The Red Wall  Photos:  Recent | Best | Popular Page Views:  6,835. Good page?    Administrators:  Ben Mottinger, Leo Paik, John McNamee, Frances Fierst, Monomaniac, Tom Erickson Submitted By:  Richard M. Wright on Jan 1, 2001 Make this area a Favorite What's New   Print a Mini-Guide with routes Add Route  Add Photo  Add Comment  Add Event  Sat Sun Mon Tue Wed 77° | 41° 79° | 41° 75° | 34° 77° | 37° 68° | 34°

Raptor Closures MORE INFO >>> FYI: Parts of Devil's Head climbing area are closed March 1- July 31 every year for Peregrine falcon protection. The official closure order and associated map can be found here: www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5280647.pdf. For questions or more information, please contact the South Platte Ranger District office at 303.275.5610. This information is a public crowdsourcing effort between the Access Fund, and Mountain Project. You should confirm closures, restrictions, and/or related dates. Keeping climbing areas open and conserving the climbing environment

BETA PHOTO: Upper section of The Red Wall.

Description 

The RED Wall is one of the best crags at Devil's Head, and being one of the steepest, supports a high concentration of difficult lines. The routes are tricky, technical and powerful. The Red Wall is part of a large system of fins that includes The Starcastle and several other minor crags. Since the steep side is East facing, all of the current routes on the Red Wall are on the East side, although loads of potential for moderate routes exists on the West face. The Red Wall is just about the perfect summer crag. The wall itself is divided into upper and lower tiers, with a good ledge for belays below the upper tier. Most of the routes are single pitch and a bit less than 100 ft long, and a 60m rope is adequate for all of the present lines. With alligator skin, corners, roofs, edges, and flakes, the rock on the Red Wall has some of the most amazing features at Devil's Head. Unfortunately, most FA data on the Red Wall are nearly impossible to attribute or even to recall. With The Great Defoliator and Master Organizer, Tod Anderson, pulling everyone together as many as three drills were working simultaneously on The Red Wall; sometimes even on the same route! Thus, most of the FA data have been loosely cobbled together as The Head Crew. In some cases, Scott Sill and Alan Nelson put in lines where FA was clearly simple, and these have been noted. The Head Crew working at The Red Wall usually included Tod Anderson, Tom Hanson, Richard Wright, and Rich Magill.

Getting There 

From the Zinn Overlook, take a faint trail to the right, through the woods, and down hill. The trail will descend rapidly passing a small talus field that ends just before the North edge of the Red Wall several hundred yards down hill. The Red Wall is divided into two sectors. You first encounter the "Drill" routes on the right and further downhill lie the approach pitches to the main wall. The easiest way to start on the main wall is to follow a simple approach pitch on the right and off the trail below the best obvious climbing. Alternatively, three superb 5.11 and 5.12 approach pitches can be used to gain the base ledge at 65 ft. The "Drill" routes are approached from the cut at the right end of the crag, via a small scramble to some trees at the base.

The Classics

Featured Route For The Red Wall

Little Secrets 5.12b  CO : South Platte : ... : The Red Wall

Start off the ledge and in its middle. Here a shallow corner system leads to a shallow overlap - the climbing is actually left of both. After crossing the overlap on its left, pull back right with a series of moves to gain the center of the formation with cracks on the left and on the right. Little Secrets is cruxy right off the bat, but it settles down to exquisite 5.11 edge climbing for much of its distance, actually until just approaching the anchors. Things get real thin and crisp on the ove...[more]   Browse More Classics in CO