Regency and 5th Flatiron Climb

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Rach and I got out at 8 this morning, leaving the girls to sleep in. We hit the base of the Regency slab by 9:30 or so and 4th classed up it to go give the Royal Arch a visit. Then a thrash down a fern-lined gully along the base of the 5th Flatiron to give a lightly roped go to the East Face North route. All in all lots of easy climbing up lightly protected slab for 4 pitches. Then 2 pitches of very scenic 4th class along a knife edge ridge to just shy of the top of the formation. Sat out a shower before heading up the final 100 feet to the very airy tippy top of the slap. The rappel, off one of those solidly set CMC eye bolts, is 75 feet, mostly free, down the west face. A very long round about way home via the Royal Arch trail to the Blue Bell Shelter and the Mesa Trail.

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