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The Helmet
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Routes Sorted
L to R R to L Alpha
Adventures of Nad and Huck, The 
Ain't My First Rodeo 
Brain Bucket 
Critical Mass 
Crossing, The 
Danny Likes Men 
Demolition Derby 
Dwarf Toss 
El Torito 
Freeloader 
Mr. Clean 
No Climb For Old Men 
Pregnant Pause 
Tony's Route 

The Helmet 


Photos: Recent | Best | Popular
Elevation: 6,900'
Page Views: 6,713. Good page?   
Administrators: Kristine Hoffman, Greg Opland, James DeRoussel, JJ Schlick, Tom Erickson
Submitted By: jbak on Apr 26, 2010

Make this area a Favorite
What's New
  Print a Mini-Guide with routes

Add Route  Add Photo  Add Comment  Add Event 

Fri Sat Sun Mon Tue
Clear
99° | 64°
Clear
99° | 64°
Clear
99° | 63°
Mostly Cloudy
93° | 64°
Partly Cloudy
88° | 63°

VB...nappin' on the ledge.

Description 

A fun little crag with some unusual routes. Mt Lemmons's answer to the Frog Prince area at Datil.

Easy to see as you drive up the Mt Lemmon Highway. It looks like a helmet sitting up on the slope in front of you as you drive past Col. Birdseye.

Morning shade.

The crag is west-facing with a vertical face on the left, and a shallow cave on the right.

It's a good idea to check the nuts on chain-draw hangers frequently. Let me know if any are loose.

Not a big deal in our dry climate, but FWIW this crag is totally stainless steel.

  • *****************************************************************

There is some confusion (my fault) about route naming in the cave:

Chain Gang - the name EFR gave to the roof chains.

No Climb For Old Men = El Torito start + Chain Gang
Freeloader = Dwarf Toss start + Chain Gang


Getting There 

Park just down-road from the Window. Same as for Middle Earth. I'll post a map. 10 min approach.


The Classics

Mountain Project's determination of some of the classic, most popular, highest rated routes for The Helmet:
Danny Likes Men   5.10+     Sport, 50 feet   
Demolition Derby   5.12-     Sport, 45 feet   
El Torito   5.12a/b     Sport, 35 feet   
The Crossing   5.12b     Sport, 40 feet   
Dwarf Toss   5.12c     Sport, 35 feet   
Freeloader   5.13-     Sport, 55 feet   
Browse More Classics in The Helmet

Featured Route For The Helmet
JB on Chain Gang.

Freeloader 5.13-  AZ : Mount Lemmon (Santa Catalin... : ... : The Helmet
From near the El Torito anchors you can see a line of letter-boxes, slopers and rails heading straight right out the 20+ foot ceiling to the center of the roof. When I realized it might go I was amazed. This extension was dubbed "Chain Gang" by EFR and that has stuck. If you start on Dwarf Toss and finish on Chain Gang, you have done one long, hard line that is completely independent of El Torito and the other cave routes... Freeloader.Vince came up with the name to underscore the fact that I ...[more]   Browse More Classics in AZ


Photos of The Helmet Slideshow Add Photo
Old dog.....same trick... <br /> <br />Snapped by Vince as he was scouting a new route.

Old dog.....same trick...

Snapped by Vince as he ...


It's pretty easy to get from The Helmet to Middle Earth by contouring directly between them.

BETA PHOTO: It's pretty easy to get from The Helmet to Middle ...

The cave routes.  There is a line of exploratory hangers above the "P" in "Project" that don't really go anywhere yet.  DToss + Chain Gang = Freeloader

BETA PHOTO: The cave routes. There is a line of exploratory h...


Comments on The Helmet Add Comment
Show which comments
By Joe Kreidel
From: Tucson, AZ
May 5, 2010

Although some people complain about the choss, I really like this area. Super steep climbing on mostly good rock, beautiful views and fun exposure. I only wish the cave was much, much bigger with more and longer routes. Big thanks to the developers, as I can only imagine how much effort went into cleaning and bolting these routes!

More beta for the approach: Head up the same gully as you take for Middle Earth. Near the top of the ridgeline, look for a trail the heads a little left (Middle Earth trail heads off to the right). Follow the trail to top of ridge, then down to Helmet.

By jbak
May 5, 2010

Thanks Joe... I'll take credit for expending the most effort and $$$, but Joe Shiefman was the guy who lit the fire under this crag. He had to badger me for like 5 years before I would go up and take a look.

Cres and EFR helped a lot too. Cres did a lot of cleaning and Eric did some drilling and provided mental health services.

By Hendrixson
From: Tucson, AZ
Jun 5, 2011

My understanding of the routes from left to right:

Vertical Routes
~~~
Adventures of Nad & Huck 9
Brain Bucket 10b/c
Ain't My First Rodeo 11a
Danny Likes Men 10d
Critical Mass 11b
Tony's Route 11b/c (Shares first 3 bolts w/ Critical Mass)
Mr Clean 10d

Cave Routes
~~~
El Torito 12a/b
Dwarf Toss 12c
Freeloader 13a (Dwarf Toss + Chain Gang Extension)
The Crossing 12b
Demolition Derby 12a/b