Lumpy Ridge CLIMBING

Thunder Buttress, Sunshine Buttress, Observatory Dome, The Pear, The Citadel

Category: Colorado (RMNP)Elev: ~9,000 ftRock Type: Granite
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

10 Trip Reports

(formations and routes organized west to east, i.e. left to right)

THUNDER BUTTRESS

October 2021

SUNSHINE BUTTRESS:

April 2021

OBSERVATORY DOME:

April 2021

THE PEAR:

March 2024
April 2024
May 2022
June 2020
March 2024

THE CITADEL:

June 2020
April 2024

This page is trip reports for Thunder Buttress, Sunshine Buttress, Observatory Dome, The Pear, and The Citadel 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

(formations and routes organized west to east, i.e. left to right)

Thunder Buttress

Overlay for Thunder Buttress
(Click image to open larger image file)

Cragging at Thunder Buttress (5.7 R - 5.9, 2 pitches)

THUNDER BUTTRESS
  • Date: October 17, 2021 (Sun)     Partners: Nate Arganbright & Scott Kimball

Routes: Single-pitch FA on right side (5.9, 1p), Twenty-Two Ticks Pitch 1 (5.7 R, 1p)

Thunder Buttress is located between Sundance and The Pear. Nate and Scott had put up a new route a few weeks previous, spotted potential for a new line on the right side of the wall, and invited me to join for a first ascent. We ended up bailing off the first ascent after one pitch (the rock was a bit friable and the climbing underwhelming), and then climbed the first pitch of Twenty-Two Ticks, which was pretty fun. At least now I can say I've climbed on Thunder Buttress, but someday I'd like to to climb something to the top.

Photos from October 17, 2021:
Nate leading the one-pitch FA.
Scott following.
We pulled this corner on the FA, and belayed shortly afterward.
Scott belaying Nate on the chimney of Pitch 1 of Twenty-Two Ticks.
Pitch 1 of Twenty-Two Ticks.
Scott arriving at the belay. We rappelled off the tree rather than continue upward on unremarkable moderate terrain.

Sunshine Buttress

Overlay for Sunshine Buttress
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Brown Haired Lady (5.7, 3p)

SUNSHINE BUTTRESS
  • Date: April 4, 2021 (Sun)     Partner: Nate Arganbright

Brown Haired Lady is probably the best route on the wall and climbs corners and cracks and an exposed arete to the top.

We climbed this as the second of a two-route link-up of Sunshine Buttress (Brown Haired Lady, 5.7, 3p) and Observatory Dome (The Telescope Gate, 5.8, 2p). Sunshine Buttress and Observatory Dome were two of the few big formations that Nate had not yet climbed on at Lumpy, plus they were unaffected by the bird closures. There was very little in the guidebook about these two formations, with just vague references to routes. So this was a rather adventurous day of climbing, probably not routes I'd recommend but fun nevertheless.

Approach: 

Hike to base of Pear and continue up and around left, a little bit of off trail towards the end. ~1 hours on trail from parking lot to base of Sunshine Buttress.
Bird closures get earlier and earlier every year. Hence our choice of a rather obscure crag at Lumpy (Sunshine Wall and Observatory Dome are not under the bird closure...yet).

Pitch 1: 

~5.7. Climb up a water groove to a belay at a tree.
Looking up start of route.
Pitch 1.

Pitch 2: 

~5.7. Continue up a hand crack system to below an arete.
Looking up Pitch 2.

Pitch 3: 

~5.7. Climb the exposed arete. A bit exciting.
Looking up Pitch 3, which climbs the arete.
The exciting arete.

Descent: 

Walk off northwest. We continued up the hill towards Observatory Dome. 
(no photos)

Observatory Dome

Overlay for Observatory Dome
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The Telescope Gate (5.8, 2p)

OBSERVATORY DOME
  • Date: April 4, 2021 (Sun)     Partner: Nate Arganbright

The Telescope Gate climbs the gigantic right-facing dihedral up the center of Observatory Dome.

We climbed this as the second of a two-route link-up of Sunshine Buttress (Brown Haired Lady, 5.7, 3p) and Observatory Dome (The Telescope Gate, 5.8, 2p). Sunshine Buttress and Observatory Dome were two of the few big formations that Nate had not yet climbed on at Lumpy, plus they were unaffected by the bird closures. There was very little in the guidebook about these two formations, with just vague references to routes. So this was a rather adventurous day of climbing, probably not routes I'd recommend but fun nevertheless.

