On a sunny and windy January morning, a scuba diver pulled himself up with both hands from the abyss to stand on a rocky ledge overlooking Boulder.

But he wasn’t sopping wet and he wasn’t anywhere near a body of water.

Rilyn VandeMerwe, a 23-year-old University of Colorado senior, trod carefully in flippers at the summit of the Third Flatiron. He became the first known person to scale the landmark in full scuba gear — a wetsuit, a snorkel and goggles — and a mock oxygen tank made from paper towel rolls wrapped in duct tape.

The Jan. 28 scuba ascent is the latest outrageous feat in Flatiron history.

Before flopping to the top, VandeMerwe and his climbing partner had run the “Flatiron Triple Crown” — scrambling up the First, Second and Third in a row — on hobby horses for fun.

Bill Wright, a longtime climber and the unofficial keeper of speed climbing times on the Flatirons, said the iconic area has been the backdrop for many showy escapades, including naked climbs and hands-free climbs, and even a 1950s ascent in roller skates that essentially proved how easy it is to conquer the Third Flatiron.

Wright said the fake tank and other scuba gear doesn’t set VandeMerwe’s climb apart, but what makes his ascent unique is his choice of footwear.

“I think it sounds totally silly to me,” Wright said. “But I do a lot of silly things, too. I think it ranks up there with climbing the Third in roller skates. It certainly can be done, but why?”

VandeMerme said after two people died on the Flatirons in 2017, the first accidental fatal falls in nine years, he doesn’t want climbers to forget that climbing can be fun and safe at the same time. (Carter Christensen, 17, and Erik Kleiber, 31, both fell from the First Flatiron, only months apart.)

“One should always climb within their abilities and they should put safety first,” VandeMerwe said. “Fun can be had well within the limits of safety.”

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