Kor's Flake 

Since you all mention it: I don't recall using a large cam for the traverse at all, though I can see where you would--I think there other good possibilities in the normal sizes. A #4 or larger is definitely nice to have on the previous pitch, however...

Agree this is excellent and exciting.....but I plugged a perfect #5 Camalot for the traverse.

A great route. Nicely exposed for a 5.7 with an exciting hand traverse (find an undercling and plug the #4 BD Camalot, then hangout and enjoy the exposure). Two roofs make this an exciting 5.7. The moves are fun, the protection ample. A #4.5 Camalot would be useful for the namesake flake. Good luck and enjoy.

Length, position, and relative solitude (only two other parties on Sundance this Saturday morning) add up to the best 5.7 I've ever done or heard of. One note for those using the Gillett guidebook - the fixed pins referred to at the end of P4 are conspicuous only in their absence, so plan accordingly.

An excellent and historic oddysey with lots of variety and good climbing of many different types. I would caution the new leader to have his or her act together here: Kor's Flake is a lot of route for 5.7, more than it looks on paper. A 5.10 gym climber or budding trad leader feeling confident after Calypso or the Bastille Crack will likely find the chimney interesting (maybe more so than the oft-mentioned traverse). Also, be careful about trying to stretch pitches - I forced myself into a cruel belay in the dihedral above the chimney. Great route, lots of fun, and a gentle prelude to a lifetime's worth of classic and challenging Kor creations.

I don't recall using big gear for the hand traverse, but I did use some on the squeeze chimney. For the chimney, trying to stay at least partly outside is the way to go, I think. I stayed too far inside and made it hard on myself. The 4th pitch is classic. That and the 2nd pitch (both 5.7+ in Rossiter's guide) felt about ten times easier than the chimney. Don't bother looking for nice ledges for the belay after the 2nd pitch, there aren't any.

One look at the huge crack and it was stemming and face work for me. I never got into it once. However, it's about 5.8 and there isn't any pro till after the flake gets closer to the face.

Just seems weird that I didn't have a comment on this route, since it is one of my favorites anywhere. Having done it with and without the #5, I would say if in doubt bring (borrow?) it, but if you find yourself wanting it, you will probably want it several times. I think the squeeze chimney and the ramp/crack leading up to it is my favorite part, though the whole climb is great. Seems like I stayed mostly inside the squeeze, but then again I like squishing myself into weird holes in rocks.

[definitely] THE BEST 5.7 i have done. long and exposed.go send.however, don't believe the "squeeze chimney [stuff]" this section is easily face climbed with much less thrutching.

"Squeeze chimney [stuff]"? Sure you could face climb it, do what you want. Personally I like the squeeze.

I think I would put this at a 5.8 as well. Adequate pro? I think the higher part of the ramp/chimney qualifies as an nasty off-width, with more than a bit of a run out; unless you typically carry big bros. (That #11 Hex that's jammed into the crack up high, with the rappel ring on it... that's mine, you are welcome to it) Anonymous Coward? You bet! But we made it down alive, learned a lesson in pride, and that beautiful climb will be ours someday. The rock isn't going anywhere. Budding trad climbers, heed the words of these other alpinists, it's a nice climb but, more that it looks on paper. (I should have read this page BEFORE I went out... duh!) PS... I did scarf a #6 hex from another "bailer", so I didn't make out too bad.

Note that in the back of the chimney, there is an old fixed rope with loops tied in it. I was able to hook it with a friend and then used it to clip in for pro. Don't count on it though as it may be out of reach and you CANNOT see what it is fixed to -- might be an old squirrel turd for all I know.

In short one of the best 5.7s I have done.

Thanks for the to Hexes, banged them out this past Memorial Day Weekend. The rope is tattered and lost in the back of the chimney now.

Special note to new 5.7 leaders.

