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The Black Wall

Colorado > Grand Junction… > Unaweep Canyon > Nine Mile Hill > Nine Mile Roped
Warning Access Issue: Private Property DetailsDrop down

Description

This is a short, black buttress NW of the Mecca bouldering area. It gets early sun and bakes until mid-afternoon. The cliff was old toprope area with several old cold shut anchors scattered around. The rock itself is mostly solid black, varnished sandstone. It would make for a good after work crag or when you are looking for something close to town with full sun in the winter.

As of right now, all routes I put up have been equipped with modern glue-ins. I spoke to the guy who put up the original cold shuts and has approved the bolting of the toprope routes. The cold shuts are still there and could be used to toprope, since you can access them via the 5.5, but do so at your own risk. They have been there for quite a while, and I had to tighten a couple of them back down when I first started working the area. The new glue-in anchors are in the more solid rock and are not as easily accessible from the top of the cliff.

While Red Rocks sandstone it is not, there appears to be options for more sport routes in the near vicinity on some of the taller cliffs. Stay tuned for more to come...hopefully!

Getting There

The road is the same used to access the Pool of Plenty bouldering area. Drive 7.3 miles up CO 141 from the turn off of US Hwy 50, and take a right down a dirt road with a mailbox. Follow this road until you see the gate for the private property access. The road takes a sharp left away from the private property gate. Stay on the road as far up as your vehicle allows, but without high clearance 4WD, you won't get much further. There are several places to park before you get to the rough section.

Walk along the road until you are about even with the obvious, small, black buttress on your right. Keep an eye out and you will see a trail heading from the road to the cliff. Follow the trail until it peters out, and then carefully work your way uphill on the loose dirt and rocks. I will get back and try to build a cairn soon. Try your best to stay on the trail and washes to avoid unnecessary erosion, the slope is pretty loose the closer you get to the cliff. It is probably about 10-15 minutes from car to the cliff.

Routes from Left to Right

5.5 4b 13 IV+ 11 MS 4a
 2
Snake Fight Crack
Sport
5.9 5c 17 VI 17 HVS 5a
 3
MoonTooth
Sport, TR
5.10- 6a 18 VI+ 18 E1 5a
 4
Behemoth
Sport, TR
5.9 5c 17 VI 17 HVS 5a
 4
Tesseract
Sport, TR
5.9 5c 17 VI 17 HVS 5a
 1
Little Red Corner (AKA Bat Corner )
Trad, TR
Route Name Location Star Rating Difficulty Date
Snake Fight Crack
 2
5.5 4b 13 IV+ 11 MS 4a Sport
MoonTooth
 3
5.9 5c 17 VI 17 HVS 5a Sport, TR
Behemoth
 4
5.10- 6a 18 VI+ 18 E1 5a Sport, TR
Tesseract
 4
5.9 5c 17 VI 17 HVS 5a Sport, TR
Little Red Corner (AKA Bat…
 1
5.9 5c 17 VI 17 HVS 5a Trad, TR

Photos [Hide ALL Photos]

View of the wall from where you leave the road.
[Hide Photo] View of the wall from where you leave the road.
This should be helpful in locating the wall, this is the view from the walk in.
[Hide Photo] This should be helpful in locating the wall, this is the view from the walk in.

Comments [Hide ALL Comments]

Michael Schneiter
Glenwood Springs, CO
[Hide Comment] The glue-in anchors on this wall could use some links and rings for lowering. Currently there are only bolts at the anchors, and while they will last a while, it would be a shame to see the difficult-to-replace glue-ins ruined by people lowering off of them. So, if you're headed up here bring some hardware. I will the next time I'm up there but no guarantee how long that may be. In the meantime, rappelling from the anchors will help reduce wear. Mar 6, 2018
[Hide Comment] Of the three sport routes, two now have quicklinks, and the anchor for the other one is still just the glue-in bolts. So it's still best to rappel off all these climbs, since lowering off the quicklinks might cause lots of rope twisting.

A bit of a hike in for what you get, but the rock is very cool and unique for the area. Dec 4, 2022