Bill, Jim and I headed out to climb Flattop via the
North Couloirs (see Roach's RMNP guide for more
details) on Saturday, July 14. We arrived at the Bear
Lake parking lot at 6:15am and started hiking around
6:30. We reached Lake Helene around 7:45 and headed
toward the unnamed lakes at the base of Notchtop on a
fairly well cairned climbers' trail. We choose the
eastern most couloir as it provided the longest snow
climb (about 600-800'). It was a few hundred feet from
the unnamed lakes to the snow, where we stopped to
gear up (crampons, ice ax, helmet). Beautiful view of
Notchtop, Odessa Lake and beyond - plus we had the
climb to ourselves (not always the case in RMNP). The
snow started out around 35 degrees and gradually
increased to about 55-60 near the top. The snow
conditions were great, not too hard, not too soft. We
topped out around 9:15, with Jim letting out a nice
yodel. Low clouds and wind greeted us on Flattop
(still not sure if I actually summitted or not), where
we joined the masses and headed for Hallett (12,713').
Summitting around 9:45, we only hung around for a few
minutes, as visibility was squat. We decided to head
down Tyndall Glacier as none of us had ever been down
Tyndall Gorge. The snow was just soft enough for a
safe, albeit short glissade (approx 300'), which left
us with a tough 1 to 1.5 mile slog down the gorge. We
stuck close to the stream wherever possible, hopping
through big talus and boulders, and occasionally
backtracking to find safer routes. Once Emerald Lake
came into view we headed to the right toward a talus
slope to avoid the cliffs in the center of the gorge.
(Note: If you're looking for a quick way down, take
the Flattop Trail, as Tyndall Gorge is a much more
strenuous and time-consuming). 1:30 pm saw us back at
the parking lot, just in time for a cool rain shower
and a cold beer.