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Routes in Sundance Buttress
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[Redacted] T 5.12a 7a+ 25 VIII+ 25 E5 6a |
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Adrenaline T 5.9 5c 17 VI 17 HVS 5a R |
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Banana Peels T 5.8 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c |
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Betwixt'em T 5.9 5c 17 VI 17 HVS 5a |
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Bonzo T 5.10c/d 6b+ 21 VII+ 21 E3 5b |
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Bushes T 5.8 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c |
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Cajun Capers T 5.7 5a 15 V+ 13 MVS 4b R |
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Chain of Command T,S 5.11a 6c 22 VII+ 22 E3 5c |
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Covert Action T 5.8 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c |
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Curve Grande T 5.7 5a 15 V+ 13 MVS 4b C1 |
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English Opening T 5.9 5c 17 VI 17 HVS 5a |
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Eumenides T 5.8 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c |
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Firebird 5.9 5c 17 VI 17 HVS 5a C2 |
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First Lady T 5.10 6b 20 VII- 19 E2 5b PG13 |
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Grapevine T 5.8+ 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c |
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Great Roof Bypass T 5.8+ 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c |
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Guillotine, The T 5.10c 6b 20 VII 20 E2 5b |
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Hemp Necktie T 5.11a 6c 22 VII+ 22 E3 5c |
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Hurley-Neri T 5.10 6b 20 VII- 19 E2 5b |
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Idiot Wind T 5.10b/c 6b 20 VII 20 E2 5b |
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Jet Stream T 5.10 6b 20 VII- 19 E2 5b R |
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Kor's Flake T 5.7+ 5a 15 V+ 13 MVS 4b |
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Last Gasp T 5.6 4c 14 V 12 S 4b |
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Laura Scudders T 5.10+ 6b+ 21 VII+ 20 E3 5b R |
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Mainliner T 5.9 5c 17 VI 17 HVS 5a |
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Mr. President T 5.10d 6b+ 21 VII+ 21 E3 5b |
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Nose, The T 5.10b 6a+ 19 VII- 19 E2 5b |
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Precipitation T 5.9 5c 17 VI 17 HVS 5a C2 |
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Progression T 5.10c 6b 20 VII 20 E2 5b |
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Scrotum Totem T 5.11a 6c 22 VII+ 22 E3 5c PG13 |
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Sidetrack T 5.9 5c 17 VI 17 HVS 5a |
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Slim Pickens T 5.10 6b 20 VII- 19 E2 5b |
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Turnkorner T 5.10b 6a+ 19 VII- 19 E2 5b |
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Turnkorner Direct T 5.10 6b 20 VII- 19 E2 5b R |
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Under the Big Top 5.9 5c 17 VI 17 HVS 5a |
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Under The Sundress T 5.11 6c+ 23 VIII- 23 E4 5c |
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Upside Down Race Car Kitty T 5.12- 7a+ 25 VIII+ 25 E5 6a PG13 |
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Whiteman T 5.11c 6c+ 24 VIII- 24 E4 6a |
| Type: | Trad, 700 ft (212 m), 5 pitches, Grade III |
| FA: | Michael Covington & Wayne Goss, 1972 |
| Page Views: | 43,267 total · 148/month |
| Shared By: | Mark Wyss on Dec 31, 2000 · Updates |
| Admins: | Leo Paik, John McNamee, Frances Fierst, Monty, Monomaniac, Tyler KC |
Access Issue: 2024 Partial Seasonal Raptor Closures lifted 7/21/24
Details
Upper & Lower Twin Owls, Rock One, The Book and access trail, Bookmark, and Left Book were opened based on a park new release.
Closures have been extended for Thunder Buttress, access trail, The Parish, Cathedral Wall.
Closures above the Loch Vale-Sky Pond trail have been extended.
Per Brent Frazier: the raptor closures have been lifted in the Lumpy Ridge and Loch Vale Areas ( nps.gov/romo/raptor-closure…)
Each year, Rocky Mountain National Park initiates temporary closures in certain areas of the park to ensure that birds of prey will be undisturbed during their breeding and nesting seasons. These closures begin on February 15 and continue through July 31, if appropriate. Monitoring by park staff and volunteers have determined that all remaining closures can be lifted on July 28, 2023.
Per Matt Coghill: the Golden eagle nesting activity has extended Lumpy closures through Aug. 15, 2022 on Sundance, Thunder Buttress, and Needle Summit!
Per A.Eaton: the raptor closures have been lifted as of 6/4/2022 at Lumpy for the following formations:
Twin Owls
Rock One
Batman Rock
Batman Pinnacle
Checkerboard
Lightning Rock
Per the Denver Post: as of Feb. 15, 2022, Checkerboard Rock, Lightning Rock, Batman Rock, Batman Pinnacle, Sundance, Thunder Buttress, The Parish, Bookmark Pinnacle, The Left Book, Bookmark, Twin Owls, Rock One, and the Needle are closed for raptor nesting. These closures will continue through July 31, 2022 if needed.
All areas [were] OPEN to climbing for the 2021 post July season.
