rpc - Dec 22, 2002 5:27 pm - Hasn't voted
nice shot!We want to do a little climbing trip the week of New Year's in southern AZ (Baboquivari & Cochise Stronghold) but we keep seeing these NOAA forcasts about "mountain snow". Your pics show some nice, dry rock. What do you think are our chances of seeing the same in the two places I mention??? (I know that Baboquivari is a bit taller).
Any info. you can offer would be much appreciated.
radek
bighigaz - Dec 23, 2002 12:00 am - Hasn't voted
Re: nice shot!Hmmm... I haven't checked the forecast, but I definately think Cochise Stronghold would be warmer than Baboquivari this time of year, and much more accessible in the West Stronghold. So if the weather were to turn, getting out would be much easier from Cochise. But if you're looking for a possible "epic", and you're prepared for anything, then go for Babo!!! And, of course, if you're really ambitious, you could just do both! (They're about 3 hours apart, driving)
Good luck!
James.
P.S. Maybe even a quick run up Elephant Head somewhere in between! :)
rpc - Dec 23, 2002 10:18 am - Hasn't voted
Re: nice shot!....Elephant DOES look like some outstanding climbing!!!! Can you give us any pointers how NOT to get off route on this climb (i.e. you mention this in your summit log) and hopefully avoid climbing - esp. runout climbing - above the 5.6/5.7 range?
Keeping the weather in mind, this looks like a better bet compared to Babo. Would love to do all three, but our time is limited so we have to decide bet. Babo and Elephant.
Many thanks for any bits of beta you can offer (both approach and climb wise).
radek
bighigaz - Dec 23, 2002 4:51 pm - Hasn't voted
Re: nice shot!Radek,
Honestly, the section where we got off route was probably our lack of looking ahead... we basically strayed a little too far to the left, but it was only a matter of minutes before we were back on route. If you make a sound judment call as you go, you will probably stay on route without any difficulty. In fact, I'd venture to say there are numerous choices of attack until you get to the small saddle that can be seen near the top. Keep in mind, once you get there, that there is about 25 ft of delicate, but easy climbing before the final scramble to the top. Definately rope up, but watch what you grab. I think our main error on the route was getting a late start. If you start at 8 am or so, you can take your time and have quite an enjoyable day. Be aware, though, that the decent, although safe, is brush choked and slippery, so wear pants and bring a long sleeve shirt. As far as deciding between Babo and the Elephant, that is a tough choice, but E.H. has an advantage over Babo in that it is FREE, (with nice camp sites), and you can pretty much drive to the base of the climb if you have a high clearance vehicle. Hey, feel free to contact me if you'd like to follow me out to the climb! I'm always up for showing people around my home turf!
James.
rpc - Dec 24, 2002 10:34 am - Hasn't voted
Re: nice shot!James,
thank you very much for the info. and your offer to show us around. Unfortunately we can't be sure as to the exact day that we'll be trying Elephant. We're going to start our Arizona climbing with Cochise Dome (What's My Line) most likely on Sunday or Monday depending on when we're able to get there (it's a long haul from Portland esp. now with lousy driving conditions). Depending on how that goes (weather, rock conditions, climbing difficulty) we'll either go for Elephant or (if feeling more lucky weatherwise) for Babo. Many thanks again.
Best regards,
Radek
ps Your photo of the route up Elephant certainly has whet our appetites for this mountain - I can see why you'd decide to just go for it.
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