Approach: 

Hike to base of Pear and continue up and around left. ~1.5 hours on trail from parking lot to base of Observatory Dome, with some off trail travel towards the end. We got there from the top of Sunshine Wall after doing a climb on Sunshine Wall.
Bird closures get earlier and earlier every year. Hence our choice of a rather obscure crag at Lumpy (Sunshine Wall and Observatory Dome are not under the bird closure...yet).

Pitch 1: 

~5.8. Climb a right-facing corner system and featured rock above to the base o the main corner. There may be a way to access the base of the main corner by traversing in from the right, but this pitch is worthy and means more climbing!
Pitch 1 corner.

Pitch 2: 

~5.6. Climb the obvious gigantic low-angled right-facing dihedral to the top.
Start of Pitch 2.
Higher up in the gigantic dihedral. Lower angle here.

Descent: 

Walk off northwest. 
View from the top. A nice early spring day!
Beginning the descent. Just a bit of post-holing at the top, and then a bit of bushiness back down to the base of Sunshine Wall where we had left our packs.

The Pear

Overlay for The Pear.
(Click image to open larger image file)

Gina's Surprse (5.4 R, 4p)

THE PEAR
  • Date: March 23, 2024 (Sat)     Partner: Nate Arganbright

Bird closures were in place and most of the main features were closed. But The Pear remained open. Nate and I climbed two routes on this warm but cloudy early spring day: Gina's Surprise (5.4 R, 4p) and Root of All Evil (5.9+, 4p).

Approach: 

~1 hour on trail from parking lot to base of The Pear, which is just left of The Bookend. Follow the trail signs to The Pear. Hike around the right side of the south face and scramble up a gully to an obvious 1-foot wide dike.
(other trip reports for The Pear may have more photos of the approach, but it is quite straightfoward)
List of spring bird closures.
Trail junction for The Pear.

Pitch 1: 

5.4/5.5. Boulder up to the dike (thirty feet, no pro) and friction alon geither side. Belay on a ledge syste with a large pine tree.
Gearing up at the base of Gina's Surprise.
Nate starting up the dike feature on Pitch 1.

Pitches 2-4: 

5.easier. Three easier pitches continue up the east shoulder.
Pitch 2.
Pitch 2 or 3 (this was part of our Pitch 2 but we did a bit of simulclimbing).
Pitch 3 or 4 (this was part of our Pitch 3 but we did a bit of simulclimbing).
The last bit to the top.

Descent: 

From the summit, rappel north from the bolted rap station. This dumps you into a cool corridor. Stay in the corridor and do some more climbing, continue up to do a route on The Citadel, or walk back to the base along the east side.
(other trip reports for The Pear may have more photos of the descent, including the "walk off" option)
Cool corridor at the base of the rappel.
Ice decorations.

Magical Chrome Plated Semi-Automatic Enema Syringe (5.7, 5p)

THE PEAR
  • Date: May 18, 2022 (Wed)     Partner: Scott Kimball

One of the classic moderate routes at Lumpy Ridge. I had a blast climbing this with Scott on a beautiful t-shirt and shorts spring day.

Approach: 

~1 hour on trail from parking lot to base of The Pear, which is just left of The Bookend. Follow the trail signs to The Pear. Start on top of a little buttress below the arching dihedral of Batrachian Slab.
(other trip reports for The Pear may have more photos of the approach, but it is quite straightfoward)
(no photos)

Pitch 1: 

5.5. Step let to a good hand crack and hand traverse left when it fades. Belay at the base of a clean, right-facing dihedral.
The start of the route.
Scott nearing the top of the pitch.

Pitch 2: 

5.6. Lieback the dihedral to a long ledge.
The dihedral of Pitch 2.
The dihedral of Pitch 2.

Pitch 3: 

5.5. Climb the left-facing dihedral/slanting ramp. Belay at a v-slot or continue up the slot to link Pitches 3 and 4 in a rope-stretching lead.
Looking up the slanting ramp.
Looking down the slanting ramp.

Pitch 4: 

5.5. Follow the v-slot, aiming to be below what appears to be the main north-facing headwall. A gigantic ledge area and set up a comfy belay. This pitch can be linked with Pitch 3 for a rope-stretching lead.
The v-slot.

Pitch 5: 

5.7 (or harder). There are at least 4 options here (listed on mountainproject). The standard exit is to the right, following a small, right-facing corner up until you can exit around the right corner of this obstacle. From here head to the summit. This is a rope-stretching pitch.
Go this way (right) for the 5.7 standard final pitch.
Go straight up for a more challenging finish.

