BETA PHOTO: View of Brass Wall from below. Photo taken April ...
Description
The Brass Wall is a shorter wall with a few longer climbs. It is clearly not the Red Rocks classic canyon wall with its long multi-pitch routes and certainly not the classic Red Rocks sport crag with the wild red overhangs. In fact, it's not the classic Red Rocks anything, but it is a nice crag with nice climbs and worth a visit for sure.
The Brass Wall gets good daytime sun in the winter, the dark hard patina over the smooth rock gives it a bright glare in the strong light, and also forms the crags character, smooth, solid, and pleasant overall. A few dirtier lines and broken juggy climbs are also to be found however. The routes there are mostly easy to moderate and all of them are trad, with fixed rap stations. A few hard lines are present as well.
Once here, the nearby Straight Shooter Wall offers a few more route opportunities with mostly 5.11 grades, and a few sport routes.
Getting There
Park as for Pine Creek Canyon and approach initially as for the Mescalito's 'dark side.' After spotting the Beer And Ice Gully, the huge gully above a dirty and broken red cliff band, head on a maze of ambiguous trails to reach the edge of the soft red cliff band. This dirt-piled mess can be soloed over, but that is dicey.
To the left of this gully is the Brass Wall, and to the right is Straight-Shooter Wall. Instead of battling through the red band, skirt its edge to either end (preferably right) and them make your way left to the Brass Wall. The climbs The Bus Stops Here, Mushroom People and Topless Twins should be visible as you approach.
This a set of twin cracks, but as irony would have it, they top out all too soon. The climb is up a pleasant crack system which is worthy of attention and merit, but runs for only a single pitch. A shame, as were this a longer system it would be a classic Red Rocks climb.To locate this route, approach the left side of the Brass Wall. As you do, keep out an eye for a set of twin splitters, starting as a single crack perhaps 10' off of the ground...[more]
There is a nice trail that skirts the right side of the red cliff band. Follow the trail to the top of the red cliff band, then head west on flat terrain across the top of the red cliff band until you are directly below Brass Wall. Then, follow a good trail up the bushy hill.