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Flattop Mountain

February 2, 2002 - Normal Route

Flattop Mountain is a great winter ascent that provides some route finding opportunities through snow filled trees and then the once above the trees, the chance to get frostbite from the wind. That's why it took us two tries to get to the top during the winter.

Our merry band of five arrived at the Bear Lake parking lot and donned snowshoes for the hike up Flattop Mountain. there had been fresh snow so we were not expecting a clear trail outside of the tree cut for the summer trail. However, Todd had been up Flattop multiple times in the winter and he knew the route. The grade was tame and after an hour or so we broke the tree line to find the wind that we had seen blowing snow from every visible ridge was also present on Flattop. We braced against the bone chilling gusts and pushed our way up the summer trail, which for most of its length was blown clear but for drifts here and there. Once on the trail, it was just a case of pushing onward as a climb of Flattop is little more than a walk up the gently sloping eastern slope of the mountain.

We arrived at the summit, not surprisingly it is a barely differentiable rise on the flat top of the peak. We all drank and ate a bit and then G and Di headed back down while Ed, Todd and I traversed the ridge to summit nearby Hallets Peak. More wind, more cold and but we gained the additional 400 feet and arrived at the summit where we took a momentary rest behind a low rock wall built by climbers past to shelter from the wind. Summit in hand, we were off for the parking lot and soon enough we were at the tree line from which we took a direct, through the trees beeline down the mountain and back to the parking lot and a warm meal in Estes Park