where to go in az in january

hi. we're thinking of having two weeks in az in january, flying intp phoenix. what would be our top choices with a two wheel drive hire car? we're keen on both sport and trad up to 12+. thanks for any info. stewart

If your in the mood to see some GREAT looking ladies that will want nothing to do with you unless your driving a car that costs over 100 grand, check out Old Town Scottsdale on a Friday or Sat. Its not too far from the airport and worth it if you have the cash and some free time. You will probably get a good laugh.

As far as climbing, the good beta will start coming in from other posters shortly.

i reckon i can charm those ladies with a rented toyota echo. when you say GREAT, do you mean 21 GREAT or 45 GREAT? just so i know what to pack. and when you say cash, are we talking a six pack and mickey cash, or blow,bollinger and hotel cash. i am from wales, so i am eager to sample your american culture. thanks, again

You will probably find a variety of ages depending on where you go. A six pack prob. won't do, blow and bottle service at one of the countless clubs in Old Town however, might get you places.

If you don't have a hotel yet, The W Scottsdale is probably the coolest hotel I have ever seen, and I have seen a lot of them. The Phoenician is another that is classy and close to Old Town, 5 star and one of the nicest in the Valley. The W is walking distance to some of the bars, maybe a cab/town car ride. The Phoenician will require that town car but the resort will no doubt have them for you...for a fee of course.

These are the types of girls who get boob-jobs for their 16th birthdays...I mean that's reasonable right? You definitely have to appear rich (you might very well be), come up with a nice story on what you do for a living, I'm assuming you have an accent which will help. It gets pretty ridiculous, it is a scene worth checking out.

Hey Stewart,

What Mark said...haha. I'm a Valet down there and have seen my share of quality entertainment. If you love Drugs, Alcohol, Fights, People acting like they have money, and Multi-racial crowds interacting at 3am with Taser-Happy Pissed-Off Scottsdale Cops.....
That is the place for you! (It does get pretty ridiculous.)

For Climbing:

Pinnacle Peak Park - TRad/Sport with Old School Granite face/crack climbs...runouts...Good fun. The appch is 10-20mins on golf cart path.

Park in the parking lot and walk up, try to avoid weekends as this IS located in NORTH Scottsdale and "Hikers" need to get there exercise-on during those crucial hours. Speaking of hours...OBEY THE CURFEW...I've had my own run-in with the Scottsdale PD for being in the park after it closed. It sucks.

The McDowell's - Beautiful with a mix of crazy...TRad/Sport with Old School Granite face/crack climbs...runouts...Good fun as well. There are multiple areas over here, facing North. Tom's Thumb is a Spire and Gardner's Wall faces ENE so it will be a bit cold in the PM.The Classics are mostly there, the appch is a moderately steep path and trails that is 30-50mins.

A 2-Wheel drive car can for sure access this area. Park in the NEW parking lot/Tom's Thumb trailhead and follow the signs from there.

Have Fun, Climb Well!

-Mac

Its going to be cold in January so you'll want exposed climbing ...
McDowell's - Gardeners Wall will be nice after 11 when it starts to get sun.
Toms Thumb is a little further up the mountain but has a few good routes on that rock
Queen Creek is always a great spot for a day trip - The Pond and the Mine are exposed and will see a lot of sun so that might be nice as well...
If you want a classic, do the Praying Monk -

Hit me up if you need -
Shiloh

Stewart,

With two weeks to burn, you should definitely head down to the Tucson area. We've got Mt. Lemmon in our back yard, with climbing for any temperatures that we might get while you're here, and the Cochise Stronghold is 1.5 hours south of us.

If you need a tour guide, drop me a line.

Brigette

I second coming down to Tucson to get out of the Phool-town rat race plus the climbing here is superb. I can also show you around. Shoot me a PM if interested...

I forgot to mention, for a good breakfast, hit up the Good Egg.I think there are several locations in the Valley.

If you let me know where you will be staying at, or what neighborhood, I will try and give you some more info on shit you can do. Scottsdale and Phoenix are right next to each other and a hell of a lot bigger than everyone thinks.

ok, great. thanks for the knowledge. keep it coming.

If you are climbing sport and trad upto .12+ checkout Sedona. Myself (sorry for those that like climbing near Phoenix) I think that the rock around Phoenix is a pile.

In the area it really depends what weather pattern is moving through (although lately in January a high pressure system usually sits on Az and it tends to be clear, but to steal the line of Wall Street, "past performances doesn't necessarily predict future performance".