The run out above the 2 belay on pitch 3 might be more then liked, especially with no big gear. I had to run it out 30 feet on the anchor to the fixed hexes mentioned above. Great stemming and lie-backing can be had and once above the squeeze good gear is available. Also, do not take this lightly.

Reality check: After the pitch was finished my partner told me about a girl he knows that fell 40 feet out of the squeeze to the ledges below the belay, with less then optimal results. So, it is possible to fall here. There is possibility for a tipped out #4 above the belay and a shitty micro cam where the squeeze forces you out on the face.

Just a quick comment about the second pitch: some guidebooks list this as a 155 foot pitch. It is NOT! It is more like 80-90ft: you ought to set your belay right before the first wide section, otherwise you'll end up out of rope (with a 50m) right in the middle of the wide stuff, with little option for a decent anchor. Pitch 3 goes thorugh the wide section to the very top of the flake and is about 150ft.

Confirmed, the third pitch is run out. Stemming works for the first third, then a few chimmney moves, then the OW crack to the crappy slab belay. Gear-wise, about 1/3 of the way up the crack, there is a small [vegetated] crack at climbers right. If you stem between the wall (on right) and the outer lip of the flake, it is possible to place two aliens, a green and a yellow. The next piece is a number 4 when the flake constricts back to OW. The rope in back of the chimmney is unreachable as of 9/15/02. A sweet route. The "undercling traverse" is not such a big deal. Enjoyable climb!

The mental crux is the OW section which is runout, but I found, and I am sure that others have too, is a marginal #4 stopper in the small seam to the right of the OW section. The placement in blind to place it fast until 4" cams are feasible. I personally enjoyed the pitch after that the most. You know, the most exposed 5.7 traverse in the world. The first time I climbed this, I was forced into a nut belay right after the the left traverse, on that exposed overhang. #2,3,4 stoppers. What a rush!

When face climbing the chimney, just be aware of the rock texure to the right. It has been climbed many times and is getting very polished.

Climbed this for the second time yesterday. What a climb. Although accurate, the 5.7 rating gives little indication of the reality of this route. There is some rope in the back of the dreaded chimney section for pro, though it's way back there and I didn't have the energy to get it. Also, this climb can be strung together as three 200 ft. pitches with relatively little rope drag. Climb a full 200 ft. pitch into the flake, climb another 180 foot pitch through the chimney to the top of the flake, then do another long 200 ft. pitch past the roof to the top and belay from a tree. Mike.

Very good route. We lead the wide section in one 180ft pitch, belayed just below the dihedral.Used a 3.5 and two 4 Cams for pro and some small stuff at the start. Stemming is the way to do it, scary but not as draining.Pay attention to the picture taken on 8/18 notice it avoids the had crack and traverses under it, much easier!!! Descent is rappelling into gully, bring 2 60m ropes and make it easier on yourselves. I agree with a previous comment, not for the new 5.7 leader. Great route lots of varied climbing with excellent exposure!

A couple misc notes:

I dusted off my #4 BigBro, brought it in, and plugged it in the crux pitch. Not at all required, but it felt good to use it.

With a 70m rope this goes in 3 pitches. Stretch out the first pitch and set the belay before the crux. Second pitch would be the crux. Third pitch stretches the rope to above the overhang described above as P5, you should be able to find 3rd class climbing from here on out. YMMV. Watch for rope drag on P1 & P3 if done this way.

In regards to AC's 7.21.03 comment - there is no need to rap on this descent, there are a couple walk off options that didn't seem very difficult or exposed.

Did it a third time yesterday. Had great weather and only saw one other party all day. Was quickly reminded of the "reality" of this climb, but man it's fun.

I wish I read this site and set a 2nd belay 30 feet up the flake just before the O/W so that my partner would end up doing the O/W instead of me. I started up the O/W and didn't see any gear placements....all the way I wished I had a couple big bros as they would have been perfect. For the bulk of this O/W I stayed on the outside but I didn't quite make it to the top of the flake. After what appeared to be 30+ feet of runout I got a bit freaked out and decided to do a body wedge into the thing and set belay near that mangled rope with the loops. I used a large hex and two 3.5 cams. I can't name a harder 5.7 that I have done. This one is a character builder.

