West Stronghold  Photos:  Recent | Best | Popular Page Views:  172,878. Good page? (2 likes)    Administrators:  Greg Opland, James DeRoussel, JJ Schlick, Tom Erickson Submitted By:  Geir on Feb 16, 2012 Make this area a Favorite What's New  Printer View Add Area  Add Photo  Add Comment  Add Event  Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 95° | 64° 99° | 70° 99° | 66° 99° | 66° 97° | 63°

Evening magic in the West Stronghold

Description 

The West Stronghold is accessed from Middlemarch Road near Tombstone. Geographically the West Stronghold includes a much larger area than the east. Gems include Westworld Dome, Whale Dome, the Sheepshead, and about 1,000 unpublished routes waiting to be repeated.

A Google Earth .kmz file can be downloaded for this area using the link below:

www.geir.com/googleearth/stronghold/west/overview.kmz

Access to this area is a privilege. Be a good steward of Cochise Stronghold by keeping the Leave No Trace principles in mind when visiting here. Below is a partial list of these principles and how they might be applied in the Stronghold. For further information, visit www.lnt.org.

1) Travel and camp on durable surfaces. Stay on trails and avoid damaging surface vegetation. Use established campsites.

2) Dispose of waste properly. Pack out litter. Dispose of human waste in a cathole at least 6-8 inches deep and 200 feet away from water. Do not leave toilet paper out in the wilderness.

3) Leave what you find. Leave rocks, plants, archaeological artifacts and other objects as found.

4) Minimize use and impact of fire. If a campfire is constructed use existing fire rings. Do not cut down trees for firewood. Ensure campfires are completely extinguished before leaving.

5) Respect wildlife. If enough people approach or interfere with wildlife, it can be disruptive to animal populations.

6) Be considerate of other visitors. Many other people enjoy the area, including bird watchers, hikers, and horseback riders. They have as much right to be there as climbers.

Getting There 

From Tucson take I-10 east to exit 303.

Bear right on to highway 80 and head through Benson (2.2 miles).

Once through Benson keep right on to highway 80 and continue 21.7 miles to Middlemarch Road.

Turn left on Middlemarch road and continue for 9.9 miles. (This is a dirt road and can be rough but is passable by passenger cars so long as the washes are not full of water.)

Turn left on to forest road 687. (The road becomes rougher and is passable by passenger cars only when driven carefully. Your car can be damaged on this road, please be careful). The following mileage measurements are all relative to this intersection:

0.4 miles - Sheepshead parking area, free primitive camping.

2.0 miles - Sweet Rock, Isle of You (Ewe), free primitive camping.

6.5 miles - Parking for Warpath dome approach.

7.2 miles - Large private ranch

10.1 miles - end of the road. Parking for Whale Dome, Westworld Dome, Paleface, Ghost Dome, and Squaretop. Free primitive camping.

The Classics

Featured Route For West Stronghold

Old School Executioner 5.12+  AZ : Cochise Stronghold : ... : The Tombstone

Geir lead this climb over three days hanging a lot aiding a little and hooking to drill 3 bolts before joining Stiletto. After working on it a bit we decided to put anchors at 100 feet where the first bolt was placed as we felt it would make a fantastic 100% trad route at the grade. The last thirty feet between the anchors and Stiletto are a lot harder and will make a great extension when someone decides to put the effort into climbing it.This is a great crack climb to some fun hard face climb...[more]   Browse More Classics in AZ

Photos of West Stronghold Slideshow

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Ruins on the west side of Cochise Stronghold, AZ	On the drive to the West Stronghold, just before s...	Sunset from the West Stronghold.
Best not to be toking up or have an open container...	I walked within a foot of this guy. He was not pl...	We saw 3 within 2 days.
Beautiful area. Sunset on the West Stronghold.	I think this is an ocotillo. September 2012.	Neat flowers at the base of Warpaint waiting for i...
Tree at the base of Warpaint. September 2012.	Tree in the wash headed to Warpaint/Moby Dick. Se...	Flowers near Endgame. September 2012.
These were kind of bitter, but maybe they were not...	Sunset in the West Stronghold

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By John Wason Feb 5, 2013

My wife and son and I replaced the bashed hanger on pitch 3 (2nd bolt) on Ewephoria last Saturday. The nut and threads seemed to work just fine. John Wason Max Wason leading pitch 3 Submitted By: John Wason on Feb 5, 2013