Queen Anne's Head via East Face (5.6)
Third Flatiron via Winky Woo (5.7S)
First Flatiron via Kamikaze Roof (5.7)
Sunset Flatironette via Chase the Sun (5.4)
September 10-11, 2011
Saturday
Ready to get back out on rock after spending the last few weekends moving, I decided to head back into the Flatirons. Jen and I met Jamie at Chautauqua early on a beautiful morning. We headed up into Bluebell Canyon and a short bushwhack led straight to the bottom of Queen Anne's Head. The climb followed a nice dihedral that lead to a sneaky way onto the main east face. I led up the thin 5.6 dihedral and after a short move to give me some extra rope, we were soon all sitting on the summit. The views of the Third were spectacular and the fall air felt refreshing. The plan was to get over to Winky Woo and we had originally thought that the 1911 Gully would be the best way. After looking at the steep chimney and the brushy gully, we changed gears and made a series of rappels into the Ghetto bouldering area. We moved through poison ivy infested gullies and scrambled up some easy slabs and were surprised to find ourselves right at the base of Winky Woo. The start was not as obvious as we had hoped and I ended up leading a more direct variation up a steep juggy face. A short overhanging crux deposited me back on the standard Winky Woo and the monster jugs led up to Slip Slide Ledge. We rappelled down the southwest chimney and hiked the standard route down. It had been a long but rewarding day and I couldn't help but looking forward to the next outing already.
Sunday
The morning came soon and the drive back to Boulder was almost hypnotic. Glen and I met at Chautauqua and made good progress toward the First. Having climbed Baker's Way a few times, I was excited to head straight up the Kamikaze Roofs. P1 lead straight up the roofs to the tree and the lead was a thoughtful endeavour of tiptoeing around delicate slabs, thick lichen and poison ivy while moving through roofs made of questionable rock. As we moved up the next few pitches we accidentally climbed past the final overhang that cut back right onto the face. We ended up traversing across Atalanta and joined with Hubris. This ended up being an excellent way to summit the First and we both enjoyed the familiar summit. After the rappel we quickly hiked down to the base of the Sunset Flatironette. We moved quickly up the rock and both agreed it would be an excellent solo. As we hiked down I thought about the last 5 "classics" that I have left. Love these Flatirons!
Saturday
Ready to get back out on rock after spending the last few weekends moving, I decided to head back into the Flatirons. Jen and I met Jamie at Chautauqua early on a beautiful morning. We headed up into Bluebell Canyon and a short bushwhack led straight to the bottom of Queen Anne's Head. The climb followed a nice dihedral that lead to a sneaky way onto the main east face. I led up the thin 5.6 dihedral and after a short move to give me some extra rope, we were soon all sitting on the summit. The views of the Third were spectacular and the fall air felt refreshing. The plan was to get over to Winky Woo and we had originally thought that the 1911 Gully would be the best way. After looking at the steep chimney and the brushy gully, we changed gears and made a series of rappels into the Ghetto bouldering area. We moved through poison ivy infested gullies and scrambled up some easy slabs and were surprised to find ourselves right at the base of Winky Woo. The start was not as obvious as we had hoped and I ended up leading a more direct variation up a steep juggy face. A short overhanging crux deposited me back on the standard Winky Woo and the monster jugs led up to Slip Slide Ledge. We rappelled down the southwest chimney and hiked the standard route down. It had been a long but rewarding day and I couldn't help but looking forward to the next outing already.
Sunday
The morning came soon and the drive back to Boulder was almost hypnotic. Glen and I met at Chautauqua and made good progress toward the First. Having climbed Baker's Way a few times, I was excited to head straight up the Kamikaze Roofs. P1 lead straight up the roofs to the tree and the lead was a thoughtful endeavour of tiptoeing around delicate slabs, thick lichen and poison ivy while moving through roofs made of questionable rock. As we moved up the next few pitches we accidentally climbed past the final overhang that cut back right onto the face. We ended up traversing across Atalanta and joined with Hubris. This ended up being an excellent way to summit the First and we both enjoyed the familiar summit. After the rappel we quickly hiked down to the base of the Sunset Flatironette. We moved quickly up the rock and both agreed it would be an excellent solo. As we hiked down I thought about the last 5 "classics" that I have left. Love these Flatirons!