The Waterfall in my opinion has among the highest concentration of quality routes (on a per foot of cliff) outside of Indian Creek. You can look it up but between 5.11 and 5.13 the routes are extremely high quality, with in my opinion, the Terminator (5.12b/c probably more c) being a route not to miss.

Although at the top of your grade, Shangri-la is probably among the top routes in northern arizona , if not arizona period. It has 1 pitch of .12d (which is bolted although Mike Sokoloff has done it on gear), 1 fun pitch of .12a, a stellar .11d pitch and two good pitches of .11c and .11b. In January I'd probably do the route in the late morning, afternoon since it stays in the shade until 1pm.

In Sedona there is also some really fun sports climbing. Mission From Mars is not to be missed.

As long as the weather agree's I'd definately hit it up (and Sedona is beautiful also)

Hi Stewart, there is a lot of climbing within an hour and half of Phx. When you say up to 12+ that leaves a lot of rock available to you. Sedona is 1.5 hr, Queen Creek 1 hr, Homestead and Tamo are out due to 4wd but they are close.

If you camp you can go to Cochise Stronghold or drive in from Tombstone.

Isolation Cyn is 1.5 hr away.

What are you looking for besides anythng up to 12+???

I'm the lucky fella that gets to climb with Stewart. He is from Wales, but I really say he's Canadian, like me. I've been to Arizona before, got to hang with the inlaws, while they were snowbirding and browsing the cheap real estate which = FUN! Anyways, hows the camping situation for Sedona, Cochise and the Homestead. Is the Homestead worth the cost of renting the 4wd? The info is limited. Are there a lot of new routes there since the last topo guide?

Thanx!

Peter Winter wrote:I'm the lucky fella that gets to climb with Stewart. He is from Wales, but I really say he's Canadian, like me. I've been to Arizona before, got to hang with the inlaws, while they were snowbirding and browsing the cheap real estate which = FUN! Anyways, hows the camping situation for Sedona, Cochise and the Homestead. Is the Homestead worth the cost of renting the 4wd? The info is limited. Are there a lot of new routes there since the last topo guide? Thanx!

Peter,

There's a whole group of Arizona climbers for whom the Homestead is THE winter climbing destination. I love that place, and if it weren't so hard on my truck, I'd be out there every weekend.

Camping at the 'Stead is limited but free, and the area is quiet, particularly midweek. There are a TON of routes that aren't on here, and new ones are going up all the time. Connect with one of the regulars for more beta. PMac, where are you?

Enjoy!

Brigette

Hi guys, I'm new to the site and just getting back into climbing. I live in the Chicago area but I am traveling to Tuscon for business and and thinking about sticking around the weekend of Jan 14th to check out the area. Looks like Mt. Lemmon is the place to check out for climbing? I normally stick to top roping and only climb in the 5.9 to 5.10 range. Is there anything there that would fit that type of climbing?

If not any, suggestions of nice hikes or anything like that?

Thanks in advance.
Brett

Peter and Stewart,

You guys definitely chose the right place to come to in January. Arizona has the best conditions in the country at that time of year! In January, your best bet is to stick to the lower desert crags (destinations in the southern half of the state). The high desert is probably going to be water-logged or covered in snow.

In the low desert, the best crags are going to be the ones around the Tucson area - Cochise Stronghold (single and multipitch trad and mixed in a serene and remote area), Mount Lemmon(easily accessible single and multi-pitch sport and mixed on fun granite), The Dry (single pitch sport on limestone). You also have some crags east of Phoenix - Queen Creek (endless sport and bouldering on pocketed vocanic rock), the Superstition Mountains (AMAZING single pitch and multipitch sport and trad and world class bouldering - if you know where to go), and The Homestead (one of the best limestone crags in the state and country; the only wall in America that has tufas). Renting a FWD vehicle to make it to the 'stead would DEFINITELY be worth it if you like sport climbing on classic limestone routes.

Northern Arizona also has A TON to offer. However, the sandstone gets brittle when it's wet, and we've been getting a bit of precip. If you're going north, definitely hit up the Waterfall if the weather has been dry and stable.

Bottom line is that if you come to Az, you are coming to the right place this time of year. You can climb any genre you want in whatever setting you want. Let us know if you have any other questions. Have fun!

Ryan

Great beta guys. Thanx. We are coming down around the 5th to 19th, so if anyone is going to the homestead during that time, would be great if you could show us around, even for just one of the weekends or something. What's the best guidebook these days? Is there one that covers most of Arizona or are they all individual area books? (we have the online homestead one)