A newly discovered cluster of massive conglomerate blocks on the west side of the Tucson Mountains. Over twenty separate, house-size boulders lie on a hillside overlooking a quiet basin with Baboquivari and Kitt Peak in the distance. Panther Peak has possibly the largest collection of boulder problems of any area in Southern Arizona.
The rock is a strange volcanic conglomerate with pebbles from pea-sized to beach-ball. Some of the substrate has the look of dirt but the strength of rock, while others have a hard desert varnish. Every problem will take some level of cleaning given the nature of the rock but many will become bulletproof over time. With so many boulders there are bound to be dozens of quality lines.
Please keep in mind that this is a new area. Special consideration should be given to approach conditions, local flora/fauna, and loose rock. Please, no glue or bolts.
Drive and Approach
from Tucson: I-10 N to Ina, West on Ina to Wade (2.8mi) Left on Wade (becomes Picture Rocks Rd.) Right on Van Ark (5mi from Ina/Wade turn) Van Ark to Ina, go right (this is a dirt road) Park at trailhead on corner of Ina and Desert View (1.3 mi from Picture Rocks Rd.) Please don't block the mailboxes.
Trail: (45 minutes out, 30 back) Take the first right and stay on the main trail until the wash then make a right. (about 10 minutes) Hike the about 50yds up the wash then take the branch on the right. The sand isn't as deep. Follow this to the fence, bypassing on the left. About 100yds of beach later find a gap in the bushes on the left just past two large, gnarled ironwood trees on opposite sides of the wash. Go right then up the short hill.
Now you should be on a plateau with open ground between saguaros. Walk in the direction of the right of two distant canyons (you are actually going to the top of the left one, but this keeps you from going uphill way to soon). This should take you across mostly flat ground and avoiding a large cholla forest. Try to stay in the center of the alluvial fan "rib". Eventually you should intersect a rocky wash. Up the wash for a few minutes then onto a faint trail on the right side. At the upper part of the canyon the path merges back into the wash for a short distance before going up the right side to pass the first large boulder. To get to the Split/HUB area, work straight up the hillside bearing slightly right. For the Pyramid, etc. turn right at the first large boulder to go up the "ramp", finally turning uphill near top of the saddle.
The Classics
Mountain Project's determination of some of the classic, most popular, highest rated routes for Panther Peak:
A must do route at the grade. Great pocket and block climbing on a tall, steