Where to climb around Tempe?

I'm going to b in Tempe next weekend for the Railroad Revival Concert and was wondering what would be the best area to climb at. We had looked into Cochise, but people have been saying that it's not really a day trip kind of place if you've never been there or are unfamiliar with the climbing. I've been looking at Queen Creek, which looks rad, but I'm not sure if it'll be too hot or if you can find shade. Any suggestions are welcome. Boulder, Sport or Trad. We're traveling from california via the 10, so if there are any prime spots along the way that we could just hit on our way out of town in stead of looking for something around tempe, that would be cool.

Thanks in advance

I have placed some good info on my website - Check it out

climbphx.com - Just my rendition of the local climbing areas...and the local resources we use.

I would recommend hitting McDowell's early in the day since its been getting pretty hot on the rock ( as of yesterday :) ) Great climbs include the classis Hanging Gardens - is shady till about 10...
Morrell Wall is shady till mid day but the approach is kind of heinous.
McDowells can easily be accessed through Happy Valley Rd

Queen Creek is GREAT - Atlantis is shady
The Pancake House/Throne is great for late days and hot afternoons
The Pond and the Looner area is exposed ... so choose accordinly.
Great Bouldering is to be had as well...Some shady areas too and camping at Oak Flat is great.

PM me if you have interest.

Your best bet will probably be the Queen Creek area. You have several options if you go there. You can boulder, sport, or do mixed/trad. The Atlantis sport climbing area will be great with these temps. You can also have a great day in either upper or lower devils canyon if you chase around the shade. And lastly, there you can always find shade in underneath the boulders in the Oak Flats.

If you have specific questions and are feeling too lazy to search around the database, let me know.

RyanJames1984 wrote:feeling too lazy to search around the database, let me know.

right on guys. exactly what I was looking for. queens creek it is.

Queen does look good later in the week but the temps have been pretty hot around here the last couple of days. You might want to try this out for better temps (high 60s-low70s) earlier in the week.

mountainproject.com/v/arizo…

If you can drive to QC, you can drive here. There is always Jack's, as well, within a long day trip distance.

I've always preferred Iso climbing, but there isn't much of a guidebook going on. Hook up with Manny Rangel ("sonso45" on some sites-"Manny" here?), he's almost always climbing and could show you the area the best since he hasn't published the guidebook yet. Trad, multi-pitch, single-pitch, bolted, mixed, and stunning views in an (as the name would suggest) isolated canyon. Either way, you should have a good time.

I was just at ISO yesterday-it was beautiful, shady, great temps-even had to put on a long sleeve shirt. Climbed all trad, but there is plenty of sport routes & mixed. Yes, get in touch with Manny-he'll help you out!

Marcy wrote:If you're interested in some trad climibing an option could be LDE (Lower Devil's East) in Queen Creek.