The Trundler's Club Buttress is a Gothic looking complex of stone, which is dominated by large systems, and steep head walls. Two routes punch up this airy, and intimidating 350' chunk of stone:
Trundler's Club 5.10+, 5 Pitches- Is by far the easier of the two, and if you feel solid on 5.11 trad, you are sure to enjoy the middle three pitches, and especially pitch 4 which is super exposed, and a tad heady. The final summit ledge puts you hundreds of feet above Chicken Point.
PMT 5.11+/.12-, 3 or 4 Pitches- This is a wonderful outing if you can get past the first pitch... A full pitch of very technical face climbing guards two very wild crack pitches.
You will most likely not encounter any other climbers here, however, the buttress does overlook Chicken Point which is a destination for Jeep Tours and moderate hikers. The tours below can be a bit annoying or entertaining...depending on the day. But, be prepared to be part of someones Jeep Tour experience, as the guides will often point out climbers. If you can keep quiet and avoid detection, it is in your best interest as once noticed, they may sit, and watch you for a long time. Week days are, of course, lower traffic days. If you are there on a slow day, however, consider yourself lucky and enjoy the peace.
Getting There
Follow directions for the Religion wall past the watchtower. Stick close to the wall and you will encounter some fixed approach lines. Climb up to the limestone band and follow it around to the east between Minister and the Pulpit and the main wall. Once through the notch stick to the main wall and look for faint trail. A hairy move on the limestone band and some scrambling will put you at the base. Approach time- 45 min... It's pumpy.
The Classics
Mountain Project's determination of some of the classic, most popular, highest rated routes for Trundler's Club Buttress:
PMT takes a proud line of resistance up the steep front of the buttress. Expect technical face climbing, as well as, down home crack slugging. The third pitch offers as much exposure as you can get on the formation, and is an unforgettable experience.To the right of Trundlers Club. Pitch 1, 5.12-, A stunning combination of features makes this line possible. Climb wistfully if you can through shallow dihedrals, small aretes, and thin, solid face holds past bolts to a two bolt, semi hang...[more]Browse More Classics in AZ
Yeah...the descent route has proved to be troublesome at times.... John Burcham said he had scoped a more direct descent/rappel line that we had always intended on establishing.... But don't let the possibility of a stuck rope deter you from these routes!!!
Our rope got stuck on the rappel this past weekend, so after years of using this site and climbing in Sedona, I finally have good reason to leave a comment. BTW tremendous thanks to the first ascensionist for putting up a fun, safe (for Sedona) route. It is hard work that is much appreciated. The rappel: Call it luck, but in 35 years of combined climbing, my partner and I had never gotten a rope stuck. Ours got stuck in the rope eating fist crack 2nd pitch of PMT, after tossing it off from the Triangle of Love ledge. Once we dealt with that, it almost got stuck again when we were pulling the rope in the same crack system. Partial solution, stand way out on triangle of love ledge to throw your rope off keeping it out of the crack system. Still there's no way around pulling it through the rope eater crack, so bring a knife. And once enough cut pieces of rope build up in that crack system, it will run smooth like butter.
The direct (or less direct, depending on how you look at it) approach from chicken point is also a pretty good way to go. Definitely more dog friendly if that is a concern - plus you get to scope out your line from a distance.
The standard approach has a dicey 5th class traverse move on the north limestone band. With a heavy pack. Not fun. Unless you want to do some additional climbing on the church/religion wall consider approaching from Chicken Point.
Approach is pretty easy from chicken point. Vehicle permitting, drive the broken arrow trail to chicken point and park. Park away from where the pink jeeps congregate. A trail roughly leads towards trundlers club buttress. Takes maybe 15-20min.
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