Type: | Trad, 800 ft (242 m), 6 pitches, Grade III |
FA: | Layton Kor and Chuck Alexander, 1950s |
Page Views: | 90,958 total · 310/month |
Shared By: | Charles Vernon on Dec 31, 2000 |
Admins: | Leo Paik, John McNamee, Frances Fierst, Monty, Monomaniac, Tyler KC |
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.
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
A 5.7 route of this length and consistent quality is rare. Kor's Flake is hard, sustained, and exposed for the grade.
Hike up west past the large overhang of Turnkorner Buttress to a point shortly beyond the deep chimney separating it from the Guillotine Wall. Scramble up onto an outcrop below a deep, narrow chimney with some loose rock and a large chockstone about 30 feet up.
P1 - squeeze up the chimney, go right under the chockstone, and emerge to climb moderate rock for about 50 feet to a belay ledge. The namesake flake, a massive, left-angling 150 foot high exfoliation forming a long, right-facing, left-leaning corner, is visible up on the left.
P2 - climb the corner above the belay to gain the namesake flake, and go up it about 30 feet to an awkward belay (5.7).
P3 - finish off the flake, which turns into a wide crack/chimney, go over a small roof, and belay on a slab, about 150 feet.
2017 Edit: there are two ways to climb this pitch, both of which I've done on lead. If you stay out of the crack, it's 5.8 R (possibly R/X) stemming with *occasional* gear in incipient cracks. If you squeeze into the crack, it's a tight grunt but much more secure. Either way, bringing gear larger than a #4 Camalot is up to your discretion based on your honest assessment of your abilities on chimneys and/or 5.8 R face climbing. (Sorry if I sandbagged anyone pre-2017. When I first climbed this around 1999 or 2000, there was no mountainproject, the existing guidebooks did not recommend anything larger than 4", and I think it was probably rare to bring bigger gear on the route, but I could be wrong.)
P4 - climb up and left into a right-facing corner, but traverse left out of it after about 20 feet. Climb a continuous hand and finger crack to a good belay below a dihedral/roof (5.7, 130 feet).
P5 - climb around the overhang to the left (5.7), and stretch the rope out to easier ground. Finish up and right to find the descent gully.
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