Rock Climbing – top rope

[Daryl]

Anyone know some good rock climbing spots that can be top roped? I use to climb all the time, but only top rope. I want to get back into it after a 5-year break. Once I’m back into top roping I’ll move on to sport and trad climbing.

Thanks

[AZBrad123]

I believe there are some spots around the camel's head of Camelback. I used to climb on Mtn. Lemon in Tucson for a few years, and there are many top roped spots in that area. I figure that may be a little too far of a drive though.

[olesma]

Camelback has the most accessable spots - and now is a good time of year to hit them. There's a pretty good local map that you can get at REI of all the available routs. It's hand drawn, but still a good map made by climbing enthusiats.

There are also a number of good routs out in Devils Canyon - but you probably want a 4x4 to get to them. There are a bunch of places where you can find one or two routs here and there, but those two spots will have the highest concentration of good routs in the smallest space.

[Daryl]

I climbed a few routes on camelback a few years ago. That's a good option. I also climbed a little out at Beardsly Boulders on the north end of town.
I was hoping to find some routes in the supes.

[olesma]

I'm not aware of any top-rope routs in the sups - a few sport routs that just need runners. I've heard of top-rope routs, but I just don't know where they are.

[HikerInGilbert]

Daryl,

PM Fritzski when you get a chance. I'm sure he's a wealth of information where climbing is concerned around these parts.

[azcoigreach420]

Hi there, I have been spending time in the gym working on my climbing skills and learning how to top rope.

A few months ago, I took a trip up to Sedona and ran across this area called Grasshoper point. There is a river that runs along a cliff. This cliff looks like it would be a good climb for a top rope. However, I want to get up top and repel into the river.

Anyway, just thought I'd share that.

Peace

AZc

[Hoffmaster]

It's kinda hard to find a decent area to set up top-ropes out here. The routes in the Supes are mostly multi-pitch; definitely not top-ropeable. You could go to the Oak Flat area, by Superior. There are quite a few top-ropeable routes out there. You can buy a paper map of the area just like the Camelback one or buy The Rock Jock's Guide to Queen Creek Canyon. Both the book and the maps were written by my friend and amazing climber, Marty Karabin. If you decide you want to check out that area though, there are two dilemas. The first is that it is really too hot out there right now. The second is that by the time it cools down, Resolution Copper may have snatched up the land for copper mining. There is a proposed land swap in Congress right now! For more info on that, check out the Access Fund website or friendsofqueencreek.com. Good Luck and have Fun!

[Jeffshadows]

For posterity: There are some great top-ropes at Windy Point, Jail-house Rock, and the Hairpin on Lemmon. 5.7-11, all under 70m.

[Hoffmaster]

For posterity: There are some great top-ropes at Windy Point, Jail-house Rock, and the Hairpin on Lemmon. 5.7-11, all under 70m.

I didn't discover the amazing routes at the Windy Point area until this past summer. As soon as I got there a monsoon storm hit. I set up some top-ropes anyway, and climbed a few routes in my approach shoes, in the rain. I even tried a 5.11, but I slipped and scraped my shin on an arete. Around that time, waterfalls started pouring off the cliffs above us, soaking us even more. That's when I decided to bail and go eat Mexican food in Tucson. Good times!

[Jeffshadows]

For posterity: There are some great top-ropes at Windy Point, Jail-house Rock, and the Hairpin on Lemmon. 5.7-11, all under 70m.

I didn't discover the amazing routes at the Windy Point area until this past summer. As soon as I got there a monsoon storm hit. I set up some top-ropes anyway, and climbed a few routes in my approach shoes, in the rain. I even tried a 5.11, but I slipped and scraped my shin on an arete. Around that time, waterfalls started pouring off the cliffs above us, soaking us even more. That's when I decided to bail and go eat Mexican food in Tucson. Good times!

I've had climbs like that, they make for great stories - don't they? Those are the days that you realize water carved that nice channel you're following up a line...