Serpent Point and the adjacent walls within one-half mile are closed to public use from March 15 through July 15. This includes the landscape portions above the walls extending 50 feet from the rim edge. This pertains to the following areas:
North Rim areas - The Alpine Aretes, Porcelain Arete, and Painted Wall. These climbing routes are closed: Alpine Route, Porcelain Arete, On the Border, Broken Porcelain, Northern Arete, Beyer Route, The Dragon, The Serpent, Forrest-Walker, Stratosfear, Journey Through Mirkwood, and Southern Arete.
South Rim areas - Dragon Point and Dragon Point Buttress. These climbing routes are closed: Pilgrimage, Crumb Blunder, Magic Dragon, Black Adder, Black Snake, Black Heathen, Black Dragon Rider, and Silent Rage.
This information is a public crowdsourcing effort between the Access Fund,
and Mountain Project. You should confirm closures, restrictions, and/or related dates.
The Painted Wall is the tallest cliff in Colorado and has a well-deserved reputation for loose rock and committing climbing.
Before climbing on it, and to acquaint yourself with the general downstream layout, I suggest a hike to the top of the Painted Wall along the north rim. From the ranger station follow the North Vista trail past Exclamation Point (near here one catches a good view of the Escape Artist buttress) and towards Green Mountain. Well past here, as the trail turns noticeably uphill it is necessary to head overland, crossing a large meadow before reaching the trees, and with routefinding difficulties, the top of the cliff. The last part of the hike should give you some respect for the inevitable late-night trudge back to the campground after climbing on the Painted Wall. (Part of this, from the rim to the meadow, was cairned as of October 2012.) About 3 hours round trip with good beta.
Another excellent prep session is to descend SOB Draw and walk the river downstream to the Painted Wall. Depending on season and water levels, this can be an enjoyable romp, or a brush with Death by Poison Ivy. You will pass all the Arete climbs, from Laurens and the Russian all the way to the Porcelain, the last, most elegant and shadowed of these adventure climbs.
As you approach the Painted Wall from below, several features come into view. You first pass the Northern (sometimes called Eastern) Arete of the Painted Wall, a climb with good 5.10+ down low and the worst bush thrashing in the Black up high. Just left of this is a sloping talus field perched several hundred feet (of lower 5th class climbing) off the deck; from this platform the Dragon and Serpent routes, and several others, begin. Left of the terrace is a massive rib of rock descending to the river and forming a large R-facing corner. This is the start of the Forrest-Walker, Stratosphere and the Southern Arete (the climb done by the vast majority of climbers who venture here). If approaching for these climbs, try to stay low near the river below the wall, or you may get stuck too high on really loose talus. Approach is roughly 1.5 to 2 hours, depending on your objective.
Climbing on the Painted Wall involves either a very long day and lots of climbing, or a big-wall approach. If you plan on the campground-to-campground approach, bring a headlamp and plan on climbing fast. This strategy works well for the Southern and Northern Aretes, and (hopefully) for Stratosfear or even Journey Through Mirkwood (although many parties intentionally bivy on the latter). On any car-to-car attempt an unplanned bivy is a possibility. Ascents of the aid routes, and for many, the spectacular Serpent (which has been done in an 18-hour day by Mike Pennings and Josh Wharton) will require porta ledges and haul bags. The climbing season is short due to bird nesting closures from April 1 to July 31, effectively eliminating the prime time to climb (May, with long days and cool temperatures). August and September can be very hot; the winter months, frigid.
The nature of the rock on the Painted Wall is troubling. The rock is often shattered, sharp, and loose, and formed into blocky passages without distinct lines. This results in a climbing experience at once challenging, but also quite nebulous and fuzzy. This is not the place to climb on your slinky 9.0 rope; indeed, some climbers lead on double 10mm (or thicker) ropes on routes like The Serpent/Dragon and Stratosfear. Remember to interpret any route description with caution. Treat any climb on the Painted Wall as a major undertaking for the experienced climber only.
Getting There
From the North Rim campground, head down the SOB Draw to the river, then downstream to the Painted Wall.
The Classics
Mountain Project's determination of some of the classic, most popular, highest rated routes for The Painted Wall:
My college advisor, David Lovejoy, was on the FA of the Dragon route. He told me that he was the most scared he had ever been the whole time (several days on the wall, not sure exactly). He said there were times when he thought the whole party might rip from the wall. Rusty Baillie was the major force behind completing the climb; many people at Prescott College think he is totally crazy. I personally think he is made of bigger and better stuff than the rest of us. I have never climbed in the Black Canyon, but judging from the above description, David's comments to me, and my own experiences with Rusty when he was in his sixties (still way harder than anybody), I might suggest you take a long hard look at why you climb before taking on a project like the Dragon.
The Dragon is a very serious route, the real deal! This is NOT a free climb, though you will do free moves on every pitch. If you go be competent on inobvious obscure aid placements. Though this is not as seriously rated as many modern air routes it is NOT a route for beginning aid climbers. Note... Rusty did some extremely crazy stuff but he was in no way crazy. He was certainly made of sterner stuff than most and a tremendously talented climber.
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