Disclaimer: This route is serious business. The features listed in this TR climb scarier than their grades suggest. Loose rock is present throughout, so careful lines must be chosen. I am publishing this to provide beta for people who are confident in their ability to get it done, not to encourage anyone to attempt it. A rope would certainly help mitigate some of the risk, but no matter how you approach this route, you will still be traversing sections of unstable terrain where rock can go at any moment.

A bit of backstory before we dive in. I had posted about our solo of Quandary's Inwood Arete Direct 5.7 variation, which prompted a mystery woman to contact me. This mystery woman began asking for beta on the route. I happily obliged her, and was somewhat surprised to see that she had sent it less than 2 days later. Well then, she certainly means business. After her send, we began to chat about the different 5th class alpine routes in our great state that seemed reasonable to solo. She then floated a familiar name past me, the Mayflower Traverse. "Woah... but that's not doable without ropes is it?"

I had not looked into it in many years, but I remembered reading about 5.7 towers and mandatory rappelling. She had sent me some updated beta which seemed to dispel some of the enigmatic fog that had long enveloped this coveted route. The traverse still looked quite scary, but more doable than the mental image I carried suggested. The fifth gendarme seemed to be the guardian sentinel of the route. It was tall, ominous-looking, certainly loose, and stood proudly at the end of the technical difficulties, blocking you from safe passage to more friendly terrain on the other side. It was originally rated 5.7 (I will address this later), which added to the intimidation factor. Even getting to this point would involve running a gauntlet consisting of ascending and downclimbing loose 5th class towers, choss surfing, and even a legit dirt free solo (Seriously). That being said, something about all of these difficulties really seemed to appeal to us. We continued to find and exchange beta, as our crazy "what if" idea slowly began to materialize into an actual plan.

Of course, you can't just go into something this serious with someone you have never met, so we decided to hit the flatirons together in preparation. We met at NCAR parking lot for the first time, and the mystery woman was revealed to be Marina Jensen, or perhaps, "Mayflower Marina". We climbed "Love" (5.4) a jug haul up a near vertical corner of Ridge One. Naturally, I had to do my stupid hand traverse across the Like Heaven Pinnacle afterwards.

We had a great time, and felt comfortable going for the traverse together. I had to be back in Boulder a couple of days later for a radio interview with KVCU 1190 on the ClimbTalk show. Naturally, I had to get another scrambling session in so the two of us met at Eldo for an ascent of the West Dihedral of Whale's Tail (5.4). She had mentioned how badly she wanted to do Blitzen, and oddly enough, I had just read a comment from another friend stating that he was going to be going for it tomorrow. Enter player 3, Alan Weisman.

I connected the two of them, and less than 20 hours after we climbed west dihedral together, the two of them successfully topped all four aces of Blitzen! I had climbed with Alan a few times before, and knew that he was a strong, serious climber. He is currently having maybe the most impressive summer alpine season I've seen during my 13 years of watching the 14er pages. He has been doing an ultra-classic technical ridge traverse, scramble, or solo every few days for a couple of months now. Truly amazing work at the intersection of volume and severity. He expressed interest in the Mayflower Traverse, and now things were really starting to heat up. No more talk. It's game time.

On Friday 8/8/2026, the three pilgrims embarked on their voyage across the Mayflower (Traverse). Alan and I staged a car at lower blue lakes TH before driving around the way to the lower Mayflower TH. Why can't either of these two upper TH's be open currently? It's quite the annoyance for a pseudo-cripple like me who has to be mindful of their gain/mileage due to overuse injuries. We met Marina around 6am at the TH, unsure about what the day would have in store for us, but ready for a fight regardless.

The first 1.4 miles to the Boston Mine flew by. The road seems to be in perfect condition (despite being closed?), so we made great time across it. A little bit of mandatory swampaneering through the marshy willows served as a warmup for the tedious terrain that was to come. As we began to contour around the slope above the willow section, we were greeted with a great view of the violent ridgeline that we would soon find ourselves on.

