Tucson Sport: The Aqueduct At The Colosseum
About a week ago, my friend TJ and I had plans to climb the beautiful and intimidating route Abracadaver in Cochise Stronghold. After a misadventure left me feeling a bit drained, I decided that another day of fun, low-commitment sport climbing was in order. Luckily, TJ was game.
He met me for breakfast at my winter home (the parking lot of The Bloc bouldering gym), I made us a nice little breakfast and we headed up the mountain. The Colosseum is a crag low on Mt. Lemmon. I had heard it had long, sustained routes, and the breathless report I’d heard about it was all the hype I needed to give it a look.
TJ “Bug” Aguilera looking rugged after we finished Full Circle into Whores of Babylon on Welcome Dome in Cochise, winter 2022-23.
It turned out to be a bit more committing than I’d originally hoped, just because the approach was a bit of an investment. Though it’s probably only half a mile from car to crag, the trail feels like an almost 1:1 slope. We slogged up to the crag, sweating through our shirts under a formidable winter sun, until reaching the base of the Aqueduct. The trail itself was fairly easy to find, and required no special chicanery, but it was stout.
As we donned our gear, TJ mentioned something about calling someone’s dog “bug.”
Pretty soon we were calling each other “bug” while on the route. “Try hard, bug!”
It was a fun way to take the intensity out of climbing. Nothing like cracking up while feeling like you’re going to whip because your friend is treating you like their eight-year-old son or daughter.
“Good clip, bug!”
We started on the right side of the wall with a tall 10-, then I on-sighted what felt like a super tricky 11b called Nero. It was cryptic, sequential and steep, and there was barely a smidge of chalk to guide me on the route. There were two sections that I had to make strategic retreats from and downclimb a move or two into better rests while composing myself. Honestly it felt like a more serious effort than The Wizard, and I felt pretty happy to have on-sighted it. After clipping the chains, TJ “Bug” Aguilera gave it a go. He wasn’t in form and had to rest his mandibles a few times, but he made it to the top in good spirits.
Then we tried the 12a/b, Fire on the Tiber. It was stellar! Tricky, pumpy, but positive holds flow up to ever-steepening face until topping out on holds that just don’t seem so good, even though they are probably the best on the route. My forearms were flamed as I grabbed what looked like jugs, but felt like the worst slopers I had ever had the pleasure of greasing off. I fell moving to the last bolt, with perhaps two more serious moves on the whole route.
I waited and tried it again, but I fell in the same spot. I felt sure I could get it, but wasn’t disappointed with my performance. Spectacular routes are their own reward, and the experience of climbing them was what I was after (But also I wish I had sent). We climbed another 11+ on the high left side of the wall, and I got lost on that one, too. I actually skipped a bolt while battling an awkward overhanging crack and flake section and made it to the final no-hands rest section before choosing my route poorly, and getting stuck at the last bolt. I found the right beta on the next try and pulled through to the chains but didn’t attempt the full route again.
All told, only 3 real sends that day for us (I got the 10- and the 11b, TJ got the 10-). I felt like I could have sent the 12a/b but it just slipped through my fingers. That’s showbiz, baby!
First Ascents at Apache Leap
A few days ago I got to return to one of my favorite places on earth — Superior, Arizona. This town of 2,000 has some of my favorite people and favorite climbing areas. I first came here while researching the Resolution Copper mine, and the impending destruction of Oak Flat. This is a free campground that was specifically set aside as an exclusion zone for development other than recreation, it is considered sacred to the San Carlos Apache, and it provides access to great climbing. I was freelance writing for climbing magazines at the time, and saw it as an important story to tell.
While I was there I made some of the best friends in my life, and got to do some amazing climbs.
Those friends are still developing routes on a cliff called Apache Leap presides rises over the town. The rock in this area is volcanic tuff, similar to Smith Rock but a little more friable. It naturally forms amazing towers, pillars and cliff faces, which are visible from all around town. I can actually see them now from where I sit in the Superior public library.
In the past couple of years, my friends David Gunn, Ian Gunn, Chiara Mingione, Jason Conlon, Cas Sundell and Charlie Brown have put up some amazing routes on the Leap. Most of them are multi-pitch routes, and all of them are in spectacular positions. To reach them, one can either drive to the back side of the bluff and hike to the top of the climbs via Oak Flat/Mine access, or one can walk up from the bottom.
Last season I put a few good days in helping develop the trail up to the top of the formation (plus some bolting and cleaning on a couple of routes), but they have recently started developing climbs on a large detached flake that is more easily accessed from the bottom. You can see it at the top right corner of the photo below.
Charlie Brown prepares to rappel down to one of the routes at Apache Leap during a day out in 2022/2023 winter.
I met them there after about an hours walk up from Highway 177. Dave, Charlie and a younger climber named Andy were in the process of putting up a new route in the 10+ range. They had just finished bolting two others on the same feature in the same range.
