In advance of the "Return of The King," I wonder how many climbs at the gunks have Lord of the Rings references (I don't have my guidebook with me at the moment). There are the obvious ones like Middle Earth and Nazgool; are there more subtle references (Ent's Line)?

How many people have climbed them all? I imagine that DW and RG have -- anyone else? Middle Earth may be the only one that I've climbed. Any recommendations for a nicely protected 5.8?

Off the top of my head there Balrog, Bag End, Ringwraith, Eowyn, I'm sure there are others. I believe Bag End is a 5.8, no?

RR

the sting

I could be wrong, but I don't think the route The Sting actually refers to Frodo's sword.

There is also Orc Stone. And the variation to Balrog ... Balrog Escape (aka Bridge of Khaza-dum).

Then there's a bunch of Lord of the Rings-sounding names, but not being a Tolkien expert, I'm not sure if they are actually references: Elf Stone, Evenstar, Gil-Galad, Rhun.

Are you talking about doing a 5.8 with a Lord of the Rings name ... or just a good 5.8?

Cause like RR said, I think the only one in the 5.8 range is Bag's End and that is 5.8+.

If you're thinking about climbing something soon ... better stick to anything in the sun that doesn't have snow melting all over it!

Of all the Lord of the Rings-named routes, the best one by far is Ringwraith ... but (boo-hoo) that's out at Skytop.

Man, is the book different from the movies.

There's a concept...

The Tolkien-related route names query is actually a trivia question on p.19 of the Swain guide. The 12 routes or variations that Swain found were Bag's End, Balrog, Balrog Escape (Bridge of Khazadum), Elf Stone, Ent's Line, Eowyn, Gil-Galad, Middle Earth, Nazgul, Orc Stone, Ruhn, and Ringwraith. He also says Journey's End, The Sting, and Dungeons and Dragons might qualify, though the last one doesn't seem Tolkein-specific (and anyway, it's at Skytop).

The Sting is dubious; the sword is really called Sting.

It's kind of amazing how many climbing areas around the country have names from LOTR, e.g., in CT, Grond (cliff near Ragged) and Treebeard (route on the Small Cliff); at Joshua Tree, Tom Bombadil (but he's not a character in the movies, just the book); Yosemite, Gollum Arch Rock and Crack of Doom. Those are just what I remember offhand; just thumb through some guidebooks and you'll see many more, I'm sure.

Big cultural phenomenon!

Big cultural phenomenon!

I think more a case of a bunch of stoners naming routes. Oh man - far out - let's name it after something from Lord of the Rings.