Strawberry Short Cake 

I agree, the crux is solid 5.10 with bad finger locks and strenuous stemming (keep your eyes open for hidden holds). The initial moves are protected by a great stopper, but placing gear in the business is tricky.

Holy sandbag Batman! Felt harder than Outlander, Toot, or Howling at the Wind.

This should be called "The Worlds Hardest 10!" I found it hard to get any good pro over the initial roof in the flaring crack, before you start up the business, and trying to get some can really wear you down on this one.

I went to lead this one at the end of a day of climbing and thinking 10c. This shouldn't be too bad, a good warm down route. I got my ass handed to me! \;o)

Something must have gotten lost in the translation between George & Earl, and the guide book author because, I'm sorry!, the only way I could see someone saying this route is 10c is if they hang dogged it! Which by the way is not the same as "free climbing" it. This is not a shot at George & Earl both of whom I personally have known in the past and have climbed with and most know are/were very outstanding climbers. It's more of a comment for future commentors for this website. Where I have personally seen folks hangdog on a route and then not have enough self confidence/balls to contradict a stated rating and say what they really think the route should be rated.

Kudo's to Brian Adzima for his honest comments!

With three other people climbing on this as well, the day I did it, and having the same experience I did on this route I know it wasn't just my bad climbing. Lumpy needs to come down off of its high horse and back to reality on some of its ratings. It is kind of like the opposite of Bolter Canyon. I have run across lots of sandbags in the guidebooks for this crag.

Lumpy needs to come down off its high horse? This pitch may be a little hard for the grade, but your reaction seems a bit over the top. It sounds like your ego got bruised by your performance on the 5.10 warm-down. Welcome to Lumpy, would you like one lump or two?
Oh, and Corner Pump is 11c. In the hard 5.11 range, definitely one of the easier ones on the Ridge.

Thats because I'm an over the top Guy. Yes I got Lumped.. And my ego was badly bruised. But even with my "bruised ego" I can say I've been Lumped more than twice at Lumpy. That's why I am making statements about the Lumpy ratings. They are very contradictory & frankly just plain inaccurate at times. Ratings are subjective and need unprejudiced, honest consensus to have some validity. Otherwise they are pretty worthless.
Folks, inherently, are reluctant to contradict established or stated ratings because it opens them up for jabs like this which hurt the ego. "Oh Ouch!"

Here's an over the top response..
Thanks for your comments Jason. They, like your "previously tagged" and I'm sure unbiased rating for this route in the description that you wrote, exemplify why this rating system perpetuates. At least you admit this route is hard for the grade however some of your comments are a bit of a contradiction which, like the Lumpy rating system, makes them almost worthless.

You wrote:
"Oh, and Corner Pump is 11c. In the hard 5.11 range, definitely one of the easier ones on the Ridge."
In response to my comments to the Corner Pump route description, that I think Corner Pump is harder than 11c.

It hurts to hear you say that Jason, but I guess, if you say it's 11c it must be..

So which is it, Stud, hard eleven or easy?

Maybe I understand. Hard eleven, which means 11+ too most folks .... But easy, for a Lumpy, hard eleven...

LOL ;o)

Sorry I'm breaking the rules of the website & being a Jerk on purpose. I am just jabbin' you Jason, don't take this response to seriously.. I'm just a young man living in an old man's body thinking 5.11s should feel easy. It all comes down to opinions. And you know what they say "everybody has those."

Cheers Bro!! \;o)

Jab on Bob, but know this: I'm not your brother and I'm not a "stud", but Wiggins certainly was a stud and Hurley definitely IS a stud. So for you to suggest that they must have hangdogged this pitch in '77 because YOU got spanked by it in '08 is ridiculously arrogant, in an over the top kind of way. Talk about a high horse, you should try packing some humility in those saddlebags. I know, I know, you were ridin' high after your 11c redpoint only to get stomped by 10c later on, but man, take some responsibility for your failed send. Maybe you were just tired, maybe it was your less-than-aggressive warm-down mindset, maybe it just didn't suit you, or maybe you missed something. Nope, can't be. It's got to be that everyone who thinks this is 5.10 must have hangdogged the crap out of it. I'll give you 10+ Bob, but you're high if you think this is 5.11.
And yes , you interpreted my Corner Pump comment perfectly: for a hard 5.11 (11c and 11d in my book), it is on the easy (11c) side. The best comparisons I can think of are Between The Sheets and Whiteman, both 11c and both harder than Corner Pump to me. That doesn't mean they're 11d, it means they're harder for me. But I suppose they're just high-hattin' Lumpy Ridge sandbags to you.
And stop fine-tuning your comments, Bob, it makes it harder to respond accurately.
Cheers and don't take this too seriously. Seriously.

Sorry about the fine tuning Jason. I figured you would be doing what I should be doing. Working instead of spraying about routes on this web site. I'm just trying to get off my high horse and write what I really mean.

I can see how what I wrote could be interpreted to imply that George & Earl hangdogged this route. But that was not at all what I was implying and if you read closer you will see I explicitly stated it was not a shot at them. That was directed at what I have seen from other folks in action on routes & then their comments on this web site. It was poorly written and part of the reason for my fine tuning of a write up.

Thanks for the dose of humility and making me look at this in retrospect Jason. Perhaps you're right, I do have the rating wrong on this but the sandbag opinion for this one wasn't just my opinion. And its not just my opinion that there are many Lumpy Sandbags. Time will tell on these routes from future commentators. It would help if people would be honest & say what they really think instead of being swayed by previously stated ratings & comments.

Your comment about Corner Pump being 11c, may not have been intended as one but it came across as a bit of a put down to me. I think you are a Stud if you think that is 11c. I flashed Between the Sheets, onsite by the skin of my teeth, but I couldn't get Corner Pump clean even after having been on it last fall. So ratings are subjective. And maybe I need to tone down some of my web spray.

Cheers Stud!

Ratings ARE subjective. I am NOT a stud. I didn't mean to put you down. Group hug?

Thanks for your level headed response Jason, I know my comments could have made some folks really fire off back and I fully expected that. Your level comments show good character. I think we misunderstood where each was coming from. Maybe we can get high and I can try this route again & down grade it. \;o) I'm not really used to being given a hard time for overating a route...

I know, your NOT my Brother either.. But I consider most climbers Brothers. So Cheers Bro...

Anyway you want to put it, this route is a sandbag. Compare it to any 10c in Eldo, Yosemite or wherever you want, and it is just plain harder. 11- in my opinion. And Jason, just so you know, Bob Rotert was putting up hard, bold trad lines and pushing the limits of climbing since probably before you were even born (or at least in diapers), so have a little respect.

Any way you want to put it, your opinion is still just an opinion Mark, and it's just as valid / useless as the rest of ours. Thanks for chiming in.

I, in no way, disrespected Bob. He seems like a nice fella.

Not that it matters what sort of underpants I was wearing when Bob started putting up bold, trad routes, but how old are you blindly assuming I am? Unless HE was still wearing diapers while sending 5.11 X, I'm guessing you're way off.

For the record. "I was wearing diapers, DependsŪ actually, when I was sending 5.11 X."
LOL \;o)

I recommend them for anybody cimbing 5.11 X


Thanks for the banter Jason. I hope to run into you at the crags sometime and maybe we can get some pitches in. Cheers!

Good point Bob. Except for their bulkiness, diapers are a good option for the dicey pitches.
Shoot me an e-mail if you're ever looking for a partner for Lumpy or the high peaks. I tend to hide up here in the summer months and save the Boulder area cragging for the colder times of the year.
Happy climbing.