Moby Dick 

Fun climbing the whole way, although probably not the best for a leader who climbs 5.8 at best. Gear is crafty, and there are some areas that non-natives might consider run-out....especially if the wind is gusting 30-40 on the last pitch. Not being used to chicken head mentality, i quickly took the advice of kiwi who showed me the truckers hitch for tying them off. I also opted to run the 3rd pitch past the chicken head belaya nd use the bolt at the lip plus a chickenhead and a black alien as a belay. THen you can do the short slab traverse and the sea of chicken heads in one lead. the rap looks long but isnt, dont tie knots in your ropes there is a tree that they will get tangled in, and a crack down lower that could cause a potential nightmare by putting tension on your rope sideways nad not letting you get down, especially if its blowing.

was wondering if someone has better beta on the approach? had trouble finding the route last year and was wondering what else might be around the area.

The trick to the approach is to get on it right from the parking lot.....From the parking area head directly north (not on the main trail) there is a faint trail through the trees which drops into the wash after 300-400 feet (estimate) follow cairns north. The trail goes in and out of the wash a few times, but stays mostly in it. Follow it until you are directly beneath whale dome. Take the drainage up the south side of the dome. Look for the large overlap on the face that makes up the route.

Hope that clarifies it a little bit. It's actually a great approach with awesome views.

-Scott Drawz

thanks for the info scott. it'll be helpful next time around.

It would be a considerable public service if someone would haul a drill up and replace some of the older buttonheads at the belay stations and replace the anchors for the rappell as they are quite manky. Maybe at Beanfest?

I totally don't get the hype surrounding this climb. An unpleasant crux down low, a couple of hundred feet of roped hiking with 20 feet of decent climbing at the end. Then a problematic rappel. The views are nice, I'll give it that.

Good one. This route looks deceptively good in photos. I saw the photo in the old Kerry guide and thought the route was a vertical 5.8. Looked really cool. When I got to the base and saw it was really a 40 degree hiking slab I was pretty let down.

I've climbed this route three times. First time I brought two ropes. But you really only need one for the rappel. One will take you to the top of a large block and it is easy scrambling to get to the ground.
Anyone else only use only rope on this?

Also really easy to setup a single line rappel for newer climbers using a nice horizontal crack feature above the chains. That way they don't have to do the awkward rappel from the chains.

jbak. Climbs can be good even if they're not steep. Moby dick is a classic just like What's My Line. Ya gotta go back to yer early days man. Back when 5.7 was hard and multi pitch routes were a new, exciting challenge. Back then Moby Dick was a classic and it still is.

Jim it's not the steepness per se...I can appreciate an easy classic that has actual good climbing...I did The Wasteland recently and thought it was pretty good.

This is a great easy multi-pitch climb. Good gear placements. Can be climbed in 3 pitches with a 70 meter rope. Good choice because you won't have to pack in an extra rope. The repel is about 33 meters so 70 meters will reach the ground with a few feet to spare. Consider having the first one to repel carry the rope with them. If the wind is blowing it will get caught around the corner.

WAY overrated as a 'classic' route. It's no better than the hike up Magician Dome in the Needles, and without the ass-kicking views of that route. Compared to What's My Line, Endgame, or the other area classics, it is really not that special. Don't believe the hype -- if you only have time for a few routes at the Stronghold, don't hesitate to drop this off your list.

It's not a bad route by any standard, but for me, even the rappel was a bit of a let-down. Still, the worst day at the Stronghold is better than the best day at most crags, let alone work.

Me thinks this is overrated. The bolt/pro spacing are about all that can keep this thing interesting (if you sling but a few chickenheads), but I wouldn't call the climbing fun. I think the first pitch was the most exciting, but only because I got off-route and had to pull a 5.10 move to clip the bolt and blowing it meant ending up below my belayer. IMO: Wasteland, Peacemaker, and Absinthe of Mallet are all better climbs.

Being a moderate climber who is still challenged by 5.8, I really enjoyed this climb. Not dangerous but runout enough to keep it interesting. I placed pro whenever I could and still didn't manage to need more than 1 set of nuts and a set of cams from fingers-hands. Bring lots of slings for all the heads. I brought a #3 and #4 camalot and managed to use them both at least once. I was happy to have them, especially pitch 2 when the #4 camalot ended a fairly long runout when I placed it in a narrower portion of the big overlap. The views of the West Stronghold from the top were spectacular.

As far as the approach, make a hard left into a drainage at the end of the road where the Cochise Stronghold trail starts. Cairns on the left after a couple of hundred yards in the drainage leads to a trail. The route winds in and out of the drainage on various trails. Follow the cairns. Head up the gully on the south side of Whale Dome. The double cracks at the start are pretty obvious. You can leave your packs at the base as you return to them after descending the gully after the rap.

holy christ, talk about a climb that gets mixed reviews. i guess some people get it and some people don't. personally, i get it. granted the roped hiking is a little annoying but i think the rappel adds to the fun. i wish there were more climbs like this. the fact that it looks like a whale's mount rushmore is almost worth a star by itself.