Class 3 Climbing near boulder....

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Mohare77
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Class 3 Climbing near boulder....

Post by Mohare77 »

I am searching for lower elevation class 3 or maybe class 4 routes near boulder. Of particular interest would be routes right by green mountain/flatirons. However, from what I read the flatirons are all 5.0 plus and green mountain seems to be class 2.

I found a blip on here telling me to try the indian peak area. Is this area close to boulder? It said south to north arapahoe in the indian peaks or Mt. Audobon SE ridge to Paiute Peak east ridge. I'm from out of state and want to try something similar in challenge to kelso/longs at lower elevation right when I get into town (July/August 2013).

Thanks for you help/advice!
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WSN
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Re: Class 3 Climbing near boulder....

Post by WSN »

The Freeway and Dodge Block on 2nd flatiron are classical 4th class scrambling. If you are eyeing for 3rd class practice, there are plenty of big rocks all over green mountain/flatirons that you can scramble onto.

Indian peaks are not far from Boulder. Trailheads are usually about 1-1.5 hr drive from Boulder. However I think the traverse from S Arapaho to N Arapaho is more difficult than Kelso/Longs. You can do S Arapaho as the acclimation climb, and try to traverse to N Arapaho as much as you can - but remember, the traverse it self could be 3-4 hr RT, so watch the weather!
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DaveSwink
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Re: Class 3 Climbing near boulder....

Post by DaveSwink »

Freeway on the 2nd Flatiron (http://www.mountainproject.com/v/freeway/105752023) is the closest that I know of to what you are looking for. The class 4 climbing is on the first pitch. You might get someone to give you a belay on the first pitch only.

Baker's Way http://www.mountainproject.com/v/bakers-way/105754588 on the 1st Flatiron is 5.3 on the first pitch only, so again, maybe you can get someone to belay you on the first pitch. The standard exit to Baker's Way does require a rappel too.

Post a request for a climbing partner on one these routes on this site or mountainproject.com and you will probably find someone.

Edit: I just noticed Freeway is now to upgraded 5.0. Maybe a hold fell off. :-D
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Brian C
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Re: Class 3 Climbing near boulder....

Post by Brian C »

DaveSwink wrote:Edit: I just noticed Freeway is now to upgraded 5.0. Maybe a hold fell off. :-D
Dave - Do you climb Freeway further to the right? I've always gone the same way up the middle and I've felt that it is 5.0 for sure with the crux being pretty low. Here is a photo I drew showing how I do it.

Image

To the original poster. If class 4 on a 14er would be considered your limit, I'd stay away from climbing Flatiron "scrambles" without a rope. Freeway and the Third Flatiron are among the easiest scrambles in the Flatirons, but finding the easiest way is not obvious while on the route and harder rock almost always lurks nearby.
EDIT: Dinosaur Mountain has some good class 3 up toward the top and is a cool perch.
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DaveSwink
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Re: Class 3 Climbing near boulder....

Post by DaveSwink »

Brian C wrote:Dave - Do you climb Freeway further to the right?
Brian, I have climbed it on the right but I usually follow the path you marked. For me, the area just 8 feet below the bulge is the toughest. I climb a feet past the bulge on the left to make pulling over it easy. The layback section just above the end of your red line has a sketchy spot (for me) too. The rest of the climb eases off considerably.

I do have trouble locating water sources on the route in some seasons, and my puffy is getting too heavy though.

Image
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Brian C
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Re: Class 3 Climbing near boulder....

Post by Brian C »

DaveSwink wrote:Brian, I have climbed it on the right but I usually follow the path you marked. For me, the area just 8 feet below the bulge is the toughest. I climb a feet past the bulge on the left to make pulling over it easy. The layback section just above the end of your red line has a sketchy spot (for me) too. The rest of the climb eases off considerably.
So interesting! Would you call it 4th class?
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Liquid Shadow
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Re: Class 3 Climbing near boulder....

Post by Liquid Shadow »

DaveSwink wrote:
Brian C wrote:Dave - Do you climb Freeway further to the right?
Brian, I have climbed it on the right but I usually follow the path you marked. For me, the area just 8 feet below the bulge is the toughest. I climb a feet past the bulge on the left to make pulling over it easy. The layback section just above the end of your red line has a sketchy spot (for me) too. The rest of the climb eases off considerably.

