Flying Boxcar

On June 1, 1977, I led Tim Loften up this feature, which is visible on the skyline west of CO Hwy 93. To get to its base, we swung leads up a “shallow, vegetated corner,” according to my brief journal entry. I, herein, posted a photo of Tim leading into said (right-facing) corner and a photo of me leading the Boxcar pitch. No guidebook covered this area back in the day, and we just picked out a way up to the Boxcar. Perhaps it was Rocky Mountain Spring Water (200 feet, 5.10, Erickson & Wunsch, 1972). We descended to the east and north.

The Flying Boxcar forms the true summit of Ralston Buttes. The route that we took began at the bottom left of the west side of the Boxcar’s support, which is atop the Main Wall. I led to the left end of the huge overhang, clipped a pin and turned the overhang on the left. After reaching the lower-angled slab, I placed a nut and climbed the short slab to the top.

A few nuts. I recall clipping a fixed pin near the northwest bottom of the huge overhang.