This bolted route is shown in Rossiter's topo on p.68, but it does not include a description in the book. It was originally bolted in the 1980s.
Locate the obvious South Face route in a blocky dihedral. Move 20 feet left of this dihedral, and locate a bolted line. Scramble up onto a ledge with a small tree to get started. Work up past a bolt to a small roof. Clip a second bolt, then pull over the bulge. Continue up past a 2 more bolts and a Lost Arrow piton over a lip. Climb an easy but runout slab to a bolted anchor.
This is one of the better bolted lines in the Flatirons. It is technical, but all the holds are there.
Protection
4 bolts, 1 fixed pin. A blue Alien can marginally back up the fixed pin.
[Hide Photo] Aaron Martinuzzi just past the bulge on Batman. Photo by Jesse Ramos.
[Hide Photo] Jason Haas 2/3 of the way up 'Batman' a good sport route (10b?) on the South face of the Goose, in the Flatirons of Boulder, CO. Photo by Tony Bubb, 9/06.
[Hide Comment] Good climbing, but my partner and I both thought the first pitch of Raging Bull (aka Cub) up the hill was a much better Flatirons sport climb. Also, this route probably deserves at least a PG-13 rating for the run-out from the last bolt to the lip of the wall.
Oct 21, 2007
[Hide Comment] I'm with Dougald - this runout after the last bolt is pretty significant, and since it's a traverse, could result in a really unpleasant scrape across the face. Additionally, clipping the first bolt requires some solid 9/9+ moves that, if you were to blow them, would result in a really unpleasant fall.
Today, 25-Sept-09, my partner and I cut some bogus tat off the anchors and left a couple of carabiners that can be used to belay-from-above and then rappel - I wouldn't want to belay a TR from the ground off the 'biners.
Sep 25, 2009
[Hide Comment] I also agree that this was a scary climb. Getting to the 1st bolt is committing and dangerous. I was able to sling a large protrusion on the ledge below using a double length sling. It would keep you from hitting the ground but not the ledge. Because of little traffic on this climb, it is also hard to determine the easiest (and safest) way to go. I did not see the last bolt till I was 15 right of it, so trend up and left at the pin. Also trend left at the last bolt instead of trying to go straight up. It is a long way to the anchor after the last bolt with no gear opportunities.
Aug 19, 2012
[Hide Comment] I would say this deserves the R rating, but it's probably important to say it's not on the hardest climbing. When you're pulling the crux, there's a bolt right next to you, but I'd say you should be comfortable on running it out on 5.9 past the last bolt.
Aug 10, 2015
[Hide Comment] Definitely not a sport route (this should be changed in the route description), and it should definitely have a seriousness rating (also this). It's a bit unclear where to go after the last bolt, and I went up and left along a rail toward another small crack (hard to see until you use it for your left hand) that took a cam before pulling the lip into a right-facing corner.
GEAR BETA: 2 blue Alien (one just above pin and other just below lip on the left, following the rail). 0.5 (new) WC Friend or C4.
This is a great route and should definitely be climbed more but with the appropriate gear and readiness to keep your head together when you need to not fall. Also, there's a bolt you can't see just above the roof that you can clip from a good hold. I wish I had seen it before trying to pull the roof!
Nov 16, 2019
Avg: 2.7 from 9
votes
Access Issue: 2024 Crag Closures & Temporary Trail and Raptor Closures
Details
Continue with onX Maps
Continue with Facebook
Around Boulder, CO
Today, 25-Sept-09, my partner and I cut some bogus tat off the anchors and left a couple of carabiners that can be used to belay-from-above and then rappel - I wouldn't want to belay a TR from the ground off the 'biners. Sep 25, 2009
Boulder
Boulder, CO
Going directly over the bulge on the bottom face felt like mid-5.10 but can easily be avoided by going around right at probably 5.10-. Aug 9, 2015
Denver, CO
Boulder
Thanks to OSMP and the ASCA for providing the hardware. Nov 1, 2017
Boulder, CO
GEAR BETA:
2 blue Alien (one just above pin and other just below lip on the left, following the rail).
0.5 (new) WC Friend or C4.
This is a great route and should definitely be climbed more but with the appropriate gear and readiness to keep your head together when you need to not fall. Also, there's a bolt you can't see just above the roof that you can clip from a good hold. I wish I had seen it before trying to pull the roof! Nov 16, 2019