Located just a few minutes from downtown Flagstaff, Gloria's is a beautiful maze of boulders and low cliffs of dacite at the foot of Mount Elden, intertwined with caves and surrounded by a cool ponderosa forest. Grades from V-easy up to V10 are represented here, and problems include thin slabs, heady highballs, and wicked, overhanging crimpfests. The Elden dacite (a volcanic rock similar to granite) is famous/notorious for being rough on the hands, so unless your tips are made of steel, bring a roll of tape. A lot of the problems are quite tall and landings vary: while some are perfect, others are sketchy or downright scary, and some problems require multiple pads and good, attentive spotters. For the adventurous, there is tons of exploring to be had around the caves and upper boulder field. This place is yet another Flagstaff gem!
Getting There
From downtown Flagstaff: Take San Francisco St. north through downtown until it intercepts Forest Ave. Make a right on Forest, pass Buffalo Park on the left (at some point Forest Ave. turns into Cedar), then make a left on West St. (there is a stoplight with a Safeway shopping center here.) Turn left on Paradise Rd. and park at the end of the cul-de-sac, careful not to block any driveways or mailboxes (this is a neighborhood, be respectful of the residents.) Walk through the fence and navigate the maze of trails, trending generally toward the base of Mt. Elden. Look for a silver metal pipe sticking out of the ground that marks a trail straight to the boulders. Approach about 5 minutes.
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