Blowin' the Hatch

Hike into main area of the Lower Satellites by following the signs to the Third Flatiron. Twenty yards after walking between the A-7 and BBC Boulders, stop and look up to your right off the trail. Fifteen yards off the trail is an undercut boulder above a low-angle slab.

Begin from a sds on the left side of the undercut on two small crimps, slap up to a good hold and use a pinch, a crimp and a mantel or two to top-out above the slab.

The route's name is a reference to a 5 ft x 3 ft 300+ lb block (much like a hatchcover) that almost killed Justin and I before we even spread our pads out or got our shoes on. At most, three pounds of pressure pulled the whole thing down - almost on our heads. It scared the hell out of us and the other group in the Satellites, but revealed this cool problem.

a crashpad and spotter