Sedona Season

Just a bit of Sedona to get you psyched! The season is on!

Alien Baby at The Anvil Boulders



The classic "The Mace"



Oak Creek Spire Jump 1



Oak Creek Spire Jump 2



The Mace Jump (crazy). Anyone who does this should get a gold star!!!



Leap of Faith



Chris finds a big rattlesnake in Sedona



REAL Rock Climbers!!!

Cochise Stronghold Trip Report: Women Build Good Anchors Class

The " Women Build Good Anchors Class" held at the Cochise Stronghold in mid November was a huge success. Myself and four other woman climbers spent 3 amazing days camping, climbing and learning at the beautiful granite domes of the Stronghold.

We arrived on Friday afternoon and set up camp at a super sweet site with an amazing view of the West Stronghold.

After spending some time getting to know a little bit about one another we dove right into learning about ropes, webbing, cord and the like. We talked extensively about the construction, benefits and uses of these soft goods. Then we practiced knots and hitches until the sun set and our fingers were frozen. After enjoying a hot meal and a toasty camp fire we all retired to our tents.

Saturday morning we awoke to low clouds socked in against the rock formations, but soon the sun poked through the clouds and it turned into a lovely day. A perfect day, actually, to learn the basic principles of anchor construction. The camp site we choose was surrounded by small domes and free-standing boulders. This is where we spent part the day learning and practicing anchor building skills. The ladies had a great time wandering around tying off trees, slinging boulders and placing gear.

After a good lunch and a small rain storm that produced a fabulous rainbow, it was time to put those skills into practice and do some climbing. We hiked to a sight just 15 minutes from camp. The formation I had beta on was a small top roping crag with 6 established routes. The ladies choose the 5.7 off-width and the 5.8 crack just to the right as their targets. Due to the nature of many of the domes at the Stronghold we were able to easily scramble to the top of the formation.

Next we broke into teams and began to build TR anchors for the chosen routes. The women used their newly found skills to build some pretty sophisticated anchors. We spent a lot of time making sure each cam placement was bomber and all the master points were perfect. The sun was just beginning to set as we tossed the ropes down. After dealing with some rope management issues ( a rope got stuck on a ledge oops),we realized that there would be no climbing today. So we let the ropes hang for the night and headed back to camp excited to send in the morning. Back at camp, dinner and fire were the first order of business.

That night the clear cold desert sky was beautiful. The stars were so intensely bright, the concentrated band of the Milky Way blazing above and the random shooting stars made the sky seem unreal.

Sunday we woke up to a icy sunshiny day. As we ate breakfast we watched and waited for the sun to hit our climbs. We hiked back to site checked our anchors and spent the morning climbing in the sunshine. The climbs were stout for the ratings but quality none the less. Everyone was super excited to have climbed on, and fallen on, the anchors they had built themselves. We broke everything down and headed to camp and then to the next climbing site.

The next site was Council Rocks we hiked in scouted our routes and headed to the top. Each team did a great job of using their skills and were able to get a good start on their anchors, but unfortunately we were running short on time and didn't get a chance to climb that afternoon.

We covered so much material in such a short amount of time. The class could have lasted for another 3 days easily. But the ladies did an awesome job of facing and overcoming all the challenges the Stronghold threw at them in the time we had. I learned just as much as my students did on this adventure, and I feel proud to have been apart of this class. I can't wait to do it all over.