Lumpy Ridge CLIMBING
The Book
Dates: see main page for all days I've climbed at Lumpy RidgePartners: see main page for all people I have climbed with at Lumpy RidgeTrip Report #s: see main page for all trip report numbers corresponding to reports for Lumpy Ridge
13 Trip Reports
(routes organized west to east, i.e. left to right)
THE BOOK:
Isis (5.10b, 2p)
Osiris (5.7, 5p)
George's Tree (5.9, 5p)
Fat City (5.10c, 4p)
Pear Buttress (5.8+, 4p)
Link up: Thindependence + Visual Aids + Loose Ends + Cheap Date + Outlander (5.10c, 1p + 5.10b, 2p + 5.4, 1p + 5.10b, 1p + 5.10c, 1p)
Link up: Loose Ends + Cheap Date + Outlander (5.9, 4p + 5.10b, 1p + 5.10c, 1p)
Link up: J-Crack  + Cheap Date + Outlander (5.9 C1 or 5.11c, 4p + 5.10b, 1p + 5.10c, 1p)
J-Crack (5.9 C1 or 5.11c, 4p)
Link up: The Cavity + J-Crack + Outlander (5.10a, 1p + 5.9 C1 or 5.11c, 3p + 5.10c, 2p)
Femp (w/ The Cavity start and Hemp finish) (5.10b, 3p)
Endless Crack (5.9+, 4p)
Cragging at The Book (5.8-11d, 20 pitches)
This page is trip reports for The Book at Lumpy Ridge. Go to Lumpy Ridge main page to access trip reports on other formations at Lumpy Ridge.
Table of Contents for this page
(routes organized west to east, i.e. left to right)
The Book
Isis (5.10b, 2p)
THE BOOK- Date: October 30, 2022 (Sun) Â Â Â Partner: Nate Arganbright
This two-pitch route climbs the impressive dihedral and roof system on the east side of Isis Buttress. The climbing on the second pitch is usually steep for Lumpy Ridge. If this route had bolted anchors (to make it less of a hassle to get off) and saw a bit more traffic to clean it up a bit, it would be just as good as any of the other classic pitches on The Book.
Approach:Â
~1 hour on trail from parking lot to base of The Book.(other trip reports for The Book may have more photos of the approach, but it is quite straightfoward)
Pitch 1:Â
5.8. Climb cracks up the slab that forms the east side of the huge dihedral on the left side of Isis Buttress. The gear is a bit tricky at times but generally good. Shortly after a roof, set a belay. This is a long pitch.Descent:
Traverse left to a tree (stay roped up, it is exposed low 5th) and rappel Pharaoh's Child back to the base of The Book with a single rope. This descent differs from the routes that top out.Osiris (5.7, 5p)
THE BOOK- Date: October 23, 2021 (Sat) Â Â Partner: Nate Arganbright
This route is one of the moderate classic routes at Lumpy Ridge. We had planned to climb Pear Buttress (another classic) but there was already a party on route and another party headed towards the base. There were no parties on Osiris (for once!) so we decided to climb that. A very enjoyable route all the way to the top of The Book. (We ended up doing a direct finish so missed out on the standard Pitch 4 of Osiris, but the direct finish had a really nice hand/finger crack on it, and was mostly 5.7 climbing.)
