Re: Dicey in AZ.
Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2012 2:22 am
ChristopherFranklin wrote:Haha! Yeah I have a scar from a dicey bar in gila bend! A friend and I are planning to climb mt Whitney's mountaineers route and Capitol in Colorado it's dicey for sure. Just kinda looking for some warm ups.
In a normal year, crampon and ice ax skills are more important for a spring trip up the mountaineers route. Sierra granite is a bit different from sandstone. You won't find an absolute analogy for the length of the class 3 section in most areas mentioned. However, the NE route on Castle Dome feels a bit more like a Sierra climb than many others mentioned; scrambling over blocky rock and large talus with exposure. You can do that in the fall.
http://hwstock.org/kofa/html/IMG_8517.htm
Are you planning to practice snow skills before the Whitney trip? I might recommend using the hard ski routes at the AZ Snow Bowl for practice, but since the ski season won't close till April, that may not give you much time. Mt Lemmon also has a few black diamond runs, which may close earlier.