Ames Wall Rock Climbing

The Ames Wall is a seldom visited crag across the way from the Ophir Wall. The two share certain characteristics - adventure climbing, loose rock, scary situations, talus approach...but other than that they are really as different as two multipitch crags could be. Think of the two as heaven (Ophir) and hell (Ames). While Ophir is sunny, warm (you can climb rock there virtually any month of the year) and generally inviting, Ames has a dark and foreboding feel to it. It hides away year round in the shade, is cold, damp, and correspondingly mossy and vegetative. The rock type at Ophir is of mostly granitic composition (this is subject to debate), but the Ames Wall supposedly has three distinct layers, like a cake; from bottom to top it goes Dakota Sandstone, Rhyolite, and finally Mancos SHALE. For those of you who don't know rocks well, shale is generally avoided like the plague. To give an idea of how avoided this crag is, the most popular season is likely the winter...where people flock all season long to attempt one climb only: the all-time classic Ames Ice Hose. Nevertheless, several full-length, high-quality routes go up various sections of the wall. They seem to be few and far between. For those looking for a "different" experience...give it a shot!