Approach:Â
~1 hour on trail from parking lot to base of The Book.(other trip reports for The Book may have more photos of the approach, but it is quite straightfoward)
Pitch 1:Â
5.6. Climb the obvious chimney in a left-facing dihedral. Belay on a good ledge, or continue up to link with Pitch 2 in a rope-stretching lead.Pitch 3:Â
5.7. Climb up a prominent right-facing corner (or cracks just to its right), then move right towards two parallel cracks in the headwall above. These cracks are the crux of the route. Belay on the large ledge (Fang Ledge) above.Pitch 4:Â
5.7. Several options for this pitch. The standard route starts at the top of the Fang (the pillar resting on Fang Ledge) and climbs a crack upwards. We climbed straight up from the belay at the top of Pitch 3 up a wall with several flaring wide crack/grooves, which was a bit vegetated but had some good climbing and worked as well. The belay met up with the final belay of the George's Tree route.Pitch 5:Â
5.easy or 5.7. A short pitch finishes the climb. Our direct finish was actually the last pitch (5.7) of George's Tree, while the final pitch for the standard left finish to the route is easier.Descent:Â
To descend, scramble east from the summit and follow a climbers path (3rd/4th) down and around to the base.(other trip reports for The Book may have more photos of the descent)
George's Tree (5.9, 5p)
THE BOOK- Date: July 12, 2018 (Thu) Â Â Â Partner: George Foster
An adventurous route following flared cracks all the way to the top. Gear is plentiful and climbing is sustained at 5.9.
Pitch 1:Â
5.9. Flared finger and hand crack with a dead tree 20 feet up.Descent:Â
To descend, scramble east from the summit and follow a climbers path (3rd/4th) down and around to the base.(other trip reports for The Book may have more photos of the descent)
Fat City (5.10c, 4p)
THE BOOK- Date: November 10, 2019 (Sun)Â Â Â Partner: Nate Arganbright
The classic 5.10 at the book that tackles the arching roof at its center.Â
Nate and I climbed this as the second of an awesome two-route day at Lumpy—the first route of the day had been Romulan Territory.
Approach:Â
~1 hour on trail from parking lot to base of The Book.(other trip reports for The Book may have more photos of the approach, but it is quite straightfoward)
Pitch 2:Â
5.10c. The crux pitch that has a bit of everything. Delicate moves up a thin crack, an exciting hand traverse, a squeeze up a slot, and pulling over a roof. Awesome!(we linked P1+P2)Descent:Â
To descend, scramble east from the summit and follow a climbers path (3rd/4th) down and around to the base.(other trip reports for The Book may have more photos of the descent)
Pear Buttress (5.8+, 4p)
THE BOOK- Date: November 6, 2021 (Sat) Â Â Partner: Nate Arganbright
- Date: January 28, 2024 (Sun) Â Â Partner: Nate Arganbright
November 2021: Finally got around to climbing of Lumpy Ridge's finest (and most popular) routes. We had the entire Book to ourselves. Fall is the best time to climb at Lumpy.
January 2024: A sunny winter day at Lumpy. We had the entire Book to ourselves so we decided to climb the most popular route there.
Approach:Â
~1 hour on trail from parking lot to base of The Book.(other trip reports for The Book may have more photos of the approach, but it is quite straightfoward)
Pitch 3:Â
5.8. Tackle the beautiful one-inch crack above which widens to perfect hands. Upon reaching a roof, undercling right (5.7) to a spacious belay ledge. A nicer (and a bit harder at 5.9-) option switches right at an overlap and finishes with a bulge at the tail end of Loose Ends' third pitch.Descent:Â
To descend, scramble east from the summit and follow a climbers path (3rd/4th) down and around to the base.(other trip reports for The Book may have more photos of the descent)
Link-up: Thindependence + Visual Aids + Loose Ends + Cheap Date + Outlander (5.10c, 1p + 5.10b, 2p + 5.4, 1p + 5.10b, 1p + 5.10c, 1p)
THE BOOK- Date: September 20, 2022 (Tue) Â Â Â Partner: Erika Bannon
An excellent 5- or 6-pitch link-up to the top. Every pitch on this route is superb. The Thindependence pitch is one of the harder 10c pitches I've climbed. It was the last day of summer, with a forecast for warm sunny weather. Erika and I both managed to get the day off work, and had a blast climbing this linkup. We had the entire sea of granite to ourselves.
