-
1560 Hits
-
78.27% Score
-
9 Votes
Page Type:
|
Mountain/Rock |
|---|---|
Lat/Lon:
|
30.36398°N / 98.12583°W |
Activities:
|
Sport Climbing, Toprope |
Season:
|
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter |
|
Overview
Rhetorick Wall is just to the climber's left of Dead Cats Wall and seems more like an extension of the latter than a truly separate wall, but I was not part of the climbing development at Reimers Ranch.
The climbing here is mostly hard, with four 5.12 routes and one 5.13, but there is an excellent moderate, 5.8 Talk It Up, that might be open if you show up at Dead Cats on a weekend afternoon and find all the moderates taken, which is a good possibility. Talk It Up is the left-most route on the wall, is by some oak trees, and is easily recognizable by a huge flake that looks remarkably like the shape of Texas.
By far, the best resource for this area is Austin Climbing: Sport Routes and Deep Water Solos by John Hogge.
I do not know if the misspelling in the wall's name was intentional.
Getting There
Reimers Ranch is located off Hamilton Pool Road about 6 miles west of its intersection with Ranch Road 12. It is about 45 minutes west from downtown Austin.
Once through the entrance station, drive about 1.8 mi and turn left into a large parking area signed for a pavilion and for climbing access. A sign points the way to "Climbers Canyon." Hike the trail and then drop into the top of the "canyon" where a spring creates a stream that soon empties into the Pedernales River. This stream includes a waterfall and some deep pools that are great places to cool off after climbing on a hot day.
Hike by or through the stream until a trail becomes apparent. The trail through Sex Canyon, which is what climbers call the canyon (very slick in some spots) splits a number of times. Stay on the main path, not crossing the stream, until you reach a spot where a large fallen tree crosses the trail. Step over that tree and continue.
After a short uphill stretch, you will see a spur leading to Serpent's Wall. Keep going. In a minute or two, you will reach the Dead Cats area. Keep going past the huge oak that marks the left end of Dead Cats. The bolted lines left of that oak are on Rhetorick Wall. The wall ends just past Talk It Up; the end is easy to spot because there is a drop-off there and the wall turns a corner and becomes overhanging.
Routes
From left to right:- Talk It Up (5.8)-- Very fun route, a little chossy at the start, a little scary after the second bolt until you find the "Aha!" hold. Also makes a good rope-solo climb because the trees at the base are bomber anchors. 40', and with 5 bolts, very well-protected. One of the best 5.8 routes at Reimers.
- Choss It Up (5.10+)-- Using the Talk It Up anchors, TR up the steep face and dihedral to the right, eventually crossing over to the finish of Talk It Up.
- Schizophrenic Calisthenics (5.12d R)
- The Quest for Zest (5.12c)-- has a .13a variation.
- Rhetorick (5.12a)
- Punctuation Mark (5.12a)
 Talk It Up (5.8) |
 Schizophrenic Calisthenics (5.12d R) |
 The Quest for Zest (5.12c) |
 Rhetorick (5.12a) and Punctuation Mark (5.12a) |