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East Face/Tiny Tower

5.6, Trad, 2 pitches,  Avg: 2.6 from 10 votes
FA: Gerry Roach
Colorado > Boulder > Flatirons > South > Tiny Tower
Warning Access Issue: 2024 Crag Closures & Temporary Trail and Raptor Closures DetailsDrop down

Description

From the base of the East face you will notice a large fin of rock about 2/3 of the way up. This fin forms a right-facing dihedral. The route climbs up the East face slabs slightly left and turns right under the fin and follows the dihedral.

P-1 Start at the low point of the rock or slightly North of it. Work your way up and left on somewhat unprotected rock. I placed 3 pieces for the whole pitch. The climbing is easy but punctuated by some 5.4 moves. Once under the fin move right and enter the dihedral. About half way up set up a belay at a stump/bush

P-2 Exit the dihedral to the South via one of two weaknesses. The lower weakness provides an easier exit but puts you on a steep 5.7 slab with no pro for about 15-20 feet. The upper weakness is harder to surmount (5.6) but puts you on easier terrain. Once on the slab work you way up towards a 2 foot wide crack and reach the summit after exiting left from the crack. Belay some 15 feet shy of the summit at a horizontal crack (no pro at the summit)

Descent - Retrace you steps North (right) on the horizontal crack until you reach a broken area and exit West. scramble down 30 feet of fourth class to the West side of the Tiny Tower - Climb the West ridge for a complete outing.

Protection

Standard Flatiron rack.

Photos [Hide ALL Photos]

Mark Oveson and Warren Teissier near the summit of the Tiny Tower.  The crack in the foreground is the top of the route (and the descent route).  In the background on the skyline is the Maiden.
[Hide Photo] Mark Oveson and Warren Teissier near the summit of the Tiny Tower. The crack in the foreground is the top of the route (and the descent route). In the background on the skyline is the Maiden.
Warren Teissier leads P1 on the Tiny Tower.  The route goes just right of the identified fin, and through the notch in the skyline.
[Hide Photo] Warren Teissier leads P1 on the Tiny Tower. The route goes just right of the identified fin, and through the notch in the skyline.

Comments [Hide ALL Comments]

[Hide Comment] The exit from the dihedral at 5.6 is the weakness just above the obvious belay at the bush. The 5.7 way is at the same height or slightly below this belay. The top out from the dihedral is quite crumbly (we realized and backed down). Fun route- good place to go with dogs. Oct 7, 2003
[Hide Comment] Pleasant for remoteness, poor for the sport of rock climbing. Loose and uninteresting. Jun 12, 2004
[Hide Comment] Thought I better add that twice a watermelon size chunk came off while on this. This section of the Flatiron formation above and below even has some unnamed crags. Aside from the relative remoteness it may be the lack of decent rock. Jun 12, 2004
Tony B
Around Boulder, CO
  5.6
[Hide Comment] The prickly evergreen bushes Rossiter refers to as the cluster of small junipers are really a detractor for this route. I didn't enjoy it that much. Jun 26, 2006
Owen Martin
Boulder, CO
[Hide Comment] For the exhilaration of the dihedral exit and the brief excellence of the 2 foot wide crack at the top, I can see why this is a classic. I also found a move on the first pitch to be quite spicy while soloing, moving left with a wide foot stance onto poor holds. All in all, if the prickly evergreen bush were not there, I think this would be quite a good line. The West Ridge downclimb is also loads of fun! Be careful descending back to the approach trail, I tried to lean on a tree for support and found that the tree was completely uprooted (despite standing vertically) and surfed about fifteen feet of loose needles. Jun 3, 2025