First Flatironette

We had another great weather forecast for Sunday (and more time since we didn't have dinner plans), so we went back to Chautauqua to do some climbing. On the way up the trail at about 11:00 we saw some other climbers coming down the trail. I commented to Dan, "Early birds, huh?." We thought we were smart by waiting for the sun to warm things up in the later morning. The early birds actually had it right...


We decided to try the ridge of the First Flatironette to see if it would be a good climb for Donna and JJ when they visit (if we got a good weather day!). The first pitch was fun and relatively warm. By the time we got to the second and third pitches the sun starting moving behind the foothills and it got much chillier. At the top of the third pitch, I asked Dan how many pitches we had left. He thought there were two and we both were getting very frustrated. He went over the next bump on lead and realized that we were actually at the summit! He untied from the rope, I coiled it up, and walked off the belay station.

The 60 degree rule has now been amended: It must be 60 degrees AND SUNNY on the rock in order to climb!