A misty day in the Flatirons with Bruce and Tuffy.
Description
A Flatirons mega-classic! Long (80 feet), pumpy and just plain fun, this is a must-do at the grade.
Undertow is the rightmost sport route on the imposing, overhanging west face of The Slab. It is well-shielded from the Fern Canyon trail by a thick, piney forest and climbs a spectacularly colorful wall on (mostly) positive horns, crimps and jugs.
Scramble around to the west side of the Slab from the Fern Canyon Trail and continue uphill (south) past the towering middle section of the wall. Undertow starts from the right side of the large ledge splitting the face and can be reached via a series of 3rd class ramps.
This route is very-chalked up and quite easy to find.
Protection
Ten or so quickdraws should be adequate. A piece or two to anchor your belayer on the ledge might not be a bad idea either.
I was hoping to get this route in myself. This is a great line on mega jugs, and very steep for this area. Who can forget the classic shot of Robyn Erebsfield hanging by one hand and a foot blasting through this route like a toy. Since it starts at the base of the Slab it stays in the shade essentially all of the time. What makes Undertow interesting, beside the climbing, is that it went in during Boulder's controversial years when the West faces of the Flatirons were on the verge of exploding with hard new lines. Undertow was an important harbinger of this potential as much as Dale Goddard's Five Year Plan was defining the possibilities. What a loss.
Front Range sport climbs don't get much better. The actual count is 6 bolts to a 2 bolt anchor, with cruxes at the 3rd and 4th bolts. There is a #2 Camalot placement between the 5th and 6th bolts in what looks like an old bong scar, but it looks like it wouldn't hold a fall. There is also a good #1 Camalot placement to protect the moves to the anchor.
There are a couple, what look like, pin scars on this route and lots of hookable features. Does anyone know the history of this route? Was it originally an aid line?
By Zed From: Gotham City Jul 20, 2005 rating: 5.12b
Getting to this route is a bit of a hike, but worth every step. Undertow offers everything that one could ask of a sport route: beautiful rock, great position, pumpy angle, interesting movement, and solid clipping stances. This and Chains of Love are two of my favorite Flatirons routes.
I agree with much of the above, this was a very memorable and fun route for me! Don't be afraid to schlep those draws up here, it's beautiful in many ways (including the climbing!)
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