I am the budding young tradster of the comments above. I have climed North Chimeny on Castleton Tower, so I thought this route would be cake. Yeah, right. If you are trying this route, make sure you are very comfortable leading 5.8 maybe even 5.9, the runout is pretty big. Well anyways, one of my buddies and I tried this route Friday. The weather was nice for November, but the rock was cold as hell and my hands were freezing. This made the crux pitch really difficult to stem. After hanging out stuck in the chimney, I grabbed the rope in the back and pulled myself up, it was really, really embarrassing. By the end of the fourth pitch it was dark as hell, which also sucked. The last pitch was in the dark, and very very scary. If you do this route in the winter, get an early start. Don't forget your number four!

Now, that's some 5.7 cuz......the crux is by far the squeeze. You fellas lie backing that run-out are bigger than me. Some slippery rocks climbing through there. I found the wee lil' nut, puckered [and] said ok. The yellow Alien though, I missed that one. After you are done groveling, the route gets real nice. Nice job, Layton, you hard boy climbin' this in your hob nails with a hemp rope tied round your waist. Damn. Note that Tim in the pics below is doing some harder starting chimney than most folks do.

Superb route! Did this easily in four pitches with a sixty meter rope. Found the off-width to be the crux-a number five BD Camalot proved nice for this section. Rossiter mentions stemming. but once in it I found it very difficult to exit.

Definitely not an entry-level 5.7 ;-) P1and 2 are so-so, but once you get into the OW on P3 it has your full attention until the very end.

The wide pitch on this climb is completely different from the rest of the climb. If you don't have big gear, you'd better be prepared to run it out. Seconding I stayed out of the crack and found this to be rather insecure. Had I been leading I'm sure I would have been inside the crack. Anyway it's pretty cool thinking of Layton Kor forging up this pitch.

Climbed 8.27.05 with J. Blumberg. This is a classic and a must for those 'collecting' Layton Kor's projects. It's the best 5.7 I've done in Colorado and compares well with Corrugation Corner (Lover's Leap, CA; my favorite at this grade). I didn't feel like there was anything harder than 5.7 on the route, but agree that P3 would be stiff for an inexperienced leader. I would recommend one big piece (4.5 or 5 Camalot) for P3 but my partner sent the pitch without it.

An important side note--the descent will take you past the absolute mother of all raspberry patches, a very tasty treat indeed this time of year.

We racked up to a number four Camalot, but a #5 and/or a Big Bro would have been useful for the P3 squeeze chimney. My partner led this pitch wedged in the chimney grunting like a redneck in the sheep pen, running it out over a tipped-out #4. Seconding, I managed to stay out of the crack/chimney by doing a bit of stemming, laybacking and slab technique which felt like solid 5.7. P4 is outstanding and, IMO, more memorable than the flake itself. The hand traverse kicks in the exposure and the horizontal takes a perfect #4 offering bomber pro below you as you cruise the fun hand cracks to the belay ledge.

Great climb... As I had only a #4 Camalot at most, I placed it as marginally as I possibly could and then proceeded to shove myself into the chimney, instead of gracefully stemming the chimney as my partner did.The 3rd pitch is wild and tons o fun.

I climbed this route for the first time on Monday, August 21, 2006. It was a great experience, as I led all of the pitches. I would concur with previous posts that this climb should not be taken lightly, even though it is rated at 5.7. I am quite confident leading trad at the 5.9 - 5.10 range. However, we took only one #4 Camalot. I stayed out of the chimney with a combination of face, stemming and laybacking to get up pitch #3. I tried to place my #4 at the beginning of the wide stretch with no luck. A #5 Camalot would have been ideal and a #6 midway up would have been excellent. I waited to place my #4 until the crack started narrowing back down. By then, I was looking at a runout of approximately 35 feet while making what felt like 5.8+ moves. The moral of the story is that you should have a #4, #5 and a #6 Camalot to adequately protect the wide areas of the flake. I realize that is a lot of rack weight. However, I just can't imagine a novice leader on that pitch without adequate protection.

