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Errett climbing pitch 3 of J-Crack. The "headwall"...
Description
Probably the most travelled route at Lumpy Ridge, and one of the best finger cracks anywhere. The crack, a backwards J, is barely visible on the right side of the Book as you hike in. Follow the trail to the Book, bearing right at the end. The route starts in a broken corner system just right of the clean flakes that mark Pear Buttress and Loose Ends.
P1-climb the easy corner to a good ledge, right of the bottom of the "J". Alternatively, do the first pitch of Loose Ends and belay just below the standard ledge on that route.
P2-climb a short ways up a dihedral, then traverse left into the barely visible bottom of the J. Climb the crack to a belay on lower-angle rock below a steep headwall (5.9, long pitch). If you started on Loose Ends, then you'll traverse up right into the J past a piton and an old bolt. This is said to be 5.10 and scary.
P3-many alternatives: a) Climb straight up the crack through the headwall at 5.11, b) Climb up and traverse across a slab (5.9) to the crack system on the left, then follow that to a belay, c) Climb up to the headwall, place pro, and traverse right to a ledge, and follow that back left to a belay. The traverse can also be made lower on slightly better holds.
P4-from "a" or "c", head up right to a break in the overhang, and climb through it to easy ground (5.7). Alternatively, head up to the "cave" and chose an exit, Cheap Date being thematically the most compelling.
Protection
Standard rack with extra medium stoppers to sew it up; RPs if doing the 5.11.
One of the most superb and clean cracks I have done in my life! To avoid the 5.11c headwall I lead up and right from a stance and experienced an impressive run-out. Finished with the Cave Exit. Lots of fun!
Finally did the headwall yesterday and found it to be far more reasonable than I was expecting. Good fingerlocks on vertical climbing with poor feet. A bit sequential but not too bad, felt like .11a or b. Bigger finger sizes will probably find this to be significantly harder .11c or d. We also took the Loose J variation which has some short but excellent face moves to traverse into J-crack. The old quarter inch bolt protecting this traverse has been replaced in the last week with a brand new one. You do traverse 10-15' right of it, however the fall appears to be quite safe.
The headwall pitch is very reasonable and in my worthless opinion, not 11c. It is however, steep, rad, and the most direct and beautiful way to finish the J.
I climbed J-Crack yesterday with a guy that's been climbing since the 50's. He showed me an alternative finish to the 4th pitch. It is called the Hurley Traverse. Head up toward the cave. Then move right out onto the exposed face. Take it up to the finish. There is one awkward move in this section. I think he said it was 5.7+. Have fun.
Last Saturday I removed the last piton from the J crack. With two fingers; a Leeper Z, definite Hall of Flame material. By the way, if the .9 traverse unnerves you, do the headwall, even if it's too hard to free the gear is cheap and easy for casual yarding.
Just curious, how many RPs are needed for the 5.11 headwall?...to me it looks cooler than the 140 feet of 5.9. How long is the headwall section till the belay, too?
Nate: the headwall can be lead safely with no RPs. Bring a couple the first time you do it to keep your options open. I place a #3 Rock at the bottom (sometimes with a small TCU), then a #5 Rock a few feet higher, and then a #2 Rock at the crux (in a perfect slot just below the horizontal slash coming in from the left, and just above the pin scar tips jam). From there you can punch it to the belay (10 more feet), or drop in one more small/medium wire. Great gear the entire way if you have to aid it (though as with any 5.11 crack, it's hard to place the gear while free climbing). The headwall itself is only 20-25 feet, the middle 12 being the most difficult, and the last bit above the slash is hard with a pump. If you lead it from the traditional belay in the long 5.9 crack, the headwall is the last 25 feet of a 65-70 foot pitch. I've led the entire J-crack (with headwall) in one glorious pitch using a 205 foot 9 mm rope (it's a 60 meter rope that apparently got cut a little long), and I think my belayer was just beginning to climb as I latched onto the finishing jugs. I'd call it a 210 foot pitch (with a fat rope, the crux clip would be harder).
I think 11c is fair for the headwall variation on lead. It might feel easier on TR, but the pro (which is good) is strenuous to place and requires a bit of tinkering unless you know the exact nut size. Though short, it's similar in character (right leaning) and difficulty to the crux section on Max Factor (Vedauwoo), but thinner.
This is an 11c lead. Harder than Living Dead (11b). Comparable in difficulty to Max Factor (Vedauwoo, 11c).
If you are using 2 x 9mm ropes there is another good option for the third pitch that is both easier and safer than the rightwards traverse. From the belay in the crack climb up and place a piece in the crack and clip one rope, and then making a descending traverse LEFTWARDS to join an easier crack (pitch 3 of Visual Aids? 5.8). Using the second rope to protect this section, continue up this crack to belay above the J-Crack. Using two ropes both leader and second have great protection and the climbing is only about 5.8. I found this to be a great way to climb the J-Crack without too much excitment on pitch 3.
Great climb! Getting into the bottom of J-crack is not as bad as I expected, the feet are really good. As for the crack-it is awesome. I chose to aid the headwall which was actually really cool. This was my first "planned" aiding experience and I thought is was very reasonable; the aid section is only about 20 feet. I used nothing smaller than a #4bd stopper. My second freed most of it. Enjoy!!
What a gem! The highlight for me was the rising traverse, right exit...staying calm as feet slowly oozed off each friction placement and forcing the mind to forget about the last gear 30' away. The Cave is icing on the cake.
The traverse to the left to avoid the headwall definitely has some excitement. My partner led the previous pitch and stopped at a pod about 20 feet below the traverse. I climbed up to the next pod, put in some gear, and then climbed down a couple of feet and proceeded with the traverse. The hardest part is "close" to the gear. If you fall off, you're going for a ride, but having gear a bit higher definitely helps.
I went from Loose Ends to J-Crack today. I didn't see the pin or the bolt and was looking at a 60 feet factor two fall past the belay. Scary! After that, the 5.11c crux didn't feel bad even in the rain. Finished on Cheap Date for a classic linkup.
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