The Flatiron

As you know, I don't seem to stay in one place for too long. The end of the summer seemed to come so quickly and looking back on all my adventures from the past couple months, it all seemed like a colorful dream. I really loved it out in Jackson, but it was time to come back to the east coast for the fall so Adam could finish up his degree at UMaine. Just because the summer is over doesn't mean the adventures have stopped...

3 AM came fast - so fast that I didn't even feel tired as I shut off the alarm and got out of bed. Adam and I had packed most of our gear the night before so all we had to do was get dressed and make some breakfast. By 3:15 AM we were on the road on the way up to Baxter State Park (our friend Kyle came too). Our plan for the day - climbing the technical alpine route "the Flatiron" up to the summit of Mt. Katahdin, the tallest peak in Maine. In order to climb technical routes up the mountain, you have to check in at the ranger station at Chimney Pond by 8 AM, to ensure that you have enough time to safely summit and make it back down. We were first in line at the park gate, so when it opened at 6 AM we parked and made the 3.3 mile hike from Roaring Brook to Chimney Pond.

The Flatiron route from Chimney Pond to the summit of Mt. Katahdin.

A close-up of the crack on the main face of the slab - the hardest section of the route.

After checking in with the ranger and refueling with some granola bars, we started out on the less traveled path to the summit of Katahdin. There is no marked trail leading to the climbing routes, but a "herd path" wraps around the side of Chimney Pond and leads up a water drainage to the technical rock. Once we climbed up various sections of steep rock intermingled with scree fields and scrambling we made it to the base of the large face slab. Before we started to tackle the hardest pitch of the route we took some time to enjoy the gorgeous view and eat our sandwiches. We had already been awake for about 10 hours and had been hiking and climbing for a little over half of that time. 

Adam and I scrambling up a section to reach the base of the slab. (Photo by Kyle)

Adam went first, traversing out onto the base of the slab until he reached the bottom of the crack, where he built the anchor. Next, I tied in and traversed out to the anchor, hauling Kyle's rope behind me. There was a small ledge - if you could even call it that - which Kyle and I were able to stand on to belay Adam as he began to lead the crack pitch. My hands were sweating just watching him make his way up this difficult crack. I was actually doubting at this moment if I would even be able to climb this... we aren't crack climbers! There aren't many opportunities to crack climb on the east coast so we just haven't had the chance to perfect the art of crack climbing - which, believe me, is it's own art within the realm of rock climbing. Despite this, however, Adam did an awesome job leading, and set up the next anchor. 

Kyle and I at the anchor while Adam gets ready to lead the next pitch of climbing. (Photo by Adam)

Looking down at Chimney Pond from our belay ledge - that's the drainage we followed up from the pond.

My turn was next! There is no feeling like the one you get when you step out onto a steep slab of rock - nothing but the friction of your shoes holding you to the wall and thousands of feet of exposure directly beneath you. But I was only aware of this for a moment - before long all I was thinking about was the placement of my hands and feet in order to make my way up the crack. 

Me seconding the crack pitch. (Photo by Kyle)

After another pitch of climbing, we were almost to the knife edge. We had a bit of easy climbing and scrambling but due to the extreme exposure we couldn't unrope so we simul-climbed to save time and climb faster - which is when we are all tied into the rope at the same time. The first person sets a piece of gear and the last person takes it out. 

Looking up at Knife Edge - almost there!

Looking down at Kyle and Chimney Pond while simul-climbing.

Finally, after many hours of hiking and climbing, we reached the summit! We took in the beautiful views, broke out our food, and switched over from our climbing shoes to hiking shoes.

This was only the halfway mark - we still had the entire descent ahead of us. We packed up our climbing gear and started the hike back down to Chimney Pond. By the time we made it back to our car the sun had set and we were completely exhausted. It was such a long day, but probably one of my favorite climbs to date.