The Fortress
California, United States, North America

The Fortress

Page Type Page Type: Mountain/Rock
Location Lat/Lon: 34.58290°N / 119.262°W
Additional Information County: Ventura
Activities Activities: Trad Climbing
Seasons Season: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter
Additional Information Elevation: 3800 ft / 1158 m
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Overview










The Fortress

Not to be confused with The Fortress in Joshua Tree National Park, The Fortress is a rock formation in the mountains along Maricopa Highway, north of the town Ojai, California.


Left formationLeft formation
This beautiful and complex formation somehow managed to hide in plain view for decades. In fact, you cannot find literature on this formation in any relevant guide books. I climbed on neighboring formations, Black Wall, also known as “Sespe Wall” and Potrero John, the subject of a future page, for many years and drove right past The Fortress without looking at it little closer. I have only recently been alerted to The Fortress by talking to different climbers.


right formationRight formation
It seems that the history of technical climbing on The Fortress dates back to the mid eighties. It is reasonable to assume that the first few ascents were made by Ventura County residents as the area has a rich pool of climbers to draw from. My hope is to make supplemental submissions to this page in the future as the information becomes more available.


The Fortress consists of a series of rocky pinnacle outcroppings a few hundred feet up the hillside by Maricopa Highway. It’s located about half a mile north of Black Wall, a very popular climbing formation. It seems that The Fortress lost the popularity contest to Black Wall because of the difficulty in approach to its base. The steep and loose hillside can easily discourage a new comer, especially with ease of approach to the base of Black Wall.


Although the approach to the base of the formations themselves might not be the most pleasant mountain experience you have had in your life, the rock itself has a lot to offer. There are many sections of this complex formation that remain untouched.

Topos of the routes, The Fortress

Routes of the middle and right formationsRoutes of the middle and right formations

At first glance, there are three distinct pinnacle/triangular shaped formations that stand out. These three formations contain the majority of the routes on The Fortress. Upon closer look, however, you will discover a few smaller satellite faces with a few routes of their own and potential for several more. One such face on the left sports a 5.4 route called “Footprints.” Another mini pinnacle on the extreme right offers a 5.9 climb named “Consumption Dysfunction.”

Routes of the left formationRoutes of the left formation
Thanks to the efforts a handful of climbers such as Mathew Fienup, the three larger formations in center of The Fortress complex offer a variety of routes from one to two pitches long. Most of the routes end on a ledge. Look out for the unfinished routes that climb up a few bolts and stop in the middle of the face. The routes are convoluted and you will find yourself weaving around bushes and blocks of rock. It’s a good idea to use plenty of runners here.

The Fortress is generally northeast facing and several of the faces get shade early in the day. This has caused large amounts of lichen to grow on several of the faces. Take a good strong brush to clean some of the holds.

List of the routes







Climbs of The Fortress
AFoot Prints, 5.4, standard rack
BSnicker Doodle, 5.9+, standard rack
CBlue In Green, 5.6, standard rack
DRational Expectations, 5.7, standard rack
EMagali's Arete, 5.7, standard rack
FNatural Rate of Unemployment, 5.10, standard rack
GPermanent Income Hypothesis, 5.9+, standard rack
HFree to Choose, 5.9, 2 pitches, standard rack
IConsumption Dysfunction, 5.9+, standard rack


Camping

Views of the surrounding areas


Unlike in the mountains of Santa Barbara, there are a number of campgrounds along Highway 33 on your way to Black Wall. Wheeler Gorge Campground is one. If you want to camp closer to town, there are many State Beach campgrounds along the beaches of Ventura County.
The following links should help you find a suitable spot for camping.


Ventura/Ojai weather


Ventura Beach Camping


Wheeler Gorge Campground/Ventura, Ojai camping


Emma Wood State Beach





How to get there

Views of the surrounding areas



Directions to Black Wall of Sespe Gorge cannot be simpler. From Highway 101 and the city of Ventura, California, take Highway 33 north for 13.2 miles to its junction with Maricopa Road in the town Ojai. Turn left here onto Maricopa and drive another twenty miles. You will see Black Wall to your left across the creek. Drive another half a mile up the road to a big dirt pull-out on the left side. Park here. You wont miss the triangular shaped formations across the creek and up the hill a short distance.

Black Wall








Images

View The Fortress Image Gallery - 11 Images

Table of Contents
Geography
Parents 

Parents

Parents refers to a larger category under which an object falls. For example, theAconcagua mountain page has the 'Aconcagua Group' and the 'Seven Summits' asparents and is a parent itself to many routes, photos, and Trip Reports.

Crags of OjaiMountains & Rocks