Also, the belay stances at the end of pitch #2 & #3 were very uncomfortable and challenging in regards to rope management and protection. At both stations, I had my second anchor in about 5-10 feet below me to alleviate space, stance and rope handling issues. Again, in my opinion, I think novice leaders would be challenged with these issues.

That being said, I thought this was a wonderful route. The experience certainly solidified my admiration of Layton Kor's vision and spirit.

Don't let the 5.7 rating "sandbag" you! Be prepared with the proper protection and under the right weather conditions. If in doubt, do Mainliner, which I thought was a lot safer and more relaxing than Kor's Flake.

For all of you sickos who say big gear isn't necessary- y'all crazy. I didn't even lead the third pitch on this, and I was nervous just watching my buddy crank the offwidth sections. I would suggest, to anyone who loves getting solid gear in, to bring at least one #6 Camalot, at least one #5, and perhaps a few Big Bros. Trust me, you'll be glad you brought the extra weight. Otherwise it's going to be a nerve-wracking pitch for the leader.

That being said, it's an awesome route and should not be missed.

I lead KF on 7-24-07 (it was my partner's rest day). Great climb. 5.7+ is about right (mentally, a 5.8, if you don't do OWs). Coming from Boston 4 days earlier, we were definitely sucking air. But this is the best 5.7 I've ever done. The OW runout was a surprise, but pretty solid despite the runout, with right leg in and left leg out. Plenty of places to rest by slotting yourself in. There are two decent #2, #3, stopper placements just inside the flake edge up about 30 ft from the lower angle flake section. At the transition out of the flake, a No. 3 Camalot was marginally useful (a #4 or 5 would have been better). The rest of the climb is grandly structured, with great gear. Don't pass this one by. Plenty of trees to rap off of into the gully to the right. Viva Kor. JP

This route is why you have a trad rack. This is the reason to climb trad. Amazing rock, wild exposure, nut numbing runout, it's all there!

Besides the #4 cam (used three times) and #3 RP (only pro on the face of the OW), I found Tricams to be very useful in general. I just have the lowest four, but used them quite a bit. Instead of bringing your big cams and Bros, just bring your two big nuts :-P

Oh, and when you get to the hand traverse, throw your head back and SCREAM your thanks to Kor!

My #2 Camalot was left at a belay after the wide pitch. I'm willing to buy it back from anyone who finds it. 903-821-7070.

I just returned from a four day trip to Boulder with KF being the climb we most wanted and most feared, based on the description and the weather when we got there. The overcast skies almost turned us around just paces from the sign for the Sundance trail. We are SO glad we stuck to it!

This climb was worth every penny. From beginning to end, this route hardly let up and was exhilarating. The namesake flake was a piece of work due to altitude, layers and emerging sun. We had a #4 cam, but its placement sure took its sweet time coming. A 5 or even 6 would make this much less intimidating, but if you're comfy in a chimney don't let the lack of pro stop you. The belay after the chimney was nothing but views of the snowy mounts of Long's Peak and its neighbors, and was priceless.

The exposed hand traverse after the flake is not to be missed. I also managed to easily clean a hex on the easy climbing at the top. Booty! We ended up rapping off our own sling to reach the two fixed tree rappels lower down. It was a long day though - almost 11 hours car to car - and boy was that parking lot a welcome sight!

Prepare for a long day, one which will test your mettle as a 5.7 leader but reward you with a climb you will remember for a long time to come.