Descent: 

From the summit, rappel north from the bolted rap station. This dumps you into a cool corridor. Stay in the corridor and do some more climbing, continue up to do a route on The Citadel, or walk back to the base along the east side.
(other trip reports for The Pear may have more photos of the descent, including the "walk off" option)
Scott nearing the top of The Pear.
Scott rappelling into the corridor.
The corridor.

Good Timing (5.9, 3p)

THE PEAR
  • Date: April 14, 2024 (Sun)     Partner: Nate Arganbright

Our plan on this warm spring day was to link a route on The Pear with a route on The Citadel. We chose to climb Good Timing on The Pear. This route has some featured runnout face leading to a fun roof on the first pitch, followed by some sustained bolt-protected face climbing on the second pitch. We chose to try the walk off (which involved down-climbing a tree) rather than go all of the way to the summit.

Approach: 

~1 hour on trail from parking lot to base of The Pear, which is just left of The Bookend. Follow the trail signs to The Pear.
(other trip reports for The Pear may have more photos of the approach, but it is quite straightfoward)
Pasque flowers: closed in the moring cold on the hike in and opening to enjoy the warm spring day on the hike out.

Pitch 1: 

5.8+ (7R). Get on top of some blocks, about 100 feet right of the Batrachian Dihedral and below a long roof band about 100 feet up. Climb a 5.7 R slab with less-than-perfect protection, turn the roof near a break on the right (5.8+), and traverse about 20 feet left to a belay at 2 bolts. Protect the second with an 0.4 cam placement directly above the roof.
Pitch 1. Nate at the fun roof.

Pitch 2: 

5.9. Engage excellent slab climbing up and slightly right past 3 bolts; head right into an easier crack, and belay on a ledge. You can continue to a tree.
Sustained face climbing.
The easier crack above the face.

Pitch 3: 

5.easy. Do an easy rightward traverse, gaining some elevation, to find the walk-off or a short rappel on the east side of the cliff.
Easy climbing up and right.

Descent: 

We chose to exit with the "walk off" a pitch or two below the summit. This involved down-climbing a tree, which was kind of fun.
(other trip reports for The Pear may have more photos of the descent, including the "summit and rap" option)
Downclimbing the tree on the "walk off".
Pasque flowers on the trail on the hike out.
Pasque flowers on the trail on the hike out.

Right Dihedral (5.9, 2p)

THE PEAR
  • Date: June 30, 2020 (Tue)     Partner: Nate Arganbright

This route climbs the giant left-facing dihedral on the right side of the south face.

Nate and I climbed this as a link up with  Heart of Norway on The Citadel.

Approach: 

~1 hour on trail from parking lot to base of The Pear, which is just left of The Bookend. Follow the trail signs to The Pear.
(other trip reports for The Pear may have more photos of the approach, but it is quite straightfoward)
(no photos)

Pitch 1: 

5.9. Climb the corner. For a nice long pitch, there is a good belay stance after 60m, or you can belay sooner.
Looking up the dihedral.
Nate nearing the top of the pitch.
Low on Pitch 1.
Midway on Pitch 1.
Looking down from the belay. I belayed at a nice stance after 60m.

Pitch 2: 

5.easy. Continue up the corner to the walk-off ledge.
Looking up the start of the second pitch.
5.easy to the walk-off ledge.

To top:

5.easy. Continue up 4th and easy 5th to the top. This is the last pitch of Gina's Surprise.
Soloing to the summit.
There's a cool wind-formed bathtub on the summit.

Descent: 

From the summit, rappel north from the bolted rap station. This dumps you into a cool corridor. Stay in the corridor and do some more climbing, continue up to do a route on The Citadel, or walk back to the base along the east side.
(other trip reports for The Pear may have more photos of the descent, including the "walk off" option)
The rap anchor.
The rap route goes right over some fun climbs. We toproped the one in the photo, called Dextrous Digits (5.9+).
The corridor.
Ferns.

Root of All Evil (5.9+, 4p)

THE PEAR
  • Date: March 23, 2024 (Sat)     Partner: Nate Arganbright

Bird closures were in place and most of the main features were closed. But The Pear remained open. Nate and I climbed two routes on this warm but cloudy early spring day: Gina's Surprise (5.4 R, 4p) and Root of All Evil (5.9+, 4p).

