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| Type: | Trad, 3 pitches |
| FA: | Carl Harrison |
| Page Views: | 780 total · 3/month |
| Shared By: | Kurt Johnson on Dec 21, 2001 |
| Admins: | Leo Paik, John McNamee, Frances Fierst, Monty, Monomaniac, Tyler KC |
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Access Issue: 2024 Partial Seasonal Raptor Closures lifted 7/21/24
Details
From the Denver Post 7/21/24: some of the raptor closures have been lifted, officials announced.
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.
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.
Description
Brown-Haired Lady is one of the least-climbed routes on Lumpy but definitely one of the most unique; you won't find another pitch like its 3rd anywhere on the Ridge.
P1. Start at the low point of the rock, more or less in the center underneath a prominent, left-facing dihedral. I've gone straight up the short but steep, chimney-ish start just left of the roof band, as well as traversing to the right to avoid this feature (easier), but either way you're aiming for the dihedral. Follow this to its end and continue up to the ledge with the big tree. 5.6.
P2. Head up the face for about 20 feet, then into the obvious crack to the left which you follow to the huge belay ledge. 5.6.
P3. From the ledge, it's impossible to see more than the first 20 feet of climbing, and the first time I did it I had no idea what I was getting myself into. The guidebook says nothing about a runout, so I figured there'd be plentiful protection options. In fact, while we were heading out of the parking lot we ran into local climbing guru Topher Donahue. "Have you ever climbed it?" I asked. "No," he said, "but I hear it's runout." "Must've heard wrong," I thought, "the guidebook doesn't say anything about it...." After the vertical start (decent pro), the fin becomes so narrow that you can practically straddle it (which you may feel like doing if you start getting sketched) with no protection for at least 30 feet. The climbing's not hard (5.7) but it's pretty much all friction, so there's really nothing to grab if you start to lose your balance, and a fall would send you (or your partner) to a low-angled slab on either side of the fin - like taking a ground fall except that you're on the 3rd pitch. Where the fin meets the wall above there's a short crack that you can get a cam into (which my partner Carl unwittingly bypassed, running it out even more) as well plenty of additional placements higher up. After climbing up various cracks and grooves, you'll end up either at the top, or close enough to walk off.
P1. Start at the low point of the rock, more or less in the center underneath a prominent, left-facing dihedral. I've gone straight up the short but steep, chimney-ish start just left of the roof band, as well as traversing to the right to avoid this feature (easier), but either way you're aiming for the dihedral. Follow this to its end and continue up to the ledge with the big tree. 5.6.
P2. Head up the face for about 20 feet, then into the obvious crack to the left which you follow to the huge belay ledge. 5.6.
P3. From the ledge, it's impossible to see more than the first 20 feet of climbing, and the first time I did it I had no idea what I was getting myself into. The guidebook says nothing about a runout, so I figured there'd be plentiful protection options. In fact, while we were heading out of the parking lot we ran into local climbing guru Topher Donahue. "Have you ever climbed it?" I asked. "No," he said, "but I hear it's runout." "Must've heard wrong," I thought, "the guidebook doesn't say anything about it...." After the vertical start (decent pro), the fin becomes so narrow that you can practically straddle it (which you may feel like doing if you start getting sketched) with no protection for at least 30 feet. The climbing's not hard (5.7) but it's pretty much all friction, so there's really nothing to grab if you start to lose your balance, and a fall would send you (or your partner) to a low-angled slab on either side of the fin - like taking a ground fall except that you're on the 3rd pitch. Where the fin meets the wall above there's a short crack that you can get a cam into (which my partner Carl unwittingly bypassed, running it out even more) as well plenty of additional placements higher up. After climbing up various cracks and grooves, you'll end up either at the top, or close enough to walk off.
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