Tuacahn Chimney

The Tuacahn Chimney route (not sure if that is the correct name, I am going by information given me to a large group I met on the summit the first time I climbed this peak) is an enjoyable romp up this fine peak, one of three routes that lead to the summit. This route passes through a variety of terrain: trails, slot canyons, pseudo-caves, chimneys, loose, decomposing sandstone and a maze-like plateau.

Follow the directions on getting to the parking lot on the main Pictograph Mountain page. From the parking area head north on the paved West Canyon trail, hiking for approximately 3/4 of a mile. A significant wash appears, heading east. Follow this wash towards the giant walls of Pictograph. Shortly after entering the wash, looking for a faint trail which parallels the draw (in fact one could just as easily follow the wash.) Soon an area of slickrock appears. Contour southwest until a narrow, southwest facing canyon appears. Head up into this.

Head up into the canyon, following a more-defined trail through thick brush and scrambling up, around and through large boulders. After a few hundred yards look for a trail that appears to the right. Follow this to more slickrock. Scramble up to a saddle. Ponder the way ahead. It gets much more interesting after this. Descend down into the slot canyon and proceed northwest, stemming around a (generally) small pool, scarmbling around various obstacles (should not exceed steep class 3.) The route is fairly obvious. This section is a lot of fun, but sadly short-lived. After 1/10 (approximately) of a mile, the route reaches a junction for the northwest and southwest canyons. Take the right-hand, southwest canyon. The first part of the route is through the brushy canyon bottom, but soon reaches the steeper section of the canyon. The scrambling here is enjoyable, with a chimney/slot, a pseudo-cave (really, just a huge boulder with a tiny opening to climb through,) and a wide variety of features. Eventually a buttress is reached. There are two options here. One is to go around its right side (less enjoyable, with loose sandstone.) The second option is to go right around the base of the buttress and begin scrambling up a steep, blocky gully (less loose.) With either option, the goal is to remain in the gully, hiking up to the top of the mesa. 

From the mesa top, the goal is to head towards the northwest across the plateau. The relatively flat top is maze-like, akin to the plateau of nearby Island in the Sky. A specific description of the route is nearly impossible (it would be helpful to download the GPX on the main page and follow that.) Use your best judgement, traversing ribs, gullies and ramps, aiming always towards the summit -- initially it may appear that a dome directly north is the true summit, but the high point is a rib further west, this will become more obvious as you head northwest. Take the time to traverse to a viewpoint overlooking the northwest canyon, a spectacular vista well worth the effort. Eventually you will reach the summit, with spectacular vistas all around.

Three options are available for descent: The first is return the way you came. Easy enough. The second is to descend to the west, towards the Tuacahn Saddle, then following it north to where it intersects with the Three Ponds trail. Speaking with a group of climbers who were heading that way, this descent is supposedly no harder than class 3 (and considering that this group was composed primarily of older hikers, I can only surmise this rating is true. In the near future I plan on returning to do that route and will post the beta.) The third option -- my favorite route so far, as it ends up with a complete loop around the mountain -- is to descend to the northwest, down the Escalator route. Again, providing exact details of the route is difficult, if not impossible (use the GPX information provided for an exact track.) Pick your way across numerous ribs to reach one of the westernmost fins and begin descending to the north. This can be a somewhat tricky route if you haven't  ascended it, but eventually you will drop down into a canyon (and here there should be cairns to help guide the way.) Descend down this gully as it narrows. Eventually you will begin climbing down a narrow slot filled with loose rocks. Drop down to the floor of the canyon. From here, follow the Three Ponds trail east to where it intersects with the West Canyon trail. Follow it south back to the parking area.

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