Trip Reports - 8/2000 A Tour through Arizona in AUGUST!

Camelback:

In a word... HOT! In two ..... VERY HOT! That is how the rock feels in Phoenix during the summer months. Last August, Shaun Opie and I went out to Arizona so he could show me some of Arizona's finest. Shaun's sister, Kate, met us at the airport and after crashing at her place for the night, the three of us set off to play a climber's version of "hot potato" on one of Camelback's classics, "The Praying Monk."

See larger photo of the cactus

Camelback is a two-summited mountain that looms over eastern Phoenix and Scottsdale Arizona. To the imaginary eye, Camelback's appearance is similar to that of a kneeling camel, hence it's name. The eastern summit of Camelback rises to 2,704 feet and forms the camel's hump. The lower, western summit forms the camel's head and is where most of the climbing occurs. Though the Camel's Head Formation is divided into four distinct regions, most of the routes are found in the Echo Canyon and Papago Park regions. The Papago Park region is composed of reddish sandstone deposited by streams on an alluvial fan. There are alternate layers of cobbles, pebbles, sand and silt within the sandstone and climbing holds are typically flakes, cobbles and pebbles. The rock at Camelback has a reputation for being crumbly and there certainly are several routes with dicey sections However, due to the frequency of climbing traffic, most of the popular routes are sound.

View bigger image of the Praying Monk

Though the climbing is best October through April due to the cooler temperatures, we couldn't pass up the opportunity climb Camelback given that we traveled from Florida to get here. Attempting to avoid the brunt of the heat, we decided to venture up the classic The Praying Monk "early" in the morning. Arriving at the Echo Canyon Street parking lot at 8:00 am, we realized it was going to be a hot one no matter what. Armed with Gatorade and sunscreen we hiked up the SE trail leading to the Headwall. Passing the "Flaming Testicle" and several other boulder problems, we finally arrived at the Headwall. The Headwall is a NW facing cliff band on top of which, the Praying Monk is located. We climbed the Headwall Route 5.4 (bolted) to the Upper Terrace and hiked over to the base of the Praying Monk.

Enlarge photo of Mike

The Praying Monk is a well known Phoenix landmark that is perched on the east side of the upper terrace. It is an 80-foot high tower that looks very much like a kneeling monk. The classic sport line up the Monk is the East Face (5.4) with the Southeast Corner start (5.6). As I began my ascent up the Southeast Corner, I soon realized just how warm the rock was getting. The sandstone itself wasn't too bad, however the cobbles dispersed throughout the wall were an entirely different story. There was simply no time to hang out to enjoy the view without burning your fingers. Rather quickly, I reached the top and set up to belay Katie and Shaun... Do you think I would endure that torture all by myself without sharing it with my friends? What are you thinking?

Kate started up next and I could tell by the increasingly higher pitches in her voice that the rock must be getting hotter as she scampered up the face towards me. She certainly looked relieved to be at the top where she didn't have to touch anything with her blistering fingers. Shaun, knowing what he was in for, just rocketed up the face to "cooler" ground. Before rapping down off the shaded side of the tower, we all gazed out over Phoenix admiring the incredible view and thinking, "I hope it doesn't get any hotter than this."

Enlarge photo of Kate

On the way down the trail, we stopped momentarily to play on some the numerous boulder problems before seeking refuge from the sun. Leaving the molten mountain, we drove to Scottsdale to pay tribute to Shaun's family and had a wonderful meal at the Opie residence. No, we were not roughing it this time. Shaun's mother cooks very incredible meals, certainly not to be missed if at all possible.

Flagstaff:

The following day we sheltered ourselves from the Phoenix heat while planning our trip north to Flagstaff and Sedona. Over the next few days we planned to visit Le Petit Verdon (The pit) in Flagstaff and The Overlook at Oak Creek Canyon in Sedona. The three of us left for Flagstaff later that evening after yet another marvelous meal prepared by Shaun's mother. We arrived in Flagstaff with a clear starlit sky above us and quickly set up camp. We fell asleep under the glitter of the Arizona sky watching an endless procession of shooting stars pass by.

Awakening to the usual .... a quick cup of coffee, pack up camp and let's go... we headed off down the trail leading to The Pit. The Pit (Le Petit Verdon) is a series of broken, south facing cliffs composed of steep Kaibab Limestone. It is situated on the north side of Walnut Canyon and contains about 140 pocket littered sport routes ranging from 5.9 to 5.13. At an elevation of 6900 feet, these cliffs offer year round climbing. We hiked five minutes down the trail to the cliff and set up for our first climb on "Pleasant Dreams 5.9". After leading Pleasant Dreams, we decided on the ultra-classic, "Popeye Meets the Burrito Master 5.9". Popeye is slightly overhung and loaded with pockets. After our bout with Popeye, we headed over to another classic of perhaps equal standing, "Mr. Slate 5.10". Finishing up for the afternoon, we packed up and drove on down to Sedona to camp for the evening.

