BETA PHOTO: Jim Scott near Bombay Saphire on Slate Nation. Fin...
Description
This is the orange and black streaked wall you can see driving in when you are at the second gate. This wall curves from east facing to south facing. The area called Tufa City starts more or less near the apex of the curve. The rock is good and the Tufa routes are fun. Climb fall to spring and later if you love the heat. The afternoon is a good time to be on this wall unless it is cold.
Getting There
Hike up the wash and turn left at the cairn to Slate Nation. Continue up trail past gully that separates Slate Nation from Finland. This gully is used if you approach Finland via the ridge trail. This trail starts about 100 feet from the parking area and branches left. It is a scenic hike but it takes a few minutes to get the legs working. There is also supposed to be a spot above Finland where you can rap in. Continue past the gully to find it. Dropping down the gully was easy enough. Climbing up the gully at the end of a day is work but the hike down is great.
Warning
Do not climb on tufas after a big rain or if the wall appears wet! Tufas are very fragile and break really easily when wet. Don't ruin climbs for everyone else! Thank you!
The Classics
Mountain Project's determination of some of the classic, most popular, highest rated routes for Finland and Tufa City:
DO NOT CLIMB ON TUFAS AFTER A BIG RAIN OR IF THE WALL APPEARS WET! Tufas are very fragile and break really easily when wet. Don't ruin climbs for everyone else! THANK YOU!!*
Braxton Norwood, sorry to come off as yelling. I just want people that are viewing this page for beta on the place to know not to climb on wet tufas. I feel it should be mentioned in the description of the wall but I can't add it there since I did not create the page. Used caps so people might see it easier.
There is plenty of climbing to be had at the Homestead after rain. However, most of Tufa City is unclimbable after a big rain because the wall and it's tufa's stay wet for weeks. I once saw the wall flowing water a month after a heavy rain! A small storm shouldn't effect the wall.
Sorry, I'm not an expert in Limestone so I don't know the type(s) that are at the Homestead, but there sure are tufa's on this one wall.
Tufa and Travertine are both varieties of limestone. Both are carbonaceous precipitates, attaining key minerals from the calcite that makes up the majority of limestone. tufa is more porous than travertine. Travertine is generally formed near hot springs, while tufa forms in more moderate waters. Both can make the fantastic column structures we love to climb.
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