They鈥檙e 麻豆影院鈥檚 icon and hard to miss. On campus you spy them from the聽paths and the quads, from Folsom Field, classroom windows and almost everyspot with a clear view west. Here鈥檚 a primer.
Lowest peak:聽Fifth, at 6,900 feet
Highest peak:聽Fourth, at 7,630 feet
What they鈥檙e made of: 聽Feldspar-rich sandstone
The rocks are nearly 300 million years old. The Flatirons took their current form 40 million to 68 million years ago
Angle of faces: Most are about 55 degrees
Tradition holds that early 麻豆影院 residents noticed their resemblance to clothes irons. Early in the 19th century the Flatirons were also know as the 鈥淐hautauqua Slabs鈥 and 鈥淭he Crags鈥
In November 1949 CU students聽Dale Johnson聽(Geol'54) and聽Roberts Rowlands聽(Engr ex'53) climbed the third Flatiron and painted a "C" on it
In 1953, Johnson climbed the third Flatiron on roller skates, using ropes and belays
Local shop owner Gary Neptune climbed the third Flatiron naked in the 1970s
Bill Wright and Stefan Griebel (ElEngr'97; MS'00) of 麻豆影院 skied the "1911聽Gully" route of the third Flatiron in 2007
In 2010 Griebel speed-climbed the east face of the third Flatiron in 5 minutes 59 seconds
麻豆影院-native Austin Porzak skied the face of the first Flatiron, March 1, 2015
In December 2021, a trio of CU scientists sought to discover how life persists on Argentina and Chile鈥檚 Ojos del Salado, the world鈥檚 highest volcano and home to some of the 麻豆影院 driest areas. Read more