Climbing Reports

Travel using both feet and hands, whether scrambling unroped or technical climbing using rope and anchors.

Roskruge Mountains, Arizona, January 2016

January 6, 2016 by Paul McClellan 1 Comment

Saturday, January 2, I joined the Southern Arizona Hiking Club on two climbs west of Tucson in the Roskruge Mountains. I was one of the drivers and I gave my Jeep a workout on the rutted and rocky roads and tight squeezes through abrasive brush. My Jeep’s “Arizona Striping” is getting quite pronounced now. The peaks have low elevation but have interesting climbs with fine views of the surrounding mountains.

Our first climb was of Martina Mountain which provided a fine view of the nearby Coyote Mountains. We generally hiked cross country up the ramp in the sunlight on the left side of the above photo, then climbed up a rocky band to the summit. We climbed 1100 feet in about 0.8 mile and enjoyed the scrambling over rocks near the top.

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Atascosa Peak, Arizona, December 2015

January 3, 2016 by Paul McClellan 1 Comment

On New Years Eve I hiked Atascosa Peak, the highpoint of the Atascosa Mountains of Southern Arizona. Atascosa Peak is one of the “Coronado 12” peaks, the highpoints of the 12 units of the Coronado National Forest. With 1976 feet of topographical prominence it is the 78th most prominent peak in Arizona.

There was a nice trail leading to the Atascosa Lookout site. From there I descended to the saddle north of the lookout site and up to the summit of Atascosa Peak. This required cross country travel with some scrambling over class 2-3 rock and through some brush. The weather was ideal and I had the traverse out to the summit and back all to myself.

Atascosa Peak from above Peña Blanca Lake

The above photo is of Atascosa Peak looking west from above Peña Blanca Lake near the end of Arizona highway 289. The Lookout site is located on the high point on the left. The summit of Atascosa Peak is the high point on the right, about 1 mile north of the lookout site.

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Sierra Estrella, Arizona, December 2015

December 13, 2015 by Paul McClellan Leave a Comment

On Saturday, December 12, I joined climbers from Las Vegas and Phoenix to climb the high point of the Sierra Estrella, just west of Phoenix. I mostly hike/climb solo anymore, but I was glad to be part of a competent group on this peak to help with routefinding and motivation on a long off-trail ascent over rock and through cactus. There were many opportunities to make a mistake ascending and descending a rocky ridge and dry waterfalls in a wash. It was also helpful to follow others on a primitive jeep trail to get to the start of the climb.

Sierra Estrella from the end of the Jeep trail

The Sierra Estrella high point is just beyond the rock pinnacle visible left of center on the far ridge in the photo above. We ascended the rock ridge in the center of the photo. On our descent we followed the ridge a short distance down, then descended left into the gully/wash to the right of the ridge from this view.

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Mount Nebo, Utah, September 2015

September 24, 2015 by Paul McClellan Leave a Comment

In early September I spent a week hiking several Utah prominence peaks and sampling Utah mountain ranges I had not yet visited. After hiking Mount Ellen I headed for Mount Nebo in the Wasatch Range of Utah. Mount Nebo is an “ultra prominence peak” with 5488 feet of prominence. With 11,928 feet of elevation it is the highest peak in the Wasatch Range of Utah.

Mount Nebo from the Nebo Scenic Byway. Mount Nebo is just left of center in sunlight.

On September 5 I drove into the Wasatch Range along the Nebo Scenic Byway from the south. There were many campers in campgrounds. Dispersed campsites along the Byway and the Nebo Bench Trailhead parking lot was nearly full. It was a windy afternoon and evening with forecasts of stronger winds overnight. I eventually found a primitive but scenic campsite on a ridge about two miles from the Nebo Bench Trailhead. Here I spent the afternoon relaxing in the shelter of my jeep.

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