Northern Arizona Climbing

Northern Arizona (NAZ) is a vast and varied landscape of rolling Ponderosa forests, high elevation plains, rugged canyons, and sculpted sandstone deserts. Home to the Grand Canyon, the Painted Desert, the Mogollon Rim, Mt. Humphreys, Monument Valley, the Vermillion Cliffs, Canyon de Chelly, and some of the best whitewater on the Colorado River, Northern Arizona houses true icons of the Southwestern landscape. The San Francisco Peaks are sacred to the Navajo and Hopi tribes and if you spend any time in the folds, flanks, and summits of this mountain you may get a glimpse as to the reasons why.

Modern climbing in Northern Arizona began in the late 1950s with the first ascent of the Mace in Sedona, done by visiting climbers Bob Kamps, TM Herbert, and Dave Rearick. Their buddy Yvon Chouinard missed the FA, opting to attend Sunday services instead. In the years to follow many of the major formations and spire summits throughout Northern Arizona would be pioneered and an age of vast exploration was set in motion.

As Tim Toula writes in his classic guide, A Cheap Way To Fly, "I entered thru the historical gate of the Flagstaff climbing scene in the fall of 1978 when climbing was still much more of an underground sport than it is today. There was a mystique about climbing then that was hard to grasp. Perhaps it was because there were so few climbers then. Names like Baxter, Coats, Davidson, and later, Murray, Gault, and Mattson floated thru the air like phantoms. Their names heard often, but their talents seldom seen.”

Nowadays that list of names is a river mile long as a steady stream of talent pours out of Flagstaff, which is the heart of the Northern Arizona climbing scene. The age of exploration that began in the late '50s has not only continued to this day, it has blossomed into a collective energy that defines the community here. There is always something new to check out and hidden, or not so hidden gems are still being discovered in surprising numbers. All the while the list of classics grows steadily and more diverse.

If you are looking for sport routes in Northern Arizona, you won't have to look too hard. To the east lay crags like the Winslow Wall and Jacks Canyon south of Winslow. Around Flagstaff you will find great crags like The Pit (aka Le Petit Verdon) and the Mt. Elden areas Solitude Canyon, Devil’s Head, Upper Middle Elden Canyon, and Oaklands, as well as, Peaks Crag, Secret Garden, and the Hobo Jungle on the San Francisco peaks. Way up north are the unique limestone crags of the The Arizona Strip which includes the Virgin River Gorge and Lime Kiln Canyon. Sport climbing is alive and well throughout Northern Arizona. Whether you are looking for steep pockets or off vertical crimps, the list of fine crags and excellent routes is sure to keep you happily swinging through the air. One way or another.