On one of my laps, I snapped a photo of the "Leap of Faith" jump. The landing zone is to the right of center in this photo:
I had the geometry of this jump all wrong. I thought it was about 3 feet down and 4 feet across, but it looks more like 5 feet across and 2 feet down. This may explain why I've never considered it a big deal, whereas others have. I scramble on all fours to the end of the pinnacle, plant my foot, and just leap. If you walk to the end and stand looking down, you no longer have the momentum to easily cross the gap, and you can start doubting yourself. My advice is: don't stop, keep moving, and jump.
On one of my laps today. As usual, climbers visible:
Apparently it was National Bring Your Dog Scrambling On A Flatiron Day. BTW the climber knew what he was doing, so the pup was totally safe.
Just below the First Flatiron, on the Spy Express trail, is the bottom of the First Flatironette (photo below). This is a crummy shot of the smooth start about 20 feet right past the easier southern ridge/arete proper. What is challenging about this is the smooth grey lichen that coats the rock, and the lack of good hand holds. It looks easy, but you get up to a certain point and realize there are no good hands above, and your feet are not really on rock, they are on lichen on top of rock, which does not provide good traction.
I finally found a sequence that works here, and I think I can do it reliably and get up onto the ridge easily. I heard someone talking behind me on the trail about climbs that are at grade "5.4, like that free soloist is doing", referring to me. Thanks bud, not sure it's that hard, but it's not easy either.
This weekend I managed to do 10 laps on Freeway, from Friday to Sunday, and it was a fun if pointless challenge. 8,000 feet of easy rock climbing still ain't too shabby.
When you do a loop outing, you see the same people over and over again, and it elicits conversations about what you are doing and what they are doing. I enjoy that. We joke, we laugh, we cry. OK I exaggerate. We don't cry.
The most commonly-asked question is "how much longer to the top?" People new to this park don't really know what they are getting into, and you can help them out. Had a guy thank me for telling him about the top of the 1st/2nd Flatiron trail and the great views of the Continental Divide. I climb here all the time, that's sorta routine, but that made my day.
When Boulderites run up and down the Flatirons, do they generally wear climbing shoes or running shoes?
ReplyDeleteAssuming the person knows what they are doing, it depends a bit on how they are doing it. If they mix in running, it's probably going to be an approach shoe or a trail shoe from a climbing company so they don't have to carry climbing shoes.
ReplyDeleteOn Freeway, which is 4th class, it's probably 1/3 each climbing shoe/approach shoe/trail shoe. I think most of the climbing shoe folks are either less experienced, don't run, or don't have approach shoes. I like a light approach shoe like the La Sportiva TX2 because at this point I like to explore more difficult/smoother lines on the rock and need the grip, and it runs fine too. But I have also done it the Sportiva Mutant.
On the First Flatiron, east face 5.6, for free soloists it's probably 60% climbing shoes, 35% approach and 5% or less trail shoes.