PRINT: Rock Climb Isis, Lumpy Ridge

Isis

5.10a, Trad, Grade II,

Avg: 2.1 from 14 votes
FA: FA: Hickman, Anderson, Bryant 1969 FFA: Unknown FFA (Hand fi
Colorado > Estes Park Valley > Lumpy Ridge > Book > Isis Buttress

Access Issue: Closure Notice Details

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Access Issue: 2023 Seasonal Raptor Closures lifted 7/28/23 Details

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.

Description

Climbs the impressive dihedral and roof system to the left of 'Book of the Dead Chimney.' Looks much harder than the grade, but looks can be deceiving. Both of the cruxes felt no harder than 10b.

P1: Start on the right side of the face below the massive dihedral and roofs above. Work up and left on easy terrain until following cracks inside the big right facing dihedral. Continue and hand jam over the first small roof and belay before the bigger roof (8).

P2: Climb the first strenuous roof and wiggle up to easier terrain above, but don't head towards the original finish, instead jam the steep hand crack on the left wall up to the arete! Belay right here, peeking over to watch your second battle.

Climb directly left and down to 1st and 2nd tree or 3rd tree.

Rap 100ft from 2nd tree, or about 80ft from 3rd along the route Pharoah's Child.

Protection

Standard rack including RPs.

Photos [Hide ALL Photos]

Excellent hand crack finish.

A view up from the base of the route. The route climbs the impressive dihedral system.

A tat nest at the rappel tree. Notice the white piece of tat used to be green.

From the top of the second pitch, traverse left (exposed low 5th) to the rappel tree.

Making the crux on the P1.

The rappel tree.

Joseffa Meir figures out how to avoid the wide section of jamming on 'Isis (10a)' at Lumpy Ridge. Photo by Tony Bubb, 2005.

Tony Bubb getting twisted on the last few feet of the steep pitch of 'Isis (10a)' at Lumpy Ridge. Photo by Joseffa Meir, 2005.

Isis is the bright orange dihedral in the bottom right of the image.

Joseffa Meir follows up the combined P1/P2 of 'Isis (10a)' at Lumpy Ridge. The crack here is about to get wide and funky. Photo by Tony Bubb, 2005.

Photo by Luke Clarke.<br>
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Starting the steep exit crack (10a?). The original route angled right from below here on low-angle easy grooves.<br>
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The crack protects with nuts and finger-sized cams. I used a medium nut and two red Aliens.<br>
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The moves are a mix of laybacks, finger jams, and buckets with a couple of decent footholds. Small hands might find some hand jams.

Photo by Luke Clarke. Starting the steep exit crack (10a?). The original route angled right from below here on low-angle easy grooves. The crack protects with nuts and finger-sized cams. I us…

Photo by Luke Clarke.<br>
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In the middle of the crux. Awkward hand jamming followed by a long reach to a wide jam and then stem out left.<br>
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The exit crack is visible in the orange rock directly above the rightmost of the two bushes.

Photo by Luke Clarke. In the middle of the crux. Awkward hand jamming followed by a long reach to a wide jam and then stem out left. The exit crack is visible in the orange rock directly abov…

Comments [Hide ALL Comments]

Nikos

Well, I guess some stars have to be taken out of this one. There are bird droppings on every sloper on the first pitch. I guess it is because it's not visited often. Anyway, just to let you know.... Aug 13, 2002

Ivan Rezucha
Fort Collins, CO

5.10b

Good route, but not as good as it looks. What seems to be a 20 foot roof at the top of the big dihedral is just a few awkward and difficult well-protected moves to get stemmed out left. After that it's a minor grovel, right side in, left leg stemming. The final crack is gorgeous--good to be back to normal climbing--but short. More of a finger crack/layback than a hand crack.

Jesse, in his original posting of this route, rates the climb 10a, but says "no move over 10b". Gillett says 10b for the first crux and 10a for the final crack. Doesn't much matter since the pro is good and cruxes are short.

No bird shit as of today. Jul 11, 2004

Tony B
Around Boulder, CO

5.10b

You know, I was a little disappointed. The first pitch was "blah" 5.8. The second pitch opened with an awkward sequence with some bad rock, and I broke off the footholds on which I was stemming. I had I nice time on the last 40', but that's 40' out of 200'. Surely nothing to write home about. Jun 27, 2005

Joseffa Meir
Boulder, CO

5.10a

There is a fixed stopper at the roof move which was quite nice to have. Overall, a neat pitch with some interesting moves. Jul 5, 2005

Ross Swanson
Pinewood Springs

With a 70m rope I lead from ground to 15' above roof/headwall, with very little rope drag, a much nicer pitch. Above the 5.0 section, my partner Trevor found really nice hand cracks on an arete going in the 5.7 range that made it a great outing. Jul 26, 2006

Scott Matz
Loveland, CO

Very windy today so we stuck low, managed to cruise up the first pitch to the slinged horn. The overhang near the end of P1 could go at low 9, but I give the first pitch an 8-. Feb 2, 2009

tooTALLtim
Vanlife

Sling horn, where were you?

Also, the overlap of P1 is 5.8.

I'm going to try to clean up P1 next time I go back. It would be a great climb without the grunge of P1. Jun 1, 2010