Feudal Wall

Overview

 
Feudal Wall is a formation in the Indian Cove area of Joshua Tree National Park, California.

It is a common belief that if you wanted to get away from the traffic and hoards of photo-snapping tourists, you resorted to Indian Cave. Well, that may be true for several of the formations at Indian Cove, but certainly not for Feudal Wall. I have never seen this formation without at least a few climbers on it. There are a number of reasons for this phenomenon. Feudal Wall offers a large number of routes at all difficulty levels. This formation is long and offers many cracks and face routes.



The right side of Feudal Wall is tall enough to be broken into two pitches. In fact, considering the convoluted nature of this formation, it's best to break several of the routes into two pitches. A convoluted ledge system divides this rock into two tiers and in many cases it's used as descent route, or for setting up a top rope on some the more difficult routes. The crack systems range in difficulty from 5.2 to 5.11 with the greatest numbers in the 5.6 to 5.7. These factors have made the lower tier of Feudal Wall an ideal spot for beginner rock climbing classes.

Select Routes

Left Side

Middle Section

California Crack

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Although most of the routes were established during the 1970s, the history of technical climbing on Feudal Wall dates back to the 1960s and may be even earlier. It was during this period that California Crack was climbed using a certain amount of aid. It wasn't until the late seventies, however, that California Crack was free climbed at 5.11a. Regardless of its difficulty, this route stays one of the favorite climbs in the Indian Cove area, and with climbers with 5.11 ambitions in particular. The common practice for the up-and-coming 5.11 climbers is the lead one of the 5.7 crack routes to the left of California Crack and set up a toprope for this ambitious route.


The left side of Feudal Wall offers the largest concentration of easy routes such as Duchess Cracks all in the low to mid fifth class. The left side is often the sight of beginner climbing classes with easy toprope set ups and a friendly base. Not to be missed are a few short bolted face routes peppered in between some of the cracks on Feudal Wall.

List of select routes

	select routes of Feudal Wall
A	Monaco, 11b, bolted face
B	Marchesa, 5.2, Standard Rack
C	Dum Roodle, 5.6, Standard Rack
D	Princess, Standard Rack
E	The Mikado, 5.6, Standard Rack
F	California Crack, 11a, toprope

Getting There

  
Indian Cove is located roughly nine miles east of the town of Joshua Tree on highway 62. The sign directing you to Indan Cove is obvious. Turn right, going south, here. If you go as far the town of 29 Palms, you have gone too far. It’s about three miles from here to Indian Cove Campground. Drive south on this road to a ranger station and the enterance to the park. You will be checked at the gate for your America The Beautiful card, or will be charged an enterance fee. Driving past the gate will bring you to the Indian Cove Campground. Entering the Indian Cove Campground, you pass by Pixie Rock to your right and The Billboard Buttress to your left. Turning left at the fork and looking further down, you will see a large formation on the north side of the road above a small canyon. This is Feudal Wall.

Camping

 

There are nine campgrounds in Joshua Tree National Park. At the entrance to the park you are always asked if you would care to have a map and a brochure. The brochure will have plenty of information on the campgrounds and the map will guide you to many of the pleasant hikes throughout the park. You may even get the latest information as to availability of campsites. During the peak season (mid winter through spring) finding a campsite may become a major task. It is highly recommended to use the following link to get more information in advance.

Joshua Tree Camping

Noise considerations,

When you are camping with friends and sitting around the fire, it is easy to forget that there are other people trying to sleep in the nearby campsites. It is important to put yourself in their shoes. Keep the noise and music to a minimum and certainly not too much past 10 p.m. Your neighbors will smile at you in the morning instead of giving you dirty looks.

Images

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