Descent:Â
To descend, scramble east from the summit and follow a climbers path (3rd/4th) down and around to the base.(other trip reports for The Book may have more photos of the descent)
Link-up: Loose Ends + Cheap Date + Outlander (5.9, 4p + 5.10b, 1p + 5.10c, 1p)
THE BOOK- Date: July 11, 2018 (Wed)Â Â Â Â Partner: George Foster
An excellent 6-pitch link-up to the top involving lots of cracks.
Approach:
~1 hour on trail from parking lot to base of The Book.(other trip reports for The Book may have more photos of the approach, but it is quite straightfoward)
Pitch 4:Â
LOOSE ENDS. 5.easy. Easy climbing to the Cave.Pitch 5:Â
CHEAP DATE. 5.10b. Left leaning finger-crack with slabby feet.Descent:Â
To descend, scramble east from the summit and follow a climbers path (3rd/4th) down and around to the base.(other trip reports for The Book may have more photos of the descent)
Link-up: J-Crack + Cheap Date + Outlander (5.9 C1 or 5.11c, 4p + 5.10b, 1p + 5.10c, 1p)
THE BOOK- Date: July 20, 2024 (Sat)Â Â Â Â Partner: Nate Arganbright
J-Crack is one of Lumpy's most popular climbs, whose second pitch climbs an awesome 200-foot finger and hand crack in the shape of a backwards J. I had first climbed J-Crack in July 2018, on my fourth ever day climbing at Lumpy. An excellent 6-pitch link-up to the top of the Book is to climb J-Crack, and tack on two extra 5.10 pitches by finishing with Cheap Date and Outlander. Every pitch on this route is superb. Nate and I enjoyed a Saturday on this climb, in the midst of a July monsoon season where Lumpy was a better choice than alpine. Plus the Book had just opened after being closed for bird closures. This was my 73rd day of climbing at Lumpy.
Pitch 3:Â
J-CRACK. 5.11c (or 5.9 C1 or 5.10a or 5.9). Above the pod, the crack steepens. Here there are 3 options:(1) Climb straight up, 11c or 5.9 C1 on good gear.(2) Set a piece in the crack, downclimb a bit, and face climb right (10a) into an easy groove which you can climb to the top of the crack(3) Face climb left (5.9) to the crack of Visual Aids.We went straight up (Option 1, 5.11c).J-Crack (5.9 C1 or 5.11c, 4p)
THE BOOK- Date: July 22, 2018 (Sun) Â Â Â Partner: Dow Williams
One of Lumpy's most popular climbs, whose second pitch climbs an awesome 200-foot finger and hand crack in the shape of a backwards J.
Approach:Â
~1 hour on trail from parking lot to base of The Book.(other trip reports for The Book may have more photos of the approach, but it is quite straightfoward)
Pitches 2&3:Â
(guidebook lists this as 2 pitches)5.9 C1 (or 5.11c or 5.10a or 5.9). Traverse left into the J, and climb up the awesome finger and hand crack (5.9). For the last 20-30 feet, the crack steepens. Here there are 3 options:(1) Climb straight up, 11c or 5.9 C1 on good gear.(2) Set a piece in the crack, downclimb a bit, and face climb right (10a) into an easy groove which you can climb to the top of the crack(3) Face climb left (5.9) to the crack of Visual Aids.We went straight up (Option 1, 5.9 C1). The guidebook lists this as two pitches. Done as a single pitch, it is an amazing 215 foot lead and avoids a hanging belay.Pitch 4:Â
5.7 to 5.10c. Here you have options as well:(1) Climb up and right to a break in the overhang and climb through to easy ground (5.7).(2) Climb up and left to the Cave (5.easy). Exit the Cave in some way:    (a) Hurley Traverse (5.7 or 5.9) which hand traverses rightward out of the cave.    (b) The Cave Exit (5.8) which climbs straight and exits via weird stems and twists.    (c) Continue left onto Cheap Date (10b) + Outlander (10c) for a nice linkup.We chose the Hurley Traverse option, which was a fun choice.Descent:Â
To descend, scramble east from the summit and follow a climbers path (3rd/4th) down and around to the base.(other trip reports for The Book may have more photos of the descent)
Link-up: The Cavity + J-Crack + Outlander (5.10a, 1p + 5.9 C1 or 5.11c, 2-3p + 5.10c, 2p)
THE BOOK- Date: September 28, 2022 (Wed) Â Â Â Partner: Erika Bannon
J-Crack is one of Lumpy's most popular climbs, whose second pitch climbs an awesome 200-foot finger and hand crack in the shape of a backwards J. I had first climbed J-Crack in July 2018, on my fourth ever day climbing at Lumpy. An excellent 6-pitch link-up to the top of the Book is to climb J-Crack, but tack on three extra 5.10 pitches by starting the route with The Cavity and finishing with Outlander. Every pitch on this route is superb. Erika and I both managed to get the day off work, and enjoyed a gorgeous fall day climbing this route. This was my 47th day of climbing at Lumpy.
