Cochise Stronghold in Climbing Magazine

In the newest Climbing Magazine, May issue #275, there is a great article about Cochise Stronghold, in southern Arizona and the photos are by Flagstaff's very own, James Martin.

If you haven't read it yet or don't have access to a print version of the magazine, fear not! Climbing has an online version of the article that is even better than the print one.

Highlights of the online article are: More in depth story, more photos by James Martin, local hardman Clay Usinger in lots of the photos (one great sequence of shots shows Clay taking a great fall on a 5.10 slab) and lots of good history about the climbing there.

Check out the online Cochise article here.

A very well written article by James Martin about his close friend (and friend of many in Flagstaff), titled "Honoring Old and New, Matt Kelly: friend and Cochise mentor," is exclusively on the online version of the article. Matt's life was cut short by a drunk driver while riding his road bike in 2005. He is missed by many. Read the article about Matt here.

To see more photos by James Martin, visit his website jamesQmartin.com.

Owner of Vertical Relief Climbing Center, John Doskicz, wrote an article of his own for one of our past VR newsletters about Cochise. I dug it out of our archives to reprint it here. NOTE: John found an online guide for Cochise that is excellent. He has a link to it in his article below.

Cochise Stronghold By John Doskicz
Over spring break my family took a trip down south to Cochise Stronghold for some outdoor fun in the sun and some sightseeing. It has been too many years since I have visited this magical mountain range about an hour's drive east of Tucson. The Dragoon Mountains have a lot to offer. Lots of granite, offering multi pitch adventures as well as developed sport areas. The forest roads are great for biking. Hiking trails cross the range. The camping is at large, plentiful and peaceful. For a good trail run check out the Slavin Gulch trail located ½ mile north of the Isle of You camping area. The historic mining town of Bisbee is less than 30 miles south. Tombstone is just a few miles away, don't forget your costume. I also recently discovered the Backcountry Climbing Guide to Southern Arizona on the web. It is shown in its entirety here, http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=ztc9vzcab.0.0.eqipxgcab.0&ts=S0388&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.climbaz.com%2FBackcountry%2Fbackcountry.html&id=preview. This book has been out of print for a while and I know many of you will want to use this. There is still at least another month of great weather in southern Arizona (Note: this article was written in April). Check it out.

Congratulations to Sam Davis!

Local climber, Sam Davis, has gotten a couple photos published in the "Everyman's Exposed" photo section of Rock and Ice magazine.

Issues his photos are in:
-Issue 178 "Special Training Edition" page 66 (Photo info: Sam's wife and amazing boulderer Ana Burgos on Cosmic Tricycle (V10) at the Priest Draw, Flag)
-CURRENT ISSUE! Issue 179 "Road Trips" page 47 (Photo info: Ana Burgos on Free Willy (V5/6) at the Anvil Boulders, Sedona)

Congrats Sam! Awesome photos!

If your interested in seeing more photos from Sam check out his blog http://blimpbouldering.blogspot.com/

Bored of the same old?

Looking for new climbing in Flagstaff this summer? There are alot of crags out there that are off the beaten path or are brand spankin' new that have excellent climbing. Add them to your circuit! Here are a couple sites that will get you started...

http://www.rockclimbing.com/routes/North_America/United_States/Arizona/Northern/

http://www.mountainproject.com/v/arizona/105708962

...or drop by Vertical Relief Climbing Center and ask around. The VR staff can give you some great beta and even a topo or two!Have a great summer of cragging in the best climbing town in the world!

What does it cost to climb outside?

As we all sit back and watch the economy, we are all trying to answer the question of where we should be spending our money. With all of the things we enjoy doing day to day, how do we decide what to focus on? Understanding the real costs of our activities and purchaces can go a long way in stretching our dollars and giving us the most satisfaction with our choices. How much do we spend on expensive coffee and eating out when we could be outdoors cranking?

Getting outside and climbing can seem like a daunting task at times, especially when the barriers of entry are perceived to be so high. Thinking "I can never learn that or the equipment is too expensive" is a common misconception about the difficulties of getting outdoors to climb.

Lets take a look at the basics of what you need to sport climb. If you are climbing in the gym frequently you probably have your shoes and harness, so all you need at this point is a set of quickdraws and a rope. You can get away with 10 quickdraws but the recommended is 12. Vertical Relief currently offers a sport climbing package with your choice of 10 or more quickdraws and a full length dynamic rope for 15% off the retail price.

Lets look at our best deal on a sport climbing package:

10 Wild Country Blaze Quickdraws $149.50
1 New England 10.2 60 m Rope $145.00
Total $294.50
Discount Price $250.33
You Save Over $45.00

With $250.00 you can invest in equipment that will get you outdoors for 4-5 years. Not many purchases you make day to day can give you the same longevity of enjoyment that climbing equipment can. I see a lot of members salivating over gear they think is beyond their financial reach. I want to see those of you looking at gear inside actually outside using it, especially when the weather is so nice. Speak to myself or any of the other staff to find ways to get you outside and climbing. If you think you've found better prices or we don't have the items you are looking for, let us know as I am confident we can get that item for you and be competitive at the same time.

Thank you for investing in your local community and helping us with another successful season.

See you on the rock!

-Zak Farmer
Retail Manager

Welcome to Vertical Relief's NEW! Blog

Welcome! We are excited to launch our blog about climbing in Flagstaff and at the Vertical Relief Climbing Center. Our goal is to deliver content about trip reports, local climbing news, local crag happenings, VR news and classes, training and gear tips and more! Enjoy!

-Jason Henrie
Vertical Relief Climbing Center