Wanted: Route for Coronado Butte

[rdmciver]

I have a friend who recently climbed Battleship Peak/Butte off the Bright Angel Trail.

He wants info about a route to climb Coronado Butte ... which is off the Hance Trail.

Any help will be appreciated. Thank you.

rdmciver

[Al_HikesAZ]

Dr. Wayne Tomasi has some beta in Grand Canyon Hiking Adventures - South Rim edition on page 252-253. I'm not going to type it all out here. If you're hiking the South Rim you should help out the Tomasi family and buy the book. Also buy Grand Canyon Summits Select by Aaron & Pernell Tomasi.

In the gcclimbing group on Yahoo
--- Pernell Tomasi <ptomasi@...> wrote:
> Lastly, if you were trying to follow the Coronado
> descrip from GCSS book, my brother wrote it. Yeah, I
> just checked it, it does say easy. Likely sandbagged
> somewhat? Remember to reference the Epilouge too, as
> he wrote that also. I'm sure alot of people climb
> it. I've climbed it since publish and rewrote it
> with more detail, attached below. Pernell
>
> South Rim Approach: Access the New Hance trailhead
> from Highway 64 (East Rim Drive) between Grandview
> and Moran. There is no parking at the trailhead, so
> park at the junction of Highway 64 and the southern
> intersecting Forest Road 2805 ? (closed winter) just
> past Buggein Tank. The trailhead is at the bottom of
> a hill one mile before Moran Point. After parking,
> cross the road north and follow the rim trail
> (right) northeast half a mile to the trailhead and
> descend the New Hance trail for less than a mile.
> Leave the trail bearing left (west) and then north
> up a short distance to the saddle between Coronado
> Butte and the rim.
>
> Route Description: Follow the ridgeline north until
> you reach the base of Coronado's southern Coconino
> buttress. Contour right (east) around the talus base
> of the butte to the lower eastern face. Bypass the
> first two gullies and ascend the third. Several
> hundred feet of gully scree and then narrowing to a
> 12 foot white face with a leaning Juniper on the top
> right. Up short talus and then step off a large
> boulder to left onto shelf, then clear a loose flake
> mantle and higher past a giant boulder on the right.
> Move up and right onto large flaked shelf,
> traversing right under black ripple stained
> overhang. Several options from here exist allowing
> one to gain the lower northern ridgeline gap. A
> solid 40 foot cl.4 dihedral or traversing farther
> west to cl.3 ravine/chimney. From left of gap, up to
> shelf, then scree to some loose blocks, another cl.3
> shelf and right to easy ramp to the limestone
> summit. Easy, 2.0 miles.

Rich Rudow might have good beta. I don't know where he's hanging out these days.
Todd Martin might have beta. It's not on his website so he might be saving it for a book.

[Al_HikesAZ]

If you and/or your "friend" climb this, let us know. Don't just post and run. That makes me feel so used and slutty in the morning.