This is the standard east face route to the summit of the 2nd Flatiron.
Begin as for Freeway. When the Pullman Car is obvious above and to your left, drop down left into the gully. Climb the water polished gully via stair step holds for a bit, then head left to the obvious tree below the Pullman Car.
From the tree, head up a brief chimney-like crack to a steep face. This face is the first crux of the route, and is passed via a couple moves of 5.6. After this obstacle, you will be directly below the overhanging east face of the Pullman Car. The obvious crack above you is apparently 10+. Avoid these difficulties by heading left around the bottom of the car and work into the big gully. About 40 feet up the gully there is an obvious crack line through the south face fo the Pullman Car. This is the second crux of the route, and is also 5.6. Climb this, then head up the slab to the summit.
For the descent, carefully downclimb the exposed 5.0+ West Face. This can be tricky to onsight on the way down. Consider sending the less experienced climber down first on TR, placing pro to protect the second climber.
My friend and I climbed the route today and when we got to the top we were a bit confused. The downclimb is not 4th class or 5.0 and after spending over a half an hour on the summit we decided to just put a sling around a boulder and rap down. If you do not normally solo then this down climb is definitely not for you as it is quite scary.
Ryan, I agree, the downclimb is indeed scary, hard to sort out the first time and WAY exposed
An alternative to rappelling is to "downlead" the route the "weaker" climber goes first belayed from above and places gear frequently as he down climbs
Then, once on the ground, the "weaker" climber belays the person at the top. That person then downclimbs and cleans the pieces... That's how I did it my first time up there
Cheers, WT
By Andy Leach From: Fort Collins, CO Nov 14, 2005 rating: 5.6
It took us 7 pitches to make it from near the base of the East Face to the top of the Pullman Car. I shot a short movie of our climb on November 11, 2005 - you can find on my web site: www.leachfam.com/securearea/1story.php?storyid=46
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