Queen Creek Canyon updates

What’s going on in Queen Creek Canyon: this was the first full winter with restricted road access up Queen Creek Canyon due to the ADOT bridge improvement projects. For those who don’t know, ADOT is replacing the bridges over Queen Creek and Waterfall Canyon, which requires blasting and construction. So if you’re planning on visiting The Pond, Oak Flat or Atlantis for sport climbing, you should do a little planning beforehand. All of these climbing areas are still open to the public, however the construction and blasting require the road to be shut down to traffic completely on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

This means you can still access The Pond, Atlantis or Oak Flat if you go before the closure and stay until the roads reopen, or plan to arrive after the road closures and climb until sunset (or overnight and leave the next morning’s closure, if you have something epic in mind).

So the road is closed in the middle of the week from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., which leaves three hours during the evenings, plus Monday, Friday and the weekends. Expect lane closures and delays during business hours on weekdays when the road isn’t closed. Vehicles follow a pilot car through the construction zone. Add about 15 minutes onto your commute if you really want to arrive at a certain time.

Queen Creek Canyon Climbing Parking Situation: ADOT has not closed the parking at Atlantis, so as long as you can access it, you can use it. The Pond parking area is also still open, though ADOT uses part of the parking area to stage its materials, and therefore, will sometimes ask visitors to park elsewhere.

NEW SPORT CLIMBING ROUTES AND IMPROVEMENTS

There have been a number of new routes and route improvements at The Pond and Atlantis this winter, which should make some routes in the area much safer. For example, two bolts have been added to the start of Grumpy After Eight, which make the initial climb to the base of the “headwall” much safer. Perma-draws and chain extensions have been added to crux sections, and to reduce drag on several routes, including Double Exposure, Capital Punishment, and Armed and Dangerous. The route Overbearing Underminer has a new starting bolt, making the beginning of the route more direct and safer.

Double Exposure also has a new right-trending finish, which gives it a difficulty of perhaps 12-, and a new start that runs more directly between Overbearing and First Born.

There is also a new route on the South Side of Atlantis, called Myrmidon.

Check around the canyon for new mussy hooks, too. Thanks to the efforts of some dedicated locals, Queen Creek Canyon has gotten a good facelift this season.