I do have trouble locating water sources on the route in some seasons, and my puffy is getting too heavy though.

Image
Interesting. I've climbed the Freeway a number of times, but never had to do layback on any part of it. Although personally I absolutely hate the "Leap of Faith," especially you have to stand up on that tiny pinnacle before you make the jump.
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heather14
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Re: Class 3 Climbing near boulder....

Post by heather14 »

For me, the crux is the slabbier section directly below the bulge.....maybe I'm not quite into the flow with my feet yet ??

That leap gets me every time. It's not the actual jump that makes me nervous, it's getting into position to do it, especially when the wind is gusting! Although, this past Sunday I only had 2 false starts before doing it. :oops:
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Re: Class 3 Climbing near boulder....

Post by Rainier_Wolfcastle »

Back to the poster's original question. Yes there are scrambling opportunities in the Flatirons area. I would suggest buying the following book:

http://www.amazon.com/Flatiron-Classics ... 0979966329

It has like 4 class 3 routes and 20+ class 4 routes. Now, Roach (and many others in the Flatirons) will rate what many consider a 5.0 route a class 4 route...such as Roach rating Freeway class 4. But I can speak from experience that a route like Front Porch NE Ridge (from his book) is in fact class 3...and a good bit of it (plus you need to down climb it :)). If you did this route a few times and got comfortable, then you can even move bit left of the ridge and make it class 4....however, if you get too far on the face...the difficulty increases quickly (from experience #-o)!

Use caution and common sense...with any move up, be sure you are confident you could make the move back down!

Oh yeah, take note of Raptor season....over half the routes are off-limits for much of the year.
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DaveSwink
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Re: Class 3 Climbing near boulder....

Post by DaveSwink »

Brian C wrote:So interesting! Would you call it 4th class?
In my opinion, 5.0 is an accurate rating of the few moves below the bulge and the layback section I described. There is another section much higher on the route that has a short crack to climb that I would call that 4th class. Most of the rest of the route is easy 3rd class.
heather14 wrote:For me, the crux is the slabbier section directly below the bulge.....maybe I'm not quite into the flow with my feet yet ??
Ha! Having climbed the First Flatironette with you, I am confident you can do this easily. Fifteen feet below the bulge, stay to the right to avoid an area of degrading sandstone. It always has little loose sand in that spot. Move left again when you are touching the bulge until you can actually get your foot high into the bulge's crack. At that point, it eases up.
heather14 wrote:That leap gets me every time. It's not the actual jump that makes me nervous, it's getting into position to do it, especially when the wind is gusting! Although, this past Sunday I only had 2 false starts before doing it. :oops:
I am too heavy for fifteen foot leaps in thin-soled climbing shoes. :oops: To easily bypass the leap, downclimb 40 feet and look over the left edge (climber's left). There is an easy downclimb into the gulley where you can walk to the leap-landing point. The downclimb overhangs a tad but has buckets for holds. If it looks like you are climbing into a bush, you are on the right path. :-
Liquid Shadow wrote:Interesting. I've climbed the Freeway a number of times, but never had to do layback on any part of it. Although personally I absolutely hate the "Leap of Faith," especially you have to stand up on that tiny pinnacle before you make the jump.
Just 30 feet or so above the bulge (just out of view of the pic), I usually go up a left-leaning gulley that has a water-carved overhang on the left side. The overhang is about mid-thigh to waist high so I climb much of that section by pulling up (kind of a high layback) on the overhang. The spicy part for me is when the overhang becomes rounded and no longer presents a positive hold. I usually move out onto the slab at that point.

There are many paths within Freeway. I have seen many climbers going to the right of the "layback" section I am describing.
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Re: Class 3 Climbing near boulder....

Post by ajkagy »

freeway is 4th class...when you have kids free soloing it in sandals then that is a good indicator, lol
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Re: Class 3 Climbing near boulder....

Post by Brian C »

ajkagy wrote:freeway is 4th class...when you have kids free soloing it in sandals then that is a good indicator, lol
This guy is not using any shoes at all! Must be 3rd class! Haha.
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