Pitch 2:Â
J-CRACK. 5.9. Traverse left into the J, and climb up the awesome finger and hand crack. After 140 feet, set an uncomfortable belay in a pod. Or continue and link with the next pitch into an amazing 215 foot lead and avoids a hanging belay.Pitch 3:Â
J-CRACK. 5.9 C1 (or 5.11c or 5.10a or 5.9). Above the pod, the crack steepens. Here there are 3 options:(1) Climb straight up, 11c or 5.9 C1 on good gear.(2) Set a piece in the crack, downclimb a bit, and face climb right (10a) into an easy groove which you can climb to the top of the crack(3) Face climb left (5.9) to the crack of Visual Aids.We went straight up (Option 1, 5.9 C1).Femp (w/ The Cavity start and Hemp finish) (5.10b, 3p)
THE BOOK- Date: June 27, 2020 (Sat)Â Â Â Partner: Nate Arganbright
This route climbs the beautiful, long crack on the right side of the J-Crack slab. Starting with The Cavity and ending with Hemp adds some high-quality 5.10 climbing.
After this climb, we did a bit of cragging at the base of the Book. Another great day at Lumpy.
Pitch 1:Â
THE CAVITY. 5.5 or 5.10a. For the 5.5 option, follow the line of least resistance to reach a ledge at the base of the obvious crack. For the 10a option, climb The Cavity which goes out the right side of a huge crystalline pocket which contains a large tree. We climbed The Cavity which I would recommend because it was great climbing.Pitch 3:Â
HEMP. 5.8 or 5.9+ or 5.10b or 5.11a. There are several variations for this pitch. The original line (5.8) goes up and left from the belay. A 10b variation called Hemp goes straight up the steep corner above the belay. Then above this, there are a few ways to climb through the roof band (Right Exit = 5.7, Pod = 5.11a, Just right of pod = 5.9+). We climbed Hemp and took the 5.7 exit.Descent:Â
To descend, scramble east from the summit and follow a climbers path (3rd/4th) down and around to the base.(other trip reports for The Book may have more photos of the descent)
Endless Crack (5.9+, 4p)
THE BOOK- Date: October 29, 2022 (Sat)Â Â Â Â Partner: Nate Arganbright
An under-appreciated route to the top of The Book, featuring four pitches of cracks, face, slab, and stemming on excellent rock. Nate and I climbed this route on a glorious fall Saturday. We were only one of two parties on the Book. We took a mid-route intermission to toprope the 140-foot 5.11c pitch of Fender Bender from the top of Pitch 2 of Endless Crack. What a great way to spend a fall day.