Closures ending July 31:
Batman Rock, Batman Pinnacle, Lightning Rock, Checkerboard Rock - nps.gov/romo/planyourvisit/…
Sundance - nps.gov/romo/planyourvisit/…
The Book Area: Left Book, The Bookmark, Bookmark Pinnacle, and the entire Book formation (including Renaissance Wall, Isis Buttress, Pages Wall Area, and J-Crack Slab Area)- nps.gov/romo/planyourvisit/…
Thunder Buttress and The Parish - nps.gov/romo/planyourvisit/…
Twin Owls and Rock One - nps.gov/romo/planyourvisit/…
Cathedral Wall - nps.gov/romo/planyourvisit/…
When closed, the closures include the named rock formations and the areas surrounding the base of the formation. This includes all climbing routes, outcroppings, cliffs, faces, ascent and descent routes, and climber's access trails to the formation.
Areas not listed are presumed to be open. These closures will be lifted or extended as conditions dictate.
Access Issue: Sundance Buttress is seasonally closed for raptor nesting. Click for details.
Details
RMNP
6/12/15
K.Patterson 970-586-1363
Sundance Buttress Closure Added Other Closures Removed Or Continued
To Protect Nesting Raptors in RMNP
Each yr to protect raptor nesting sites, RMNP officials initiate temporary closures in the Lumpy Ridge & Sheep Mountain areas of the park. To enable wildlife managers to gather info and ensure that raptors can nest undisturbed, specific areas within the park are closed temporarily to public use during nesting season.
Due to raptor nesting activity, Sundance Buttress in the Lumpy Ridge area has been added to the closure areas. The following sites will remain temporarily closed until further notice - Alligator Rock, Twin Owls, Rock One, Sheep Mountain, & now Sundance Buttress. These closures include all climbing, approach and descent routes for the indicated formations on all sides of those formations.
The following closures have been lifted - Batman Rock, Batman Pinnacle, Checkerboard Rock, Lightning Rock, Thunder Buttress, No Name and Parish. The National Park Service is committed to preserving birds of prey. The same cliffs that attract raptors also appeal to climbers. The cooperation of climbing organizations and individuals is essential to the successful nesting of raptors in the park.
Kyle Patterson
Public Information Officer/Management Specialist
RMNP
(970) 586-1363 nps.gov/romo facebook.com/RockyNPS
Description
Hike uphill and west along the base of Sundance, past the huge roof band of Turnkorner to a large, fairly obtuse, but distinct enough right facing dihedral.
P1-The base contains a wide crack on the left and a finger size crack on the right which ends about 10 feet up. Between the two is a thin, flared crack. I recommend climbing the right crack to the top. Step left on a narrow ledge and place gear. Proceed upward using a combination of crack and face holds left of the dihedral and roof seen from the ground. Several more cracks and ledges lead to a stance at about 100 feet with a wide crack on the left which is the start of P2. Belay on the ledge with gear in a flake/crack system on the right. head up the dihedral, sometimes using the cracks and flakes to the left, and belay after 100 ft (5.8).
P2-more of the same out on the left, to a passable ledge. More specifically, follow a wide crack to where it peters out. Follow discontinuous cracks and face to a roof/overlap. Make an awkward move over the roof and continue up about 15 feet to a horizontal ledge with a splitter crack and the P3 stem moves about 40 above. Belay here.
P3-Head up into two shallow, opposing corners. Stem them (5.9), continue past a ledge and over a 5.9 bulge to another ledge below a large, right-facing corner. After the bulge, the crack slips into a left facing "corner" which really feels/looks like a big flake for the right-hand wall. Make an awkward move into the corner/v-slot. Continue about 15 feet to a giant ledge at the base of a large right facing corner.
P4-climb the corner at 5.8 and belay on a low angled area or continue up P6 to the top. Step left at the top of the corner and either belay or continue to the chimney/crack.
P5-climb a flared 5.6 chimney/ crack to the top. After P4 and the slabs, look for a 12-18 inch wide crack which is narrow in the back and accepts gear from .5 to 3 or bigger. Climb on the left side and inside the crack for about 60 feet. This crack/offwith/chimney is the most parallel sided feature above the slabs. If you linked P4 and P5 run the rope about 190 feet before looking right for a ledge system. You may want to summit at this point as this system is used as the walk-off. One does not actually summit the west side of the buttress to descend. If done as a separate pitch you may have enough rope to continue further but you still may want to stop at the ledge system to walk off.
Head east to the descent gully. More specifically, climbers should look for a relatively large ledge system which contours around the side of the buttress. It is not at the true summit but level with the east summit. Walk/scramble east looking for tracks of prior climbers. If you get lucky, as of 2021, there is a permanent anchor attached to a large dead tree. The tree sits about 40 ft below the ledge system. The slings pass through a large snap-link. Back this up with a #3 cam or two if you worry about the tree pulling out. Rap, with saddle bagged ropes, down a v-slot overgrown with vegetation. At about 30 meters you'll arrive at a slung horn with two carabiners. This is the second rap station. Rap from here down a clean face/slab to gain the descent trail. (There may be alternative raps but we did not find them in Sept 2021.)
Photos
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