Fortress Wall

BETA PHOTO: The Fortress.

Description 

Fortress Wall lies between Sunday wall, to the west, and Hidden Valley Wall. All three walls are part of an Access Fund acquisition that took place back in the early 1990s. Roughly 200 feet high, Fortress Wall provides some excellent two-pitch, granite-style trad climbs with beautiful cracks and unbelievable off-widths. While there are only a small amount of documented climbs here, less than a dozen, they range from 5.9 to 5.11 and are well worth a visit. What little traffic this area has, generally goes to Sunday Wall leaving Fortress and Hidden Valley nearly untouched. There is some lose rock to deal with though, and a helmet is strongly recommended.

Getting There 

The Access Fund trailhead is from 2 to 2.5 miles west of Divide Road, on the north side, and has a good size pullout for parking. Follow the Access Fund trail up to Sunday Wall, and continue east, twenty minutes from the trailhead.

Descent 

Descent is fairly easy down a gully northwest from the top of the wall, or rappel with two ropes from the top of Renaissance: two raps with 50m ropes, or one with 60s.

Per Matthew Seymour: "the rappel is from the top of Renaissance. It requires two rappels. One from the top to a semi-hanging stance on two bolts, then a rap to the ground. This can be done with one 60m rope, however you won't quite reach the ground on the second rap. You can reach a ledge to the left of the fall line and then downclimb about 10 feet."

The Classics