Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
A couple of fun scrambles to the airy summits of Der Zerkle and Der Freischutz on Dinosaur Mountain, starting from NCAR Trailhead in Boulder. We followed Mallory Cave Trail for 1.4 miles to the base of Der Zerkle and scrambled up Sunnyside 2 (class 4, 200ft). We then went to the back (west) side of the formation, and scrambled up the West Face (5.0, 80ft) to reach the summit of Der Zerkle. The downclimb of West Face was a bit spicy but overall it’s solid route to gain this spectacular summit which offers good view of Mallory Cave and Dinosaur Mountain.
After Der Zerkle, we followed Mallory Cave Trail down for about 0.1 mile to reach the base of Overture. We made quick work of Overture South Ridge (5.0, 150ft). From the summit of Overture it's a short class2 hop to the base of Der Freischutz East Face route (5.0, 350ft). This is a fun one (one of 53 classic scrambles in Gerry Roach’s Flatirons guidebook), and midway up one can choose between a few different ramp options. We chose the left most one which was relatively easy. Soon we reached the west (true) summit of Der Freischutz. The dowclimb of the summit on the west side was again the crux (awkward 5.0) - a steep, smooth ramp with few holds. After that we rejoined Mallory Cave Trail and headed back to TH
0:00 Der Zerkle
06:09 Der Freischutz
A couple of fun scrambles to the airy summits of Der Zerkle and Der Freischutz on Dinosaur Mountain, starting from NCAR Trailhead in Boulder. We followed Mallory Cave Trail for 1.4 miles to the base of Der Zerkle and scrambled up Sunnyside 2 (class 4, 200ft). We then went to the back (west) side of the formation, and scrambled up the West Face (5.0, 80ft) to reach the summit of Der Zerkle. The downclimb of West Face was a bit spicy but overall it’s solid route to gain this spectacular summit which offers good view of Mallory Cave and Dinosaur Mountain.
After Der Zerkle, we followed Mallory Cave Trail down for about 0.1 mile to reach the base of Overture. We made quick work of Overture South Ridge (5.0, 150ft). From the summit of Overture it's a short class2 hop to the base of Der Freischutz East Face route (5.0, 350ft). This is a fun one (one of 53 classic scrambles in Gerry Roach’s Flatirons guidebook), and midway up one can choose between a few different ramp options. We chose the left most one which was relatively easy. Soon we reached the west (true) summit of Der Freischutz. The dowclimb of the summit on the west side was again the crux (awkward 5.0) - a steep, smooth ramp with few holds. After that we rejoined Mallory Cave Trail and headed back to TH
0:00 Der Zerkle
06:09 Der Freischutz