Approach:Â
~1 hour on trail from parking lot to base of The Book.(other trip reports for The Book may have more photos of the approach, but it is quite straightfoward)
Pitch 1:Â
5.9. Scramble to a bolt beneath a crystalline crack (which does in fact terminate). Traverse right past another bolt at the crack's top to Mission Impossible and its belay. Variation (5.9 R): Go straight up from the top of the crack for twenty feet (5.9 R) to reach a horizontal crack. From here one can foot traverse right to the standard line at its first belay or continue straight up (more 5.9 R) to a belay groove on the left. Follow the groove on the second pitch and join the second line soon after.Pitch 2:Â
5.8. Cross a slab left and reach a fist crack, then work up to the second belay on Femp.Descent:Â
To descend, scramble east from the summit and follow a climbers path (3rd/4th) down and around to the base.(other trip reports for The Book may have more photos of the descent)
Cragging at The Book (5.9-5.11d, 20 pitches)
THE BOOK- Date: June 27, 2020 (Sat) Â Â Â Â Â Â Partner: Nate Arganbright
- Date: July 3, 2020 (Fri)Â Â Â Partners: Nate Arganbright & Shawn May
- Date: November 6, 2021 (Sat) Â Â Â Â Â Partners: Nate Arganbright & Scott Kimball
- Date: November 7, 2021 (Sun) Â Â Â Â Â Partner: Nate Arganbright
- Date: November 13, 2021 (Sat) Â Â Â Â Â Partner: Nate Arganbright
- Date: October 29, 2022 (Sat)Â Â Â Partner: Nate ArganbrightÂ
- Date: October 30, 2022 (Sun)Â Â Â Partner: Nate ArganbrightÂ
Routes (June 27): Endless Crack Pitch 1 (5.9, 1p), Mission Impossible Pitch 1 (5.10a, 1p), Mission Accomplished (5.11a, 1p), Fascist Drill in the West (5.11b, 1p)
Routes (July 3): Road Kill (5.10b, 1p), Living Dead (5.11b, 2p), Dead Boy Direct (5.11d, 1p)
Routes (Nov 6): Loose Ends Pitch 1 (5.9, 1p), Thinstone (5.9, 1p), George's Tree Pitch 1 (5.9, 1p)
Routes (Nov 7): The 44 (5.8, 2p), Fat City Pitch 1 (5.8, 1p), Howling at the Wind Pitch 1 (5.9, 1p), Stretch Marks (5.11a, 1p)
Routes (Nov 13): Pear Buttress Pitches 1+2 (5.8+, 1p)
Routes (Oct 29): Fender Bender (5.11c, 1p)
Routes (Oct 30): Thindependence (5.10c, 1p), Pear Buttress Pitch 2 (5.6, 1p)
June 27, 2020: Nate and I had just climbed Femp and decided to tack on some more pitches. I led up Endless Crack Pitch 1 and then we were able to toprope the other three routes from the anchor.
July 3, 2020: Nate, Shawn, and I spent half a day cragging in the Book Binding area. We climbed three excellent long routes.
November 6, 2021: It was one of those warm and sunny fall days at Lumpy. After Pear Buttress, it was still too early and too nice to leave, so we hung out and climbed a few more great crack pitches.
November 7, 2021: Nate and I had such a good day at The Book on Saturday, that we returned in Sunday to enjoy another beautiful fall day day climbing on sunny granite. We climbed five great pitches. I lead 3 of them, which I was pretty psyched about since they were some of my most confident leads since becoming quite sick with COVID two months previous.
November 13, 2021: On this Saturday, Nate and I climbed one pitch (Pitches 1+2 of Pear Buttress) before rappelling and hiking out. Fifty mile per hour winds are just a bit too much for climbing comfort.
October 29, 2022: While climbing Endless Crack (5.9+, 4p), we took a mid-route intermission to toprope the 140-foot 5.11c pitch of Fender Bender.
October 30, 2022: While waiting for the sun to hit Isis (5.10b, 2p), we climbed Thindependence (5.10c, 1p) and Pear Buttress Pitch 2 (5.6, 1p), and rappeled back to the ground from the chain anchor at the top of the second pitch of Pear Buttress.