This is a long, excellent, one-pitch hand crack which makes the preferred start to the classic Wolf's Tooth. It lies on the Lower Twin Owls, the large buttress which, suprisingly enough, lies directly below Twin Owls. In fact, when viewed from the parking lot it is difficult to distinguish them. "Conad's" is on the small west face of the Lower Owls, and is not visible from the parking lot.
Take the Gem [Lake] trail, but branch left after about 50 ft. on a marked approach trail that disintegrates all-too-quickly. Bushwhack and scramble up the steep hillside, aiming for the west face. The route is easily identified by a roof-capped inset, about 20 ft. high, out of which emerges the long, slightly left-leaning hand crack. Climb it (sustained 5.9) to a belay directly below the Wolf's Tooth Pinnacle on the Twin Owls.
Descend to the east and find a steep trail on the east side of Twin Owls, or better, continue with Wolf's Tooth (or another route).
Protection
Standard rack to a #4 Friend, with extra hand-sized pieces.
If you need to return to the base of the climb, you can scramble directly down the East Side of the Lower Owls, which is faster than going over to the approach trail; otherwise, the trail is far more pleasant. If you continue on Wolfs Tooth or any other Twin Owls route, you can descend on the west side of the Owls to get back to the base of Conads--the scrambling is very confusing and annoying, however. Take care not to get cliffed.
If you are intending to climb "Wolf's Tooth," but find another party in front of you, climb "Tiger Tooth," which is directly on the opposite side of the pillar. It is something like 9+ initially, but easier higher up, and still just as fun.
Certainly my favorite single pitch 9 at Lumpy so far. Excelent! Do a few laps if you're waiting for one of the teeth to open up. Thanks for the hand yesterday, David... sucks to forget the book. Glad you were there!
By Ernie Port From: Boulder, Colorado Sep 13, 2005 rating: 5.9+
This route was a struggle for me, as I'm more of a face climber than a hand crack climber. The middle third of this route was stout and the climbing physical and sustained. I would have to say this is one of the most demanding (9) pitches I've climbed anywhere. But the rock is excellent and the setting is superb.Gunna go back and do this one again and again...
Did this to approach Tiger's Tooth. This pitch is awesome! It is a great pitch to work on hand-size, it is fairly uniform in width except for the wide section. To me this was like Lumpy's version of Generic Crack in Donnely Canyon. Similar length, size, and difficulty. Highly recommended!!
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