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Crystal Wall
General
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Average rating
Number of routes
Overview
Today, the Crystal Wall offers several of the area's finest lines of all grades. With north and west aspects, the crag stays shaded until late afternoon during the summer. In addition, no river crossing is required, making the wall a popular summer destination when many of the other crags in the canyon are either inaccessible or too hot. The approach isn't super dog friendly, nor is the scree field that runs the length of the west face. Be very careful about rockfall, as the entire wall is directly above the road. Rattlesnakes are also commonly seen in the area during the summer months.
Nearly all the routes have bolted belay stations, where making one or two 60 meter rappels will bring you back to the ground. Descend from the few traditional lines with natural anchors by locating the nearest bolted rappel station. Walking off to the southwest is possible, but not recommended.
Getting There
The Crystal Wall and Palace share the same parking pullout, which may be found 15.2 miles from Ted's Place.Walk downstream 200 yards on the river side of the road, past a road sign, then carefully cross the road. The trail scrambles up a steep ramp through the roadcut, passing a small tree and fixed rope. From here, follow the obvious cairned trail to the northwest corner of the Crystal Wall. The first climb you will come to is Clean Up On Aisle 9. Branching off to the left takes you to the north face routes, while heading right leads up the steep scree gully to the West Face and the County Line Wall.History
This wall, which lies above the Crystal Rapids on the Poudre River, received sporadic exploration by climbers like Craig Luebben, Vance White, Casey Rosenbach, and Lizz Grenard until the late '90s when the crag was briefly forgotten. As development slowed at the nearby Palace in 2004, locals Bryan Beavers, Derek Peavey, Ken Gibson, Paul Heyliger and others began establishing many excellent routes.