Possibly moving to Phoenix/Scottsdale
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Hey Guys, I'm possibly moving to Phoenix or Scottsdale in the next 6 months for work. I'm currently a midwest climber who frequents Devil's Lake, so I am used to having 1000's of really well documented routes at my finger tips. I looked through what some of the crag options are in the Phoenix area. There looks to at least be some trad climbing, with Pinacle peak probably offering the best. |
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You're pretty limited with after work crags. Pinacle Peak and the McDowell Mountains are options. |
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Red wrote:You're pretty limited with after work crags. Pinacle Peak and the McDowell Mountains are options. But for weekend crags, here's a few to get you started: Paradise Forks and Volunteer Canyon The Waterfall East Clear Creek West Clear Creek CochiseThanks for the info. Right now I don't have any after work crags, so it's not a deal breaker. Just hoping that in moving to AZ I can do a lot MORE climbing than I do now. Can a Trad climber find happiness in this area? What about getting outside the area? How far am I from some really choice destinations? |
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Phoenix is only a few hours from all the areas I linked above. All of those areas have some pretty choice climbing. 4.5 hours to Joshua Tree. About 5 - 5.5 hours to Red Rocks. A little over 6 hours to Indian Creek. |
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Have you been to Phoenix before? It is HOT like 2/3 of the year. |
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Chris Schmidt wrote:Have you been to Phoenix before? It is HOT like 2/3 of the year.Quite the opposite. It's hot like 1/3 of the year and fucking awesome 2/3 of the year. Pretty tough to beat our winters. Statewide we get about 350+ climbable days a year. |
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Within a 2 hour drive from phoenix your options are endless and year round. Isolation, granite mountain, the overlook, sedona, granite dells, the waterfall, etc. For after work trad you are limited to old-school sandbagged granite at pinnacle peak, McDowells and little granite. These are also fun and will keep you challenged. Plus it's rare to get rained out. |
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This is all good stuff to hear guys. I've been to Phoenix in the middle of summer. Traveled out there a bunch for work. Even if the after work climbing isn't good, the fact that it's even an option to go play makes me happy. I don't have that at all right now except the gym. |
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Anyone who says climbing in AZ sucks has most likely not lived in the Midwest. Phoenix is hot in the summer, no shit... But, Sedona, flagstaff and Tucson (Mt Lemmon) are all two hours or less distance, depending on traffic. Yes, Phoenix traffic sucks and can push your climbing trip back by a few routes. Climbing magazine named Tucson the best city for climbing in the US ( climbing.com/route/climberv…), which is a short trip down the 10. There is plentiful, year round climbing, and several good gyms in Phoenix. I do miss snowboarding at Snowbowl too. On a clear day, you can run down the bowls with views of the Grand Canyon in the distance. It can get icey, but Western icey, normal to great for the East coast. Be stoked. |
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I'm glad I started this thread. You guys are making a difficult decision much easier. |
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There is no after work climbing June-Sept. Too hot |
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KevinD wrote:There is no after work climbing June-Sept. Too hotThat's ok. Right now I have NO after work climbing, and my climbing season is cut short by nasty rain and cold and winter...and I don't ice climb. Not like if I did that would be any good in the MW anyway. |
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If you are fanatical you can keep busy morning and evening on summer days. Just find shade and make it quick. Otherwise drive up in elevation. Mt. Lemmon, Flagstaff or other cooler crags aren't far. |
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If you are fanatical you can keep busy morning and evening on summer days. Just find shade and make it quick. Otherwise drive up in elevation. Mt. Lemmon, Flagstaff or other cooler crags aren't far. |
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I made the same move a few years ago. No worries, its a good one, higher elevation is close by and its a dry heat. Night climbing is awesome. |
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I too made the move 4 years ago. It is good here. Tons of quality within 3 hours. Sunrise is underappreciated skiing imo, esp if they get snow. There are better places to live, climb, and ski out west, but Phoenix is better than almost any where in the flyover states or out east. |
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I moved to Phoenix from Boulder, Colorado 1.5 years ago. In my opinion, climbing in AZ is more varied and possibly better than near Boulder (I know that sounds ridiculous and bla bla... whatever). I always travel 1.5-3hrs on weekends and I think climbing is more remote, adventurous, varied than in the Front Range. You can climb here year round (Winslow Wall in the middle of the summer), Homestead (world class limestone sport climbing) in January. Waterfall is a world class trad climbing area 2hrs away from the Valley. And shit ton of everything else. Send me a message when you get here, I will show you some places :) |
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The only bad thing about Phoenix climbing scene is the absence of a good modern climbing gym here. Not sure why. |
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Au contraire, Peter. A LEGIT gym is Focus. Also, AZR is pretty good too. Climax has amazing features but the management is lacking. |
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Climbmax has a sweet bouldering cave, but you're |
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Focus is a bouldering gym. |