Approach: 

~1 hour on trail from parking lot to base of The Pear, which is just left of The Bookend. Follow the trail signs to The Pear. The route is on the left side of The Pear.
(other trip reports for The Pear may have more photos of the approach, but it is quite straightfoward)
List of spring bird closures.
Trail junction for The Pear.

Pitch 1: 

5.9+. Climb up to a roof, clip a bolt, and jam over the roof to a thin crack and belay.
Nate leading Pitch 1, headed for the roof above. We both felt that the 5.8 section he is at felt a little tough for the grade and that the 5.9+ roof above felt a little soft for the grade.
Fun climbing on Pitch 1.
The bolt at the roof.

Pitch 2: 

5.7. Continue up the crack, attractive 5.7. Where the crack ends traverse right across an unprotected face and belay on a lefge above.
Fun 5.7 crack on Pitch 2.

Pitch 3: 

5.easy. Climb an easy crack and belay at a big tree.
Crack that starts of Pitch 3.

Pitch 4: 

5.easy. Finish with the last pitch of Gina's Surprise.
This is the final pitch of Gina's Surprise. Photo taken when we climbed Gina's Surprise ealier in the day. We decided to solo this section when we climbed Root of All Evil.
Final stretch to the top. Photo taken when we climbed Gina's Surprise ealier in the day. We decided to solo this section when we climbed Root of All Evil.

Descent: 

From the summit, rappel north from the bolted rap station. This dumps you into a cool corridor. Stay in the corridor and do some more climbing, continue up to do a route on The Citadel, or walk back to the base along the east side.
(other trip reports for The Pear may have more photos of the descent, including the "walk off" option)
Cool corridor at the base of the rappel.
Ice decorations.

The Citadel

Overlay for The Citadel.
(Click image to open larger image file)

Heart of Norway (5.10c, 2p)

THE CITADEL
  • Date: June 30, 2020 (Tue)     Partner: Nate Arganbright

This route climbs the giant, right-facing dihedral on the south face. This is an awesome route with sustained climbing on both pitches and perhaps the most splitter (not flared at all) crack on the entire Ridge.

Nate and I climbed this as a link up with Right Dihedral on The Pear. 

Approach:

We approached by climbing Right Dihedral on The Pear and then scrambling up to the base of The Citadel. There is some mid-5th to get to the base of the route, which we soloed.
Soloing to the base of the route.
Looking up from the base of the route.

Pitch 1: 

5.10a. Begin with a bouldery roof, climb the crack above towards a roof, step right before you get to the roof, go up, and then back left via a finger crack traverse to a bolted anchor on a nice ledge. 
Pitch 1 pulls into and climbs the crack starting on the right side of the photo.
Nate on Pitch 1.

Pitch 2: 

5.10c. Work right and up on mantles, then climb the awesome dihedral.
Looking up the awesome corner.
Steph climbing the corner. Photo taken by Nate at the belay at the top of the pitch.

Descent: 

Make two 100' rappels back to the base. Scramble down low-5th to the base of The Citadel, or make another rap off a tree.
Bolted anchor at the top of Pitch 1.
Down-scrambling to the base of the Citadel.
Pretty flower on the trail.

Cragging at The Citadel (5.10, 1 pitch)

THE CITADEL
  • Date: April 14, 2024 (Sun)       Partner: Nate Arganbright

Route: Candyland Pitch 1 (5.10, 1p)

We had just climbed Good Timing (5.9, 3p) on The Pear, and planned to link this into a route on The Citadel. We chose to do Candyland, suspecting it would be a bit of an adventure and difficult for the grade. The bolt protecting the 5.9 crux on the third pitch was apparently in need of replacement. The first pitch was a long traverse along a finger/hand crack, rated 10b. It was good climbing, but a bit dirty and stout for the grade. I ended up aiding myself across the crux section, spooked by the thought of a swing. I was impressed with Nate's lead. The second pitch looked dirty and we were worried about the stoutness of the grade given the bad bolt protecting a crux higher on the route, so we decided to rappel from a couple of fixed nuts. Maybe we will come back another day to try again. Or maybe not. There are a lot of other routes at Lumpy still on my list.

Photos from April 14, 2024:
Some 5.7 climbing on good rock to get to the base of the Citadel proper. I think you can also scramble up around right, but climbing is more fun.
Nate leading Pitch 1 of Candyland. Nice lead Nate!
Photo taken as I followed the pitch.
Rappelling off a tree back to the ground after deciding not to continue up Candyland.
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