See larger photo of Shaun

Sedona:

Enlarge view of Sedona

Sedona is primarily a trendy resort town and art colony that sits amidst the spectacular sandstone country of the lower Oak Creek Canyon. The canyon begins north at the Mogollon Rim and plunges southward through an abrupt defile lined with sandstone walls eventually widening at Sedona. The Sedona area forms a transition zone between the Colorado Plateau and the arid Sonoran Desert to the south. Sedona is surrounded by sandstone cliffs sculpted by erosion into buttes, spires, buttresses and numerous soaring walls; all of which attract numerous hikers, climbers and tourist. Due to the fire restrictions, we were unable to camp at Schnebly Hill, which offers a spectacular view of the Sedona valley. So, we drove to the Oak Creek Overlook and camped nearby.

The Oak Creek Overlook is a viewpoint perched above the confluence of Oak Creek and Pumphouse Wash just on the edge of the Mogollon Rim. The rim of the overlook is a half-mile long cliff band lined with basalt, which offers some incredible crack climbing. Upon awakening to the chorus of "elk in the mist", the three of us broke camp and headed to the overlook. We hiked down to the Trinity Cracks Sector and set up some tope ropes on Mint Jam 5.7, Jelly Roll 5.8 and Isaiah 5.9. After spending most of the morning on these three routes, we moved down the cliff a little and set up a top rope on the classic Trinity Cracks 5.10. The trinities are three adjacent crack systems that offer some excellent climbing. After getting our fill of crack for the day, Kate, Shaun and I packed up and headed back to Phoenix to plan out next venture to Prescott.

View larger image of Shaun

Prescott:

Over the next two days, Shaun and I organized for two day trip into the Granite Mountain Wilderness Area of the Prescott National Forest. Granite Mountain is an isolated 7,626-foot high mountain nestled in the hills on the north flank of the Bradshaw mountains. The 150-500-foot granite face offers some spectacular climbing and is nicknamed "Arizona's little big wall."

See larger photo of Shaun

This south facing cliff is divided into three major wall sections: Swamp Slabs, Middle Section and Right Section. Our plans were to hike in, set up camp and climb a combination of the Dislocation Buttress (5.4) and Dislocation Direct (5.6) the following morning. We arrived at the Granite Basin Campground during the middle of a typical Arizona thunderstorm and waited it out while watching brilliant flashes of lightning split the sky open like children opening presents on Christmas morning. As the rain tapered to a mere drizzle, we gathered our gear and began the 3-mile hike to the top of Granite Mountain. The 1.5 mile trail to the saddle is a well maintained hiking trail that takes you along the southern edge of the mountain base. The hike up the western edge to the summit is another 1.5 mile on a rough, winding access trail. Reaching the summit, Shaun and I set up camp and found a scenic vantage point to watch the sunset over the pastel valley below and rolling hills in the distance.

View larger photo of Shaun on top

In the morning, under sunny skies, we hiked down a gully to the base of the Swamp Slab where "Dislocation Buttress" began. Our plan was to link the first two pitches of "Dislocation Buttress" with the last three of Dislocation Direct. We decided that Shaun would lead the first and last pitches and I would do the ones in the middle. The climb went like clockwork and upon reaching the top we found there was plenty of time to do a short climb before we had to go. We moved down the cliff face to "Debut", a two pitch 5.5 and rapped down the top pitch. After I reached the top, I started to belay Shaun up and noticed dark clouds off in the distance. Shaun no sooner topped out and the sky opened up with an encore of the day before. As we watched sheets of water rush over the rock face we looked at each other and smiled. It was certainly nice to be off the rock before that came down on us. We gathered our gear and headed back to the campsite to grab our packs. As we headed down the trail towards the car, the rain stopped and the sun came out just enough to keep things warm on the way out. However, just as we put our packs in the car we encountered a deja of the day before and stood witness to yet another fascinating Arizona thunderstorm. We wrapped things up with a one final meal at the Opie Residence and long flight back to Florida.

See larger photo of sunset

Guidebooks:

• Phoenix Rock II by Greg Opland, Falcon 1996. [Phoenix]
• Camelback Mountain fold out topo by Marty Karabin. [Phoenix]
• Rock Climbing Arizona by Stewart Green, Falcon 1999. [Good, but general Arizona]
• A Cheap Way To Fly by Tim Toula, 1991. [The Overlook and the Pit]
• Climbing Guide to the Pit by Robert Miller, 1996. [The Pit]
• A Topo Guide to Granite Mountain by Jim Waugh, 1982. (Out of Print)
• Rock & Ice #4. [Granite Mountain]
• Climbing, June 1999. [Flagstaff and Sedona]

Submitted by Mike Tennant, (mtennant@ufl.edu)
Gainesville local

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