Main Wall Rock Climbing

The Main Wall is a beautiful swath of quasi psycadelic stone with bright lichen and stunning black, white, bronze, and gray water streaks. This is the tallest wall in the canyon and the lines here are long, aesthetic, and exposed. Some of the best single pitch air on Elden guaranteed.

There is a fine collection of 5.10’s, though a couple of them are linkups or variations. If you are coming up for the .10’s there are four fairly distinct lines you can do on the Main Wall and six if you do the linkups. Plus the two .10’s on the Sailing Wall and one on the Whisper Wall. There are a few thoughtful 5.11’s and a good grouping of 5.12’s. With the addition of the routes Black Solitaire 5.13-, The Hermit 5.13, and Lost Solitude 5.13+, this place is turning into a great local, cold weather training crag and an awesome place to find a project if you’re looking to increase your fitness. 

Conditions can turn on a dime edge up here. However, if the sun is shining and the air is cool, this crag is a good opportunity to get above it all without having to leave town. During the winter months the sun hits the wall at 9:30 in the morning. The best days for hard climbing up here are 45- 50 degrees and sunny. This wall is big enough to create a micro climate, so windy weather is sometimes buffeted at the base. In windy conditions, it’s good to know this is a stable wall. Very little debris will fall from above. An occasional pebble perhaps. However, during the colder months, ice fall is a concern. This western side of the canyon has a healthy population of Gamble Oaks, which during the autumn color change, dapple the landscape with swaths of glowing orange.

You can squeak by with a 60 meter rope, but you have to be really aware when lowering. 70 meter rope is highly recommended, and makes the day more enjoyable. Watch those rope ends when lowering as these are long pitches. Also, it's nice to have three or four full length runners and a handful of long draws to manage your rope flow. It’s not a crag for short draws, and you’ll want some play in your sway. To preserve your rope, in general, you’ll want to clean these routes on top rope, or be aware of what’s going to be involved, if you decide to clean them while lowering. 

Climbing the multi pitch version of Man on the Moon 5.10- allows one to access the anchors of all the harder routes for hanging draws, cleaning holds, or retrieving gear. Though it takes some finagling.