We brought a number 5 and 6 C4, but I didn't place the number five. The six came in handy though. All these comments make it sound a lot harder and scarier than we found it.

Wow, all the comments here really scared me. Other sites had this listed as a 5.8R. I did this today and didn't think it was harder than other 5.7s in the area. In fact, aside from the original grunt to get off the ground, this one did not seem bad at all.

I did bring a #6 BD Cam and walked it up most of the flake pitch (combined pitch 2 and 3). With a number 6 cam it isn't run out at all. Aside from the walked cam, I left a #5 a bit lower down and placed a few more pieces in the flake.... Not at all scary. I admit, without a #6 it would be far scarier and run out.

For the way down, we found a slung tree with a rap ring (off and to the right above the descent gully). I added a carabiner to back up the ring and rapped with a 60m rope down to a small ledge where someone left an anchor with 3 nuts, webbing, and 2 biners. The rap from there took us to the ground and then a rather unpleasant walk down through bushes until it turned into more of a trail. (Note, there is a slung rock with a rap ring about 10 feet above the 3 nut anchor. Don't use it if you have a 60m rope. You can get to the nuts and from there the rope just barely reaches the ground.)

Long hike in... long day, amazing route, lots of fun! Don't let the comments here scare you. If you are worried about run out, bring a #6 cam and do this route!

Having read all the beta here, I have to admit I was more than a bit apprehensive about this one. Having done it now, I would say most of the comments are spot on. Getting stuck in the chimney of the offwidth is not for me. I used a variety of layback, stemming, and face techniques to get up it on lead. I even reached out to the corner/arete several times. Despite the warnings, it is protectable. I placed a #4, then a #5, then a #6. Then, soon as the OW ended, I plugged a #3. It is however, still a bit runout on some tricky moves. Save some smaller gear for the hanging belay though. I felt the traverse to be easy, but after the roof, there are some tough moves.

An incredible route. It has everything and you can't get better scenery the RMNP.

I'll have to try this again someday when it's not wet and see if feels more like a 5.7!

P3 requires #5 or #6 Camalots.

Kor's Flake 5.7+ 5P G **** - Sundance Buttress - Lumpy Ridge - Colorado.

Hike west a little over 3 easy miles on a wide trail from the parking lot, turning right at a sign for Sundance (Buttress), continue for about 30 minutes steeply uphill, with some talus block scrambling. Locate the beginning of the route about 200 feet left, west, uphill from a huge block leaning against the face.

A #3 Big Bro fits nicely as the crack widens in Pitch 3. A #4 Big Bro fits well 10 feet later. A #5 Big Bro fits well another 8 feet. Then a Camalot old #3.5 or old #4 fits at the top as the crack reduces from a squeeze chimney width to an offwidth crack. With appropriate protection pieces, this pitch has no runnout.

Fall 2008 there is a rope in good condition with a rap ring and a runner higher up likely for a good handhold, in the back of the squeeze chimney Pitch 3. Unless you're very small you'll need to swing a cam to fetch the rope. No idea how the rope is secured?!?!

I began the squeeze with chimney technique, then 1/3 the way up, placing the #4 Big Bro, I got out of the crack a bit and face climbed to the left, finally used the left side of crack and the far left arete in a comfortable bear hug.

Descent. After reaching Class 3 territory, continue scrambling up and right, then slightly down, reaching the major saddle. The descent goes through this saddle, going down the backside of the Sundance Buttress. Now through the saddle, there are several trees on the right, fine for a single rope rappel and 2 or more of these trees will likely be equipped with webbing and ring. Prefer a tree furthest right, perhaps 60 feet from the saddle, requiring some exposed ledge walking. A single rope rappel brings you nicely to a large ledge, with several trees, some likely equipped with webbing and ring. A second single rope rappel brings you to the ground, with a trail which follows the base of the rock down, around, and back up beneath the huge block leaning against the front face and finally up to the start of the route.