Mountain Project: Climbing Flatirons

This is a really shady place in the trees below Mallory Cave. It has ood sport/TR routes here on hueco-like sandstone.

This is a enjoyable small Flatiron with a decent amount of variety. It is routes from 5.5 to 5.11d, trad & sport, slab to overhanging, 1-3 pitches, sun and shade. It has even become one of the trial rocks for the reintroduction of limited, new fixed hardware (requires an application process and approval by FCC) for the Flatrions. It lies very close to the Mallory Cave Trail. However, it does apparently host a species of bats which close some of its routes each year.

From the 2006 Boulder Mountain Parks Website: For the protection of roosting Fringed Myotis Bats the following area will be CLOSED to all users from APRIL 1st to SEPTEMBER 1st:

THE EAST FACE OF DER ZERKLE including the following routes: Sunnyside One, East Face Left, East Face Right. All other climbing areas on Der Zerkle and Mallory Cave Trail remains open.

Getting There

Take Broadway to Table Mesa and turn W. on Table Mesa. Follow Table Mesa all the way to NCAR and park at the NCAR lot. Now take the "NCAR Trail" along the nature walk along the rim of the hill. Look for a trail that cuts left and down the hill to some switchbacks. Follow this trail all the way to the water tower and continue left of the tower down to the Mesa Trail. Look for the 3 fingered Flatiron with a diagonalling slash across its East Face. Here, you will come to a junction with a Boulder Mountain Parks info/map board. Take the Mallory Cave Trail up the hill for a nice hike. You will see several signs for climbing access, but stay on this trail. When you come to the junction of the climbing access to Dinosaur Mountain, take a right up the hill, which is still the Mallory cave trail. Keep following the trail until you see a sign for climbing access to "Der Zerkle." You'll see the nice cliffs just up the hill. :)

The Classics

Comments on Der Zerkle

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By Bruce Hildenbrand
Oct 27, 2004

On 10/27/2004 Will Clopton and I replaced the 1/4" bolt on top of Der Zerkle with a 3/8" 5-piece SS Rawl. We added links for rappel. A second 5-piece Rawl bolt with Fixe Ring was already in place. There are now two bolts on top for the rappel.

This work was supported by the American Safe Climbing Association (www.safeclimbing.org) and the Anchor Replacement Initiative (www.climbing.com/ari).

By Pinklebear
Nov 7, 2011

Five applications have been submitted to the Fixed Hardware Review Committee (FHRC) of the Flatirons Climbing Council (FCC) for the September 2011 voting cycle:

�Two applications for new climbs, a 5.11 on the Slab and a 5.10 on Dinosaur Rock
�Two applications to add new, lower first bolts to the existing climbs Touch Monkey, a 5.11b on Der Zerkle, Dinosaur Mountain and to Short Attention Span, a 5.11d on Overhang Rock, Bear Canyon.
�One application to add an anchor to the existing climb Big Bob Cranks on Dinosaur Rock.

To view and comment on these four applications, please visit flatironsclimbingcouncil.wordpress.com/category/route-applic>>>

The vote and public meeting for this cycle will be held Tuesday, December 6 at 6:30 p.m. at The Spot gym, Boulder, Colorado. Anyone interested in voting on and discussing these applications is encouraged to attend!

By Matt Toensing
From: Boulder
Dec 17, 2011

I missed out on voicing my opinion by voting, so I will have to share my opinion here. I don't think that a new bolt should be added to Touch Monkey. The first bolt is fine where it is. The lower section is not 5.10 as described on the FCC website. There is gear potential on the lower section if necessary, but a competent 5.11 sport climber is not going (or should not at least) to fall getting to the first bolt.

Just my $0.02, but this would be a useless bolt on an otherwise already perfectly bolted Flatirons route. Let's not turn the Flatirons into Boulder Canyon if we can help it, people.

By Pinklebear
Jan 2, 2012

Three of the four applications submitted for the January 2012 cycle of the Flatirons Climbing Council's Fixed Hardware Review Committee are on this formation, Der Zerkle. (The new deadline applications are January 1, April 1, and August 1). One is for a new climb, one is to replace the existing but chopped climb Wing Ding and one is to replace a chopped bolt on the existing climb Hot if You're Not aka The Brown Eye Wall.

To see the applications and leave comments, please visit: flatironsclimbingcouncil.wordpress.com/category/route-applic>>>

It's probably best to leave comments on each individual route by sending them to us via email for now: fhrc@flatironsclimbing.org.

The public meeting and vote on these applications will be held Thursday, February 2 at 6:30 p.m. at The Spot gym, Boulder, Colorado. Anyone interested is welcome and encouraged to attend!

By Christy-Dale
From: Boulder, CO
May 24, 2012

Although Der Zerkle is closed for the season, there have consistently been people all over the crag whenever I've been in the area since April. If you're around there and see folks ignoring the ban, do the climbing community a favor and remind them that respecting closures and being good stewards are how we maintain access to climbing areas. Thanks!

By Pinklebear
May 25, 2012

Only the East Face is closed, April 1-Sep 1. The South/West Face routes are open year-around.

More info here: www.bouldercolorado.gov/index.php?Itemid=411&id=1158&option=>>>

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Der Zerkle

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Getting There

The Classics