the bottom of this dihedral, traverse right (roughly west) along the bottom of the apron for about 30 yards. Look for the many bolts on pitch 13 before starting to climb.

Fun, fun. Makes for a great "after work" cruise. Was able to send it in 7 pitches, could have been 6, with a 70m line and some simul. Ideally you could break the route into 3 sections (pitches?): simul the bottom "5" pitches and possibly link them into pitch 7/8 with a bit o' drag across the ledge. Hit the middle section to the talus. Finally bang out the headwall. With 20 draws on the leader it's possible to run it (skipping a few bolts) to the top. Great drillin' guys! Love the ammo box too! Keep an eye across the canyon on White Cliff, some new craggin' lines going in there.

Found a pair of scratched up sunglasses, if you want them.

Nice route. Kind of like linking up 4 mini-buttresses. 13 QDs are helpful if you link up as Steve Bond writes and do the 10 variations. Good route to dedicate to Res.

Found a slinged quickdraw at the start of Royal Flush.
Contact me if you are missing one.

Administrator's Note:

The discussion regarding fixed protection on Royal Flush has been move here.

Please add any comments on this topic to the above forum thread.

Lost a #5 BD cam and two dmm alloy offsets on an off route adventure up mount royal earlier this spring before this route was posted. if you find/found them, i have beer for you. We were on a route right of the large chimney/crack on the headwall.
Thx Tim

It's possible to link pitchs's 15-18 in 1 x 70m pitch. It's a pretty sweet long pitch! I was soloing, so I don't know how rope drag would be...but with plenty of runners it couldn't be too bad.

josh

Climbed on September 25. Very fun route for what it is.... That being said, there could be a couple things you should know. There is a bit of hiking involved in getting up the climb. You have to unrope and coil up two times, which is kind of annoying but not avoidable. The upper climbs are very fun moderate climbs and even the 5.10 variation at the start of the headwall is about 5.9. The rock cairns are helpful for getting to the climbs between hikes. Someone needs to bring a knife and some quicklinks for the anchors because the ropes are not safe for rappelling considering the elemental exposure they will endure and the fact that they are directly wrapped through the hangers. It is worth doing if you are a Summit County person who is looking for an adventure.

I will echo Benten's comments. A worthwhile adventure but there are definitely some inconvenient spots, where coiling the rope and hiking around are required. I did a couple of the "5.10" variations and found they were very 5.9ish. Being an alpine route, loose rock was an issue and a scary stone was unleashed just by rope contact- so watch out! A last note- describing this as 20 pitches is a little extreme. Linking pitches was easy (though communication was difficult) and many of the "pitches" are hiking from one wall to another. We probably ended up climbing 8-9 technical roped pitches. The anchor set up is weird also. Those ropes are looking pretty beat up and shouldn't be trusted for much longer. What ever happened to two side by side bolts for a more convenient and traditional anchor? Also, we topped out just as a wild storm rolled through, so watch the weather!

Great addition to the area! Great work, Tim and Peter.

I would never climb this route with a group above me. I pulled off many rocks. Our rope alone dislodged a football-sized rock. Nonetheless, it was an awesome climb and super fun.... P.S. CHECK THE WEATHER REPORT BEFORE CLIMBING. Ha.

Hey Shreddy, did you just do the route this year? Was it snow free?

I heard that the guy who put this route up put a route on Red Peak that is about the same length on this climb. Any truth to this? Shreddy, are you Freddy? LOL, the climb is pretty good a little wet, and there is still a lot of snow in the boulderfield.

True.

With an 80m, we linked 1-4, 5-8 (little simul), 10-11, 13-15, 16-18. Pitches not listed we scrambled unroped. I thought the route was a touch more dirty than last fall, but I'm sure some traffic will clean it up. Most of the rock was solid save for p18 to the top and the hard mantle variation on p7(?). Be aware of parties below you as there were 3 groups climbing today. I tried to be as careful as possible and still knocked one rock out of the p19 gully and that's without dragging a rope through it.

Oh, and we never used more than 18 draws including the anchors despite bringing more. We skipped a bolt here and there but clipped most of them.

Climbed it on July 2, 2011. Surprised/grateful that there wasn't a cattle train on a holiday weekend. Lots of fun!

I recommend just bringing a rack of 13-16 long slings as draws and leave the short sport draws at home. This will reduce the drag if you're linking pitches which most parties are doing.

DESCENT BETA - There seems to be some parties getting lost on the walk-off descent. Go West almost parallel to I-70 and hike up another 500 yards or so to the main Mt. Royal trail, then head down. Natural instinct is to immediately head for Frisco which will lead you into some nasty wet gullies.

Lots of potential variations. Looking forward to seeing this area further developed.

I heard that this is now all bolted and can be sported. Can anyone verify that?

Pescador555, the route has always been sporty. Me and Chris ran this last year in 2010 and had no need for trad gear...though there are placement opportunities in some areas if you feel like mixing it up.

First off, thanks for answering my question. When you say sporty, do you mean sport climbing? Like as in bolts and quickdraws the whole way up every pitch?

My partner Ryan and I are speed climbing Royal Flush from Door to Door. I live approximately 1 mile from the base of Royal Flush. On 7-29-11, our second attempt, we got 63 minutes. It is very exciting and great cardio training. Any challengers?....

Fun climb. We did this on Saturday, only noticed 3 other parties on the climb. We were able to do it without place 1 piece of pro. Many thanks to those who put this up. Just FYI, it's still a little dirty and lichen-ish, but it's safe climbing.

Head's up, folks, there is a big ugly piece of choss in the end of the "crux" on pitch...uh one of the last 2? moves are 5.9 maybe? Just avoid deadpointing or getting all aggro anywhere on this route, she's still a dirty girl.

"Bradyk", I will call your bluff on 63 mins from 1 mile out off Mt Royal. I live 1 mile from Mt. Royal as well. Drop me a line and I'll bet you a 30-pack of PBR that I can sink a 30-pack on your door-step before you get back from sending the Royal Flush (round trip from your dwelling). Unless you're BASE jumping the summit, the descent alone is a 20 min. jog/run down. Solo you couldn't touch this time, let alone roped-up.... Lifting a PBR to your so called "challange"?!

I second Ryan, there are 2 prominent hunks of rock that are seriously loose (a flake on the lower half and a block in the upper headwall)and will crush someone for sure. Hard to clean them as it could impact climbers not seen below. Hope to someday when we know it's safe, until then heads-up!

Hey Rob,

I would be glad to challenge you, unfortunately my partner Ryan from the above post, is chasing tail down in Texas. We simul-climbed the whole thing and glissaded down goat trails skier's right of the east face. I believe if I were free soloing, I would go much slower because of double checking choss, with the simul-climbing, you just go as fast as you can. Approximately 9 minutes to run to the base and change shoes, 40 mins to simul to the top and change shoes, and then 14 mins to get down. The time is actually Oven to Oven, I have been timing myself with the kitchen oven. I would be happy to climb it with you in the same fashion. Email me and I will give you my number so we can share a rope. Thanks for your additions to 10-Mile canyon.

On another note, the big block above the crux has been removed. It is now a great sidepull to the next set of anchors.

@ROB

HAHA! I wish we were BASE jumping from the summit. We could easily cut 10-15 min. If you can put down 30 pbr in an hour I applaud you.

:)

Ryan and Brady, you guys seem to be able to rock it out, Awesome! Sharing a rope would be great, maybe we could set a speed record with a 30pk of PBR in tow?! The Happy Hour Speed record?
More routes to be done on Royal: 215.499.7832

Look out when there's been a solid rain, it feels more like 5.10 when it's wet.

Chossville, USA. That's why they call it flush. . . .

Really.

Rockfall on Royal: