The Bookend Rock Climbing

The Bookend, about 400 feet high, is the last cliff of the Book group, lying just to the west of the Book and the Bookmark (as seen from the Black Canyon trail). It has quite a variety of climbing, including the unique Orange Julius (5.10a); perhaps Lumpy's best slab route in Climb of Ancient Mariner (5.10a); and several long chimney routes on its south face.

The cliff is divided by a chimney known as the great dihedral; this lies on its eastern aspect, just right of the prow dividing the S and E faces. The chimney is very narrow at the bottom, and then opens up, reavealing a smooth wall inside with an obvious wide crack (Hot Licks). To the right is the long narrow slab of Ancient Mariner; to the left lies Orange Julius, which weaves a devious line up the aforementioned SE prow and is further identified by a large triangular roof near its bottom. The South face has three or four long chimney lines while the west face is fairly uninteresting and has one or two routes. The odd new-age bolted face route and 5.12ish crack test-piece can be found here and there throughout the cliff. The Bookend has some definite 3-star routes, though not nearly as many as the Book, and it is always less crowded.

Descent: quite uncomplicated for Lumpy Ridge: head NE from the summit, go down a short, easy gully/chimney, and then walk/bushwhack around down to the base of the cliff.