Mountain Project: Climbing Mount Lemmon

Submitted By: Eric Rhicard on Jul 3, 2006
Administrators: Greg Opland, James DeRoussel
Elevation: 9,100 feet
Views: 388 page views

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Description

The Ravens are between Rappel Rock and the Fortress and are closer to the latter. There are four towers that jut from the hillside. They run from SSE to NNW. A variety of routes adventure to sport can be found here as well as some great summits that can only be reached by climbers. Depending on which side of a tower you climb routes can range from 100-200 feet long. Some of Mt. Lemmon's longest most sustained single pitch sport routes (140 ft.) are found here and should not be missed. The towers (A, B, C, & D have routes on most sides so if you want shade you can usually find it. The Murray Wall is at the upper end and is not a tower. It has a number of routes 5.11-5.12 that face west. The approach may seem long by Mt. Lemmon standards (25-40) but it is well worth it.

Getting There

The approach by the time you leave from the grocery store at Tanque Verde and the Catalina highway takes about 90 minutes. Drive to the top of the mountain through the gate just past the ski area. Where the gate blocks the road to the observatory park in the parking lot on the left. Hike left around fenced transformers. Follow the fire lookout road down hill. Hike past the turn to the lookout and go past the Summerhaven (steel shack) water pumphouse about 300 yards. Turn left at an electrical box as the road curves back to the right and rises slightly. Depending on the routes you want to do hike down the left or right side of the crag.

The Classics

Mountain Project's determination of some of the classic, most popular, highest rated routes for The Ravens:

Luke Slingwalker 5.7 Trad, 2 pitches, 250 feet

Hotshot 5.8+ Sport, 3 pitches, 250 feet

MoMo Buttress 5.9+ Sport, 1 pitch, 140 feet

If You Bolt It They Will Come 5.10 Sport, 1 pitch, 145 feet

Raven Maniac 5.12- Sport, 1 pitch, 140 feet

Featured Route For The Ravens

Jon Mavko stemming at the top of El Curvo. Lots of air as you look between your legs at the top.

El Curvo 5.10+ AZ : Mount Lemmon : The Ravens

This one is a GEM. 130ft. that involves crystal pulling (big and small), good sequencing, some spicy bolt spacing, and tops it off with stemming (a little bit at the beginning, and some with great exposure at the end). A must do if you've made your way down to the Ravens....[more] Browse More Classics in AZ

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