Time is a subjective concept, isn't it? For instance, making decent time for me might be the equivalent of watching tundra grow for my speedy partners. I was actually feeling like I may have been climbing a bit faster than usual, while my partners once again had to patiently wait while this sack of potatoes lugged himself uphill. Soon, at least on the cosmological scale, we made it to the summit of Atlantic.

Without hesitation, we started across the Mayflower traverse, with a one-way ticket to Fletcher Mountain in hand. As you may have gathered, five gendarmes stand guard along the traverse, each presenting its own unique trial. There was a bit of loose, sketchy downclimbing to reach the first gendarme. We went down to the left, which was likely the best way. You will understand my directions when you get there.

We soon arrived at the first gendarme, which I am not sure I got pics of. This was likely because we did not recognize it as the first gendarme since it was fairly short and only 4th class. If you have any business on the rest of this ridge, the first gendarme should feel easy to you. Now here is where things start to heat up.

This is where we chose to put on our climbing shoes, and they wouldn't be coming off any time soon. You could absolutely climb up this in trail runners without issue if you are capable, but we knew there would be a spicy downclimb off the backside that roped parties often choose to rap. Despite the low grade, this section demands thoughtful movement and carries serious consequences. The fun begins.

We tagged the summit then began looking for the spicy downclimb. Here is where my beta will come in handy. We could not find much info at all on a potential downclimb off of this thing, we just knew that some people have done it unroped, so there is a line that goes somewhere. We went straight down ridge direct until we were stalled by a large block that appeared to have a significant drop off on the other side. It did not look friendly. We hooked right and went down and around this feature via a prominent notch in the ridge. This is what many people choose to rappel. It was not 5th class, but boy was it dangerous.

We downclimbed into the notch one by one, consistently knocking rocks down. There is a little nook that served as shelter from the bowling alley. It made a nice checkpoint for us. Alan led the way, Marina followed, and I brought up the rear. I waited for them to be totally out of the line of fire before continuing. I was slightly less methodical since I knew my friends were not below me any more, and I triggered a serious rockslide that shifted the entire slope. When I say slightly less methodical, I mean only slightly. It's really that scary. I latched onto a large boulder while I waited for the slope to settle. I then noticed as I was detaching from the boulder that most of it's platform was now gone. This made me a little uneasy, because it totally could have gone during all of that. Oh so fortunately, it did not.

We regained ridge proper via a short 4th to low 5th scramble up questionable rock. Now for a very important piece of route finding information. You will see a mess of large blocks looming ominously above you. We were unsure at the time if this was the second gendarme, not knowing that we just came from the second gendarme. It is not any of them, and appears to have a 5.8ish line that leads into unknown terrain. Not to mention the blocks don't look totally stable. Skirt this formation to the left! There is some serious loose stuff to navigate as you traverse around but nothing too difficult. Unbeknownst to us, another one of the route's cruxes was soon approaching. We all wanted to summit the third gendarme, although I think it may be possible to bypass it on the left (don't quote me on that) so we were now faced with a legit dirt free solo. Yes, you heard that right.

We began soloing up a mixture of choss and dirt until it became mostly dirt. Your foot sinks in, but only so far. Not far enough to provide meaningful security, just far enough to remind you how steep the slope really is. To me, this felt like one of the scarier sections of the day. I am not sure if my partners agree with that or not, but it felt serious. Now, we were to the base of the third gendarme.

This was one of the most pleasant climbing sequences of the day. Low 5th again, maybe 5.3, but on slightly better rock (at least on our line). We found a serendipitous path that seemed to be following a natural weakness. It started at the right side of the formation, but wove it's way through the face wherever it cared to take us. It should be fairly self-explanatory.

