BETA PHOTO: Forgotten Wall and the Control Tower from the cany...
Description
This wall faces south and can be climbed on the coldest of sunny days. The face climbing is not as crimpy as Windy Point and there are a number of routes that climb through or around roofs. The Control Tower is at the right end of the wall. It has a 5ft. roof with a crack through it. At least three of the routes involve surmounting roofs. The Up The Creek Wall is 100 yards past the Tower. The areas rock is generally good but it has a bit of fuzz still coming off. You do need to pay attention as there is some stuff around that you want to avoid. If the rock seems bad there is a solid hold to be found somewhere. 40 plus routes from 5.9 to 12- Many of the routes anchors have leaver biners so all you have to do is clip and lower off. Two routes are 115 feet long and need a 70M rope. Both these routes have an anchor part way up with leaver biners on them so if you have a 60M rope you can still get down. A lot of the routes have leaver biners so you just have to clip in and lower.
SQ II Has directions to Kesslers Corner and the Twinkie. The milepost now is 8.6. This is a left hand sweeper that has a slow car lane on the right. Park off the road to the right or a 10th of a mile back at the Thimble Peak Overlook. A trail goes up the left side then hooks back right to the drainage getting you above the falls. If it is cold the rocks near the water can be icy. If it has rained a lot the water can make the approach a bit harder. If the water is barely flowing then hike the main drainage until you are just below the Control Tower then hang a left. If the water is much more than a trickle take the high approach. This route leaves the drainage approach just before you drop down into the wash after traversing the bench you can see from the car. Cairns head up the hill. It is a little steeper than the creek bed but a little shorter. Either way you go will take 20-30 minutes depending on what your conditioning is. If the creek is running getting to the Up The Creek Wall is best done from the base of the Control Tower. Drop down from the base of it maybe fifteen feet. At a belay seat turn left and follow the trail. It goes up and down a bit to avoid the thick stuff but only takes about 3 minutes to reach the cliff.
The Classics
Mountain Project's determination of some of the classic, most popular, highest rated routes for Forgotten Wall, Control Tower & Up The Creek Wall:
Yo, I'll get to it when I have a bit more spare time. The routes you did were: this one, that one, and the other one. Control Tower was just something that gave us a theme for some names. So now you can try coming up with a name for that thing you did. Glues Control, Glue Me Forecast, Gluem and Doom, Glueteous Maximus, Crash Landing, anything but NE Face. Whatever dude!
Stop by the house with a check and you have got it. I have been handing them out like candy, ask Ray or his buddy if you don't see me first. Better yet give me a name for that route of yours and you can have a topo.
Any estimate of hiking time in?. Normally I'd just go for it and see but my partner needs to leave early for the airport tomorrow so can't do long hikes.
Thanks
By Chris Duca Administrator From: Hinesburg, Vermont Dec 28, 2007
Awesome job with this area description and the accompanying route descriptions! It got me further psyched for my trip out there in March.
By Joseph Stover From: Chistchurch, New Zealand Jan 27, 2008
Very impressive when coming around the last bend on the hike in... Great find! The hike is hard, but fun and adventurous with some great scenery! I can't wait to sample some of the steeper routes next time!
By Eric Ruljancich From: Tucson, AZ / Vancouver, BC Jan 28, 2008
I've put together a topo of this excellent area. Hope it helps you find the climbs a bit easier.
Just found this development report, lol, "Forgotten Wall," well, not really forgotten, R. Flaugher just got too old and busted up to get out here after 1994. I've left some comments on this area under the "Flight Delay" notes. Great job of development, Eric!
I don't know about Desicon but I meant thanks to Eric R for posting the all-important topo. Another thanks to all the FAs for the only slightly less important task of putting up the routes themselves.
Up the Creek Wall is the formation 100 yards up stream from the Control Tower, on the same side of the creek. A slight trail can be found cutting across the hillside just below the start of Air Worthy.
Thanks for the development. Just went yesterday and had a blast. Unfortunately we forgot to bring gear, and what a mistake that turned out to be. Watch out for the cat claw acacia if you wander off the trails. Can't wait to get back there.