Zoraster in Dec.

I was wondering if anyone had any experience or knowledge as to how it would be to climb Zoraster in the upcoming weeks. My main concern is the cold will it turn into a true winter ascent or will it be perfect temps because of the oven effect of the canyon?

I have not climbed that formation this time of year, but my guess would be that the standard route (i.e. NE arete) would be a rather chilly (yet doable) experience with little sun all day. When we get snow it is likely to stay on the route for the next few months. A bit of wind would make it even more challenging. You'll have to carry less water, but more clothes for the very long, cold nights. A candle is nice. I would not count on the water pockets in Sumner Wash right now. Stellar route. Have a grand time.

That will depend entirely on the weather.
I would do the South Face route if you're concerned about sun and willing to lead a pitch of spicy 5.9.

We did Buddha in the winter once. Cold nights, warm days.
If it's clear no problem, if it's stormy...

What gide book is the south face root topo in?

Trevor Lugers said they went from the south rim to Zoroaster one winter only to find the shady sections of that route had enough ice and snow to make it super sketch and unpleasant. After bailing,they barely made it back to phantom ranch in time for beer.

(NE Arete) In early March of this past year there was a fair amount of snow and ice on the steep scramble leading up to the roped pitches. There are some fixed lines on that face that allow people to batman up short sections- these were all ice coated. We didn't bring, or end up needing, ice/snow gear but we did rope up and improvise (pulling on vegetation, shoulder stand, tension, etc.)to get past them. However, the roped pitches on the temple were perfectly dry.

If there is sun and high pressure the hike down,over,around,up,through,etc. will likely be very pleasant. But once on the north side for the last 1000 ft. or so I would be prepared for "desert alpine".

And bring all the water you need up from Phantom - you will likely only have stagnant pools and dirty snow otherwise.

If you want to suffer you could do this route in Dec. The rock layer that most of the temple is composed of is called Coconino sandstone, with a Toroweep summit(layers near the rim.) You can expect the same weather on the route that the S. rim is receiving at 7000 ft. I think your best bet would be to save this one for spring, and head down to cochise stronghold or J-tree. If you do decide to go for it pm me about dates and I can help get you on your way.

Greg wrote:South Face route, no guidebook...

Regarding the SFace:
There was also an article in Az Highways that had some pictures.
And another overview article in Mountain that had one or two pics.

I don't recall if we had a topo or not. If you find the start, the rest of the route is pretty straight forward. The possible exception might be the "Killer Twilight Traverse" pitch. Go right at the most obvious traverse below the big roof. A testy lead off a couple of small wires in the Cocoweap. George Bain's lead of this in the fading light was the real crux of the first ascent (regardless of what you might read elsewhere.)

The Az Hway article had a picture of the first pitch that we found very helpful for finding the correct start. It's a big intimidating roof/chimney that turns out to be very reasonable. I might have that around for a scan in...

Seems like most who do the walk in go for the classic NFace.
But for that time of year, the SFace would be the route to be on.