Photos:
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=1638130007/a=38054161_38054161/
Saturday 8/1:
The rainy weather from the week finally broke. A friend, Irena, had been wanting to climb a flatiron for a while. To add icing to the cake, we were going to climb routes on both the second and first flatiron, as well as we were going to try to let her do her first simul-climb; which is where both climbers climb at the same time. It adds a little risk, which can be mitigated with experience and communication; and it is a much faster way to climb.
We started the hike up to the flatirons around 9am. We would start off on Freeway; an easier climb on the second flatiron. We geared up, discussed the risks of simul-climbing, discussed communication/signals, and started the climb. We used radios to communicate; and it went pretty smoothly. We made it up to the diving board before 11am; and had a break there. Had a drink and enjoyed the views.
Did the jump from the diving board, and traversed over to a ramp that gets us down to the trail. Irena was doing great, and was feeling quite comfortable; so we free soloed the traverse. Met a ranger when we hit the trail who had found a red pair of climbing shoes. Boy, some climber is going to be surprised! We went over to Baker's Way, and there were a lot of people there. A team was in view on the route, with another team working on the beginning pitch, and two teams waiting. Wow. Lots of other folks thought it was a beautiful day to climb too. (Which it definitely was...)
We went down towards Fandago; another route on the first flatiron. It's a pretty fun route. When I climbed it with Brian a few weeks ago, there looked to be a variation of it, just a bit to the left of where we climbed. We started up the variation route. Since Irena had done well and was comfortable on the second flatiron, we were simul-climbing again. It went fine, and before long we were at a connection with the folks on Baker's Way.
Baker's Way angles up diagonally, so we had to cross paths with them. Since you don't want ropes rubbing together, I was going to belay Irena up to me, so we could both pass the Baker's Way folks' rope, and then continue. I looked around, and found a little overhang. If I could get up there, maybe our ropes wouldn't touch. I checked it out, and it went. A little tricky, but not too bad. The plan worked - our ropes were nowhere near connecting, so I radioed to Irena and we kept climbing.
After a bit, I was running low on gear, so I found a decent ledge, set up a belay station and belayed Irena up to me. We hit this station around 12:30pm; and were less than a pitch rope length from the summit ridge. I talked to Irena, and we would continue the simul-climb along the ridge to the summit. We climbed up the ridge, and there were several groups on the ridge. I chatted with a gal Sarah for a few, and then took a route lower than the normal ridge route; so we could continue to climb and not cross any lines.
I made it to the summit around 1pm, and belayed Irena until she was on the second outcrop from the summit. Took a few photos, and then she made the final climb up onto the summit. Here, we enjoyed the views, had a snack and drank some water. Soon, we were joined by a few other folks, including Sarah and Beth who were from the American Alpine Club.
Irena really like rappelling, so I thought of a way our two groups could save some time. If Sarah and Beth wanted to string their rope from the summit, and wouldn't mind Irena rapping down on their line; then they would save time as to not have to wait for our line to get set up and taken down. We would save some time too, as we wouldn't have to string our line up. I could then do the downclimb too. They agreed, and it worked out perfectly. They saved time, Irena enjoyed the rappel down, and I got to do the downclimb.
We were hiking down before 2:30pm, and was back at the motorcycle around 3pm. It was a wonderful day!
Hope you enjoy the pics!
A.J.
Photos: http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=1638130007/a=38054161_38054161/
Group Room (multiple albums): http://ajoutdoors.snapfish.com/snapfish