Southern Cross Wall Rock Climbing

During the late 80's, as an overly excited about rock climbing teen, visiting Sam's every weekend that I could afford, I would hike the bluff lines, looking at the amazing geological features. Hiking past a super tall water fall and then scrambling up through several large boulders, I was at the area, that I now know to be and call the Deliverance ridge. From the north-west point of the ridge, you can look across the valley, back toward the Throne, easily looking over all of the trees, especially during the winter months. That's when I first remember seeing what is a strikingly white, starkly different rock exposure, directly down hill from the Throne. My curiosity peaked but it took years before I took the initiative to hike down with some climbing gear to see what the rock was really like.

During several solo trips in the 90's, the opportunity allowed time for a bit of rainy day hiking and exploring a few areas that I had not photographed. So, loading up a few necessities and only packing a light amount of gear for rappelling, the trail leading down from the Catacombs, following an old forest road that tapered into a trail, roughly following the base of the drainage and seasonal creek. Eventually, bushwhacking dropped me to the creek and an impassable slot where the creek cut down and through a layer of polished, light colored rock. The water was flowing, so traversing right, along the top of the rock, an eventual rappel allowed for a good look. First over the edge then down and out on the face, my heart pounded as the excitement of a potentially new wall overwhelmed the senses. Wow, limestone! Solid, overhanging, right here at Sam's Throne, just needing a little TLC. So, over future visits, several lines were scouted, worked, climbed, or planned for future bolting.

The Southern Cross: Shaded all morning and nestled down in the valley between The Throne and the Deliverance ridge, the Southern Cross Wall is an overhanging, limestone exposure offering a bit of a change from the surrounding sandstone. The first bolted route, put up in 2007, as a mixed route, follows a few pockets and bolts up the overhang to a vertical face then ends, at the top, by climbing through a drainage. The rap anchors are below the top out. A single 0.5 pink tri-cam was left in a pocket for the next ascent.