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Not a real trip report, but it may be good to know that the OSMP has started lifting some of the closures early this year.
The Fiddlehead via East Face (5.4)
The Nebel Horn via "Lark's Ascending" (4th class)
July 18, 2014
Partner: Brian Kalet
Another great day out in the Flatirons with my friend Brian. I was happy to show him the way up the Fiddlehead and then explore some new terrain up to the summit of the Nebel Horn. Thankfully, the normal falcon closure had been lifted a few days early to allow us to do this. It always amazes me that for how much I have been in the Flatirons, there is always something new to explore.
Fiddlehead via East Face
Approach: Parking at the Cragmoor trailhead is the shortest way to approach both the Fiddlehead and Nebel Horn. Cragmoor is a small area to park and may be full, keep heading up Lehigh Street for a few hundred yards to reach the Lehigh trailhead if parking is an issue. Follow the Shanahan trail to the west past several junctions following signs toward Bear Peak and into Fern Canyon. As you enter Fern Canyon, pay careful attention to the rock formations to your right. The first large rock you pass is the lower Goose Egg and should not be mistaken for the Fiddlehead. Pass under the large overhanging south face of the Egg and hike up a small clearing keeping a lookout for the next rock through the trees. The Fiddlehead is what you reach next but it is not immediately on the trail, but instead back into the trees. Leave the trail when convenient and bushwhack up the scruffy terrain up to the base of the east face of the Fiddlehead. The lower face is unpleasant and it is worth hiking up higher until the unique summit block is more or less above you.
Route:
P1 - 5.0 - Climb upward and slightly right on easy, mostly 4th class terrain. Aim toward the summit block and arrive at a large ledge with a tree on each end. 200'
P2 - 5.4 - Find an easy place to breach the short, steep wall blocking access to the upper slab. Work up to the left of the summit block's overhang, passing one smooth 5.4 section. Belay from a threaded tunnel/pothole filled with stinky old water. 130'
Descent: Rappel 50' to the west from the threaded tunnel and arrive on a small broken ledge. Walk a few feet down the ledge and find an anchor that makes you happy to rappel another 70' to the northwest passing a run-out sport climb on the way. Be prepared to create your own anchor as the current threaded tunnel looks rather questionable.
Gear: Overall the climbing is easy and runout so not much gear is needed. A single set of cams from 0.4-4 and a set of nuts would be plenty.
Thoughts: The Fiddlehead is an average Flatiron climb that offers plenty of solitude. It seems doubtful that this off-the-beaten-path formation gets climbed with any frequency and you get the pleasure of great views of the Goose and the Nebel Horn from the summit. Nothing special about the climbing, but still a worthwhile formation to climb.
Nebel Horn via Lark's Ascending
Approach: The route starts immediately where the rappel off the summit of Onoclea deposits you. Without climbing the route, the easiest way to get there is to hike east up the gully in front of Pellaea and Onoclea (straight west of the rappel off of Fiddlehead) and to scramble up the gully to the north of Onoclea. This is srufffy terrain and some route-finding must be taken. Start from a small flat area immediately to the north of Onoclea's summit.
Route:
Scramble straight west up a small notch/chimney feature via some filthy class 4 moves. Do not confuse this with the more obvious and much larger notch right next to Onoclea. At the top of the chimney, arrive at a small stance with an obvious giant chockstone wedged above a large drop that is blocking your progress. Make a few exposed moves of thin class 4 to reach the top of the chockstone and reach easier terrain. Scramble up an nice dihedral (class 3) more or less toward the Nebel Horn's summit block until you arrive immediately below it's large overhanging south face. Another short class 3+ wall leads to the east and more flat terrain just to the east of the summit. Make a few more class 3 moves to arrive on the unique summit from the east.
Descent: Reverse the route to reach the small flat spot east of the summit. Scramble north to a notch and then work back west and then south aiming for the Bear Peak/Nebel Horn saddle and the main Fern Canyon trail. This should be no harder than class 3 and there are several ways to go so use your judgement.
Gear: Nothing special needed other than some grippy shoes and maybe a helmet.
Thoughts: This is a unique route that I believe was named by Gerry Roach. The initial scramble to reach the chockstone is very unpleasant and some of the dirtier class 4 scrambling I have done. Otherwise the route was very enjoyable and I would be happy to repeat it, but I would approach the start by climbing Pellaea and Onoclea first.
Fern Canyon is a beautiful place but definitely alot of pucker factor. Lots of pure friction climbing with questionable and/or sparse pro, though I haven't done the route mentioned here. For all the talk about Flatiron run-outs, Fern canyon is the place that really gets your attention, even for Flatiron veterans.
What's the story on the raptor pic? Did you take that? Very cool!
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