When I got there, we got down to the business of … getting up! We started by climbing the 10+ called White Hactsin. It climbed up a rough-edged chimney onto a stunning red and white face, up through some intricate and powerful moves to the top of the pillar. It’s twin route, Black Hactsin, breaks away left after the third or fourth bolt and takes a steeper line through a small roof of very clean white and red rock. Both of them turned out to be wonderful climbs. Charlie had botled them with a friend I hadn’t met, and he was saving the true FFA for that person. We both hung on the first bolt of White Hactsin to preserve the FFA. But Charlie was generous enough to let me try White Hactsin for the First Free Ascent onsight, which I did. The route was really enjoyable and had some fun exposure on beautiful, strong stone, and went around 11-.
From L: Ian and Dave Gunn on a cold and blustery outing during the 2022/2023 winter season.
As we walked down that day Charlie, who has been a fishing and raft guide for the past 25 years, told me he never imagined he would be able to get a house at the base of such an amazing, and undeveloped climbing area. It’s amazing that we get to spend time in places like this, where we are the only ones on the wall, beside the cliff swallows, lizards and crows. From the top of the Leap you can see out over Superior to Picketpost and into the Superstition mountains. It’s an incredibly soulful place to test yourself.
I once had a client from the UK tell me how much time he and his friends have spent searching for new routes to put up in England — days spent in the rain looking at dumpy little boulders with flaring, diagonal cracks in them. It made me very thankful for all the space and rock we have in America. I’m so glad to be back in the hinterlands.
Charlie Brown is stoked to share one of the amazing routes he developed. I couldn’t believe he found this amazing hueco to use as a belay station. Winter 2022-23
Tucson sport climbing in La Milagrosa
NOTE: Hello readers, this is the first blog post I’ve made for this site. Mostly it’s to develop Bighorn Mountain Guides’ SEO, but it will also have some fun anecdotes and useful beta on different climbing areas — mostly around the Western U.S.
About me: My name is Ben Ramsey, I am the owner of Bighorn Mountain Guides. The company currently operates May-Sept., giving me the winters off. This is the third year I’ve spent my winter in Arizona.
I hope you enjoy.
After some guiding and guide training in Tucson, I got out for a couple days of sport climbing.
I had a very productive day climbing with a friend in Milagrosa Canyon. This area is one of the lowest and warmest crags around Tucson and has amazing sport climbing. It’s not great for beginners, but if you can climb 5.11, it’s wonderful. Right now, Tucson is in a beautiful dry spell, and the temperature is perfect for climbing. Warm in the afternoons and brisk in the morning.
The rock in Milagrosa is extremely smooth gneiss, making the holds very defined. Tiny crimps and edges are the name of the game here, which are epitomized in the classic climb The Wizard (12a). I had tried this climb a few times in years past, but I had never done it without weighting the rope.
We got into the crag around 9:30 a.m. and went straight to Valentine Arete, which is a classic 5.9 +. It was awkward and slippery at the start. If you go to this area, I recommend a stick clip. I led all the routes that day and I started almost every climb by saying something like “OK, I’m going to see how these holds feel. We might have to bail on this route.” But once the first bolt was clipped, the climbing was fantastic. Most of the routes we climbed were of high quality and flowed well. As a bonus, we bumped into Eric Fazio-Rhicard, one of the main developers of the area and Mt. Lemmon and author of Squeezing the Lemmon, the local guidebook. He was great hang out with — very friendly and welcoming.
After Valentine, we did Stealin’ (11a) which has some tricky little moves to access a little ledge, then a paper-tiger roof above. Then we moved to our left and climbed I Been Robbed (11c). I misread this route and had to hang. It’s tough! The best beta I found was to go out right, where a steep exfoliating bulge provided some hidden pockets to get through to the final short, sheer headwall.
After that, I put up the classic 10a Community Service, which my friend enjoyed, then it was time to hop on The Wizard.
I had a little bit of anxiety as I got on the base — three years ago I’d taken a nice whipper when I blew the clip at the fifth or sixth bolt, and fallen all the way to the second. It was a techy little climb with tricky clips.
This time, I flowed through it smoothly, feeling strong on the tiny handholds and obscure footholds. As I pulled up to the chains I let out a little whoop. It felt so nice to finally cross that one off my list.
When I got down, Eric told me the route had recently been re-bolted (I think he was involved?), to make the clips easier and safer. I thanked him for the improvement to the route. It had been a joy to come back and send it!
What a great season it has been already! That was the third 12a I had done on my first attempt that season (the other two were true onsights in Dark Prophete at Prophesy Wall, and a cool little route at a secret crag in central Utah). Though I had tried The Wizard in the past, I didn’t remember much of the beta. It certainly wasn’t an onsight, but it felt like something close.
Next we climbed Welcome to Milagrosa (10b) and the bolted crack to the right of it, then finished on a harrowing ascent of Three Sheets to the Wind (11c). I don’t recommend this route, though some of the moves are awesome. It has pretty high potential for decking, and unless you are a very confident and comfortable leader at 5.11, you could easily get in too deep and mess up an ankle by falling on the ledge, or taking a sizable whipper while making the precarious transition onto the final wall.
All told, we did about eight pitches that day, which was great. It was another beautiful and rewarding day out climbing.