Climb at Lumpy Ridge

Lumpy Ridge is mostly a traditional climbing area with most climbs being two or more pitches after a mile to 3+ miles of mostly flat walking.  From climbers left to right the larger areas consist of Sundance Buttress, The Bookend, The Bookmark, The Book, and Twin Owls.  There are smaller formations between these that are worth exploring as well.

Sundance Buttress is the highest of the cliffs at Lumpy and will require around seven miles of round trip hiking.  These routes are subject to closures due to raptors so check restrictions before making the trek out there.  Classics here include Kor’s Flake 5.7, Turnkorner 5.10b, Mainliner 5.9, and Grapevine 5.8+ among others.  The routes here are big so start early and be prepared for afternoon thunderstorms. To get down, we did one double rope rap and a walk off down a gully on the back side.

The Bookend is a bit more east facing so it catches sun early. Sorcerer, Climb of the Ancient Mariner, and Orange Julius are some of the best in this area.  Descent involves a walk off to the north and then dropping down into the gully near the Left Book where you will find the highest concentration of easier climbs.

Continuing East you will find the Bookmark where most will pursue Melvin’s Wheel 5.8 or Fantasy Ridge 5.9.

The Book is adjacent and perhaps the most popular area containing many classics most notably probably being J Crack, but the amount of classic harder routes here are hard to count.  Get out there and check it out! I do remember it being a bit confusing for the top couple pitches so be prepared with topos.  Descent is a walk off and scramble east through gullies.

Twin Owls is also one of the more popular areas that is closed to climbing until later in the season due to raptors.  This is also one of the closer areas to the parking area.  There are a few single pitch climbs here including Yosemite Crack and Cackle Crack both around 5.9.  Climbs on the actual formation include Central Chimney and Tiger’s Tooth.

These descriptions are obviously just scratching the surface.  Some things to note in the area…

Respect the raptor closures, pay the national park fee, and get there early because parking fills up fast.  If you cannot find a spot, there are buses from the visitor center downtown depending on the time of year.