Good winter climbing area with moderate sport routes. The hour-long hike keeps out the crowds, but it is well worth the approach. The climbs are fun and the area is very pretty, right along the streambed. No road noise here. The wall faces west/southwest and gets winter sun by noon. Most of the climbs start on slightly water-polished stone then work up to very nice edges. The wall is mostly vertical, but some climbs are fairly sporty and have fun moves.
Getting There
Park at the hairpin turn at the bottom of the highway. Cross the street and follow the trails/streambed up past the Lefthand and Righthand walls. Keep to the right side of the stream and you will find another trail. This drops down into the streambed again as the canyon makes a sharp right bend. Cross the stream and scramble up ten feet of rock steps to find a trail going up the side drainage to the west. This switchbacks steeply up to the west wall of Soldier Canyon. Follow the trail (overgrown here and there, but easy to follow) for about 20 minutes. Once back in the streambed, keep to the left side and scramble up and over some big boulders. Keep looking for the occasional trail sections and finally a dead tree that acts as a short bridge. Duck through an opening under a huge boulder and scramble up a shark fin of rock and there you are! The approach is half the fun! Note that Squeezing the Lemmon shows Rivendale on the wrong side of the stream. The wall is on the east side, facing west/southwest. Otherwise the route descriptions are correct. Give yourself an hour the first time, 45 minutes once you know the way.
www.climbaz.com has excellent directions with pictures and route descriptions.
Not sure this area is worth the hike. It is a very secluded area, but the climbs leave a lot to be desired. If you want to kill a day, go for it. But go for the hike, not the climbing.
If you pass it and stay right up the stream bed, you are in cougar country for sure. I tracked a fresh set cat's prints up the streambed for about 20 minutes before turning around and coming back down to Rivendale... only to to find more prints over mine. Apparently the tracked was tracking the tracker and we were going in circles. I suspect by the size that it was not a terribly large cat, as the prints were smaller than my palms.
This is a nice area outside the summer months, or really early in the AM when it's hot. Jonas and I just did a little enchainment of areas, starting at Jailhouse, bombing down the creek to Riv, and finishing the day at Hairpin. Good times. Plenty of wildlife down from the big falls near Soldier trail. The climbs at Riv are well bolted, mostly little crimps and edges. Solid, nothing particularly hard. I love this whole section in the spring and it's totally worth the hike in. Hell, the hike in is most of the reason that I love this area, and mostly because nobody goes there. So please stay away. Everything there sucks.
Rivendale
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