Soon we were standing on the third gendarme. This was one of my favorite parts of the day. We didn't realize that we were actually 3/3 at this point! Now, time for a little photo sequence :)

We were now preparing to traverse the section known as the "knife edge", while the fourth gendarme stared us down. I am not sure if it quite qualifies as a knife edge, but for the sake of cohesion of beta across multiple TRs, I will refer to it that way as well. Regardless, it was a highly pleasant feature to traverse.

We took a direct line up the fourth gendarme. There was no beta on this, as all the TRs we could find went around it and up the backside. Alan went first and said the last couple moves were horribly loose 5.6, so Marina and I stepped right a bit towards the top. It should be easy enough to figure out when to do that once you're up there. I would say 4G direct via our step around was fairly loose 5.4. Very enjoyable movement on this one.

Our stoke level was incredibly high after taking 4G direct, but then, we matched eyes with the fifth gendarme. The joking mood that had carried us to this point began to subside. Playtime was over; it was now time for battle.

It's one thing to see a feature on the internet, read a rating, and then determine whether or not it is in our wheelhouse. It's another thing entirely to be staring it down in person, especially when there is so little beta on it. This thing looked sick. Alan did not believe that I had the beta correct for this. He thought the standard line looked like overhanging sustained 5.7 or 5.8, and it totally did. He slowly worked his way up to the base of it and began assessing lines. Inch by inch, he felt out the tower and began to commit to an off-script line to the right. He soon passed the point of no return, and was now in the thick of it.

Marina and I watched him traverse across a handrail that seemed to offer good purchase. The climbing seemed reasonable enough to this point, but then we noticed as something changed. Alan's crack seemed to run out about four moves shy of easier terrain. He was totally locked in, but the climbing mandated it. He instructed us not to talk, so we sat in silence totally captivated by his dance with 5G. Despite not being the one on the wall, my heart was beating out of my chest. He made a couple of delicate moves to reach a giant jug that marked the start of the easier terrain. He then yelled out "That was the headiest thing I have ever done!". This was not what we wanted to hear. You see, Alan is one of the most talented climbers that I have ever met. He climbed competitively for nearly 20 years. He was leading mid 5.13 regularly at one point. Watching him struggle on that section was unnerving. However, we came here ready for a fight. Now, it's our turn.

I told Marina that I needed to sit down for a minute and let my heart rate cool down before jumping straight on something so committing. Despite having just watched the sketchiest solo I've ever seen in person, I was still considering going his route for the fact that we could have live beta from above and the other line was still somewhat of a mystery. I hadn't sat down for more than 20 seconds before I noticed Marina slowly sauntering towards the nose of the tower. She then told me she was just going to climb a few feet up to a ledge and assess the situation. Oh boy, I know how this goes... been there many times myself. It's funny how "I'll just take a look at it" usually means "I'm about to send this", at least in my world. Sure enough, she indicated that she was leaning towards going for it and asked me to come up to the ledge. As I worked my way up, Marina kept making progress slowly but surely, and then she abruptly hit the point of total commitment. No going back now. She doubled checked to make sure I was still committed, which was a resounding yes. We were now undertaking a dance of our own. The rock was vertical, but there was always a good hold somewhere when we really needed it. There was also a bad hold that could be found at any given time too, so everything had to be tested. This very much added to the severity of the line. There were many rocky protrusions which served as our good holds but also worked to our detriment somewhat by forcing us to make odd body movements around them.

Both of us seemed to simultaneously tap into something that is not easily described through the vessel of human language. You could call it killer instinct, but perhaps the connotation is a bit too aggressive. Flow state is a bit too generic, as you can enter a flow state during low-consequence activities as well. What I am talking about is the feeling that a quarterback in the Super Bowl feels when he is on fire, but this was no football game. See, nothing in the world locks you in quite like a high-stakes undertaking that mandates supreme execution. It's something you have to have felt before to truly understand. Whatever it is and wherever it comes from, we were certainly feeling it. I may not have the words to adequately describe this feeling, but I certainly have the words to describe what came next. Topping out on the belay ledge of 5G was an absolute dopamine high.

High-fives were exchanged and the dumb jokes flowed. Spirits could not be higher. After rallying on the belay ledge, I led us up the rest of the tower up questionable rock, but the climbing was definitely easier. I started up a chill but mega-exposed line on the left side before traversing a bit right. I didn't realize that I was initially climbing over the full fury of the east face. Probably best not to do that on a pile of blocks eerily reminiscent of a game of Jenga. Either way, the remainder of the tower was no harder than 5.2, albeit up sketchy rock. We had now done it. All that remained was some chill Class 4 up to the summit of Fletcher.

Now, for some beta. The Dave Cooper scrambling book rates our line at 5.7. There are several votes agreeing with him online. There are a few that rate it 5.6, like Mountain Project and one of my friends who is a legendary trad climber. I even found two people who rated it at 5.5. Here are my thoughts. I feel confident grading this line at 5.6. 5.7 is a bit too stiff IMO. I don't think any of the moves were truly 5.7. One could argue that no move exceeded 5.5, but I have done many solos in that grade range and have not tasted the sense of severity that this provided so I am hesitant to give it that rating. You can't really see past the move in front of your face which also adds to the sketch factor. In my efforts to publish the most comprehensive TR for people looking to solo this route, I am suggesting that you be prepared to solo some 5.6. Now, the very start is probably Class 4. Then it gradually but quickly ramps up to low 5th. You then are faced with 30 feet of serious 5.5-5.6 climbing to top out on easier terrain to the right a bit. You will know when to work right when you get there. Once at the belay ledge, you are left with maybe 25-30 feet of 5.2 up the welded together choss pile that creates the jagged crown of 5G.

It is important to note that Alan's line took him to a blank section consisting of about four moves of serious 5.7-5.8 climbing once his handrail ran out. I saw a video afterwards of him climbing that section and was very glad that I did not take that line. One of his handholds on the cruxy section seemed to crumble in his palms. Hit this route up the nose, starting left then slowly traversing right to the obvious white rock dike. Do not be sucked into the handrail traverse that he took. It looks better from below but that is misleading.

After this, the climbing was chill and pleasant. The 4th class up Fletcher is a total non-factor if you have climbed the route to this point. I will take a moment to mention that you can possibly bypass 5G, but I'm hesitant to provide beta on it due to uncertainty. It LOOKS like you could start at the white band of rock in the shade below and work up 4th and low 5th terrain, but we did not try it so I cannot recommend it. There is likely something that would go, but I will leave that up to you.

I did not realize it at the time, but we actually topped all five gendarmes.

I cut Alan and Marina loose after this section, as they were patient with me on the ascent. I told them I would take the downhill stuff slow and they were free to go hit West Ridge or whatever else they wanted afterwards while I slowly sauntered back to Lower Blue Lakes TH where Alan's vehicle was stashed. This shuttle was the way to go, totally recommend it for anyone attempting this traverse. The way out was uneventful, and my fingers are sore from typing nearly 4,000 words. Saw some marmots, baked in the sun, and enjoyed the beauty of the Blue Lakes approach. The end :)

How to know if you're ready for this route? If you have been looking at this for years, assessing beta, thinking you could handle the crux pitch, then you are probably ready. For those people, I will say that it goes. It was one of my most memorable and cherished days in the mountains. If you find low 5th flatiron routes like freeway to be at all intimidating, I wouldn't even consider it. As much as I loved Wham, this is not that at all. It is a considerable jump up from routes like that. The continuous loose nature of the route is mentally taxing. It will put some wear on you before you get to the crux, so keep that in mind. To anyone attempting this, go off-script as little as possible. Any line that is lesser traveled is even more likely to go at any given time. Feel free to reach out if you have questions, and whether you read this for the beta or for the story, I appreciate you taking the time. Happy trails folks!