Shortcut (East Face) 

This is also a decent downclimb for those who don't like the rappel. Makes for a nice 7 pitch adventure up the E face and down Shortcut. There are many better East Face slab routes in the Flatirons, however.

Ahggg!! Should find the route with slings and rings?? I will never ever never depend on slings that I find. $2 for 3 feet of sling, $2 for a rap ring. $4 == I'm alive. Ok, guess I will....

Don't mean to be disagreeable, just would hate to see someone come along that didn't know better learn to trust other people's slings from this :)

My partner and I strung the first two pitches together and simul-climbed on two 60m ropes. The rope drag was a bit too much for me, probably due to the low pitch of the climb. It was nice to do it here as these two pitches were relatively easy and took good gear. The lines were not obvious to me so I assume anything goes and the entire face can be climbed. We chose not to simul-climb the crack and set a belay at the neck. The crack was the most interesting and fun part of the climb. Perhaps, others would say the rappel is the best part of this climb. The slings on the rap were in great shape as of today 5.28.03.

Tonya, if I'm not mistaken, there's a loose block right about at your waist in the picture you added below. It's big enough to cause some serious distress to the belayer (who is located directly below); did you see that same block? At any rate, to climbingboulder.com in general: be careful what you yard on while climbing this crack. It's a blast, but there's at least one time bomb a-waitin' here....

Short cut is a fun adventure, but it is probably as much a hike as a climb. Once you scramble onto the start ledge about half way up the face (exposed 5.0?) you can easily summit in two pitches with a 60m rope. My partner ran out his rope on the first pitch, and I had only about 75 ft left to the summit. Probably the most exciting part is the rappel which deposits you back conveniently almost where you started the climb! Please inspect all the slings carefully, as the way they are configured, a lot of stress is being placed on the same part of the sling where it passes through the bolt hanger. So even if the sling looks new, it could be worn through at the bolt.(American triangle in hanger bolts? eeks.) On a beautiful spring, this is a nice conditioning hike and overall a fun outing.

If you're not in the mood to enjoy the hike in, the crack probably isn't going to be reward enough to make you a happy climber. It's quite a long way in for what's essentially one pitch of debatable quality. That said, the view from the summit is fantastic, and it's spacious- just take the time to appreciate the trip in.