Lumpy Ridge Rock Climbing

I hesitate to write about Lumpy, I grew up spending my summers in Estes Park and started my climbing career 7 years ago at Lumpy. Since then, I have seen it grow immensely in popularity and is headed the way of Eldo (i.e. crowded as hell); however, this growth is mainly from the weekend warriors, on the weekday climbing is more reasonable.

Lumpy is awesome, the climbs are moderately long, two to five pitches on average, and take place in a spectacular setting with views of Longs and RMNP. The climbs are spread out on a number of unique formations, the most popular being The Book. Sundance, far at the end of the ridge, is the tallest cliff at 700-800' and has awesome classic climbing with a long approach that deters the lazier climbers.

The climbing at Lumpy is interesting. I have always felt it to be quite stiff. Pushing the grades here in the 5.10 and 5.11 range often requires fiddling with tricky pro on less than vertical flared cracks while fighting a heinous calf pump. The pitches tend to be full length and take place on highly technical granite that requires solid footwork. There aren't too many beginner climbs here, Lumpy climbing is concentrated in the 5.9-5.11 range. That said there are a few classic outings in the 5.5-5.8 range. These include:

Magical Chrome Plated Semi-Automatic Enema Syringe (5.7, this is a good, although not classic climb), Batman and Robin (5.6, great beginner climb or first lead), White Whale and Hiatus (5.7, totally classic), Kor's Flake (5.8, longer route), Osiris (5.8, you will either love or hate this "wider" climb), Melvin's Wheel (.8+, great climb), Pear Buttress (.8+, best 5.8 on the Ridge), Cackle Crack (5.8, short).

Climbing in the 5.9-5.10 range opens up tons of classics, these are a very few. J-Crack (.9, spicy with a runout 5.8 traverse, time tested classic), Loose Ends (.9 awesome), George's Tree (.9, very typical Lumpy climbing), Mainliner (.9-, DO THIS CLIMB), Orange Julius (.10a, varied climbing), Climb of the Ancient Mariner (.10a classic face), Fat City (.10+ famous classic, a sandbag), Cheap Date (.10a) and Outlander (.10+), great finish to routes like Pear Buttress and J-Crack ), Gollum's Arch (.10a, sandbagged and sustained with many different sizes on it). In the 5.11 range, almost every route is good, yet many are tricky to protect as they are thin seams and faint features. Stretch Marks (.11a, a little scary), Living Dead (.11b, very finicky protection), Backbone Arete (.11c, a well bolted yet very hard slab), Finger Lickin' Good (.11a), Corner Pump Station (.11c). I haven't done these two, yet they, obviously belong on this list.

For those with minimal time to spare, Little Twin Owls has good toproping with a classic Finger Crack (.11) that should not be missed. There is good bouldering just before Little Twin Owls, and just after the turnoff for The Book. Two good routes for the solid .10 trad leader are on Checkerboard Rock, a fifteen minute approach. These climbs are Ziggy's Day Out (.10+) and Checkerboard Crack (.10b), both these routes are short and require a lot of skill at placing pro. Checkerboard Crack is classic Lumpy climbing, flared, insecure, sustained, and very hard to protect.