North Rim: Painted Wall to Russian Arête

Climbing in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison has to be the absolute opposite of cragging: it's hard to get to, it's long, it's hot, it's runout, it's loose, it has ticks and poison ivy... Despite, or perhaps because of all of this, it is one of the most unique and storied places in American climbing history, with visionaries like Layton Kor, Ed Webster and Jonathan Schaffer having made countless first ascents.

Of all the cliffs in the canyon, the Painted Wall is surely the most iconic of them all (and certainly the largest, third in size in the contiguous US at 2,250ft!), with a fearsome reputation and an incredible look with its dark schist criss-crossed by 1.7 billion year old pegmatite bands.

This poster shows almost all the route between SOB Gully and Cruise Gully, including the Painted Wall itself, the Arêtes (including Porcelain), the Gothic Pillar, the Diagonal Buttress, the Hooker Buttress and most of the Russian Arête.

Free download link - medium resolution, personal use only (no printing allowed)

Route List

1: Southern Arête, 5.10+, Covington, Dalke, Goss, Kor, 1966/Gilbert, Rosholt, 1977

2: Journey through Mirkwood, 5.11+, Newberry, Pearson, Pulaski, Rosholt, 1977/Copp, Williams, 2001

3: Forrest-Walker, 5.10 A4, Forrest, Walker, 1972

4: Stratosfear, 5.11+ X, Coyne, Leavitt, 1982

5: The Serpent, 5.11+ R/X, Achey, Harvey, 1999

6: Dragon Route, 5.9 A3+, Baillie, Baxter, Karlstrom, Lovejoy, 1972

7: Climb Bold or Fly, 5.10 A4+, Beyer, 1988

8: Act I, 5.11 A2+ R, Mathis, Stuckey, Walz, 2021

9: Northern Arête, 5.11-, Disney, Kor, 1962

10: The Terrible Tadpole, 5.9 V0 WI3 M4 R, Dickey, Vrba, Wharton, 2015

11: On the Border, 5.9 R, Rolofson, Tschappat, 1978

12: Broken Porcelain, 5.10, Gallagher

13: Porcelain Arête, 5.9+, Kerr, Kor, 1962

14: Suffer Pony at the Disco, 5.10 R, Forrester, Roop, 2009

15: Jonny Alpine, 5.11-, Bernhardt, Schaffer, 2012

16: Lengthwise, 5.10+ X, Schaffer, Schauer, 2011

17: There Will Be Blood, 5.11 R, McKean, Schaffer, 2011

18: Pound Town, 5.11+ R, Richard, Schaffer, 2014

19: Thy Will Be Done, 5.11 R/X, Benge, Davis, 1985

20: Swallow Wall, 5.7 A4, Goss, Kor, 1967

21: Diagonal Will, 5.11+ R, Becker, Webster, 1978

22: Pathfinder, 5.11-, Dickey, Webster, 1991

23: Things Fall Apart, 5.11 R, Schaffer, Zeilman, 2014

24: Sistine Reality, 5.11+ R, Collins, Copp, 2006

25: The Gothic Pillar, 5.10 A2+/5.12b R, Kor, Webster, 1987/Buckley, Weaver, 2022

26: Baroque Down Palace, 5.10+ R, Achey, Hollenbaugh, 1995

27: The Hooker, 5.10+ R, Covington, Westbay, 1975/Becker, Webster, 1978

28: Cheap Hooker, 5.12- R/X, Donahue, Ogden, 2003

29: Cheap Shot, 5.11+ R/X, Cassidy, Wiggins, 1984

30: The Blacksmiths, 5.12, Donahue, Ogden, 2006

31: Dry Hard, 5.10+ R, Cassidy, Wiggins, 1984

32: White Russian, 5.11+ R/X, McKean, Schaffer, 2010

33: Chernobyl, 5.10+ X, McKean, Schaffer, 2011

34: AK-47, 5.12- R, Buchli, Schaffer, 2009

35: The Left Side of Darkness, 5.10+ R, Myers, Slavens/Miller, Myers, 1985

36: Russian Arête, 5.9+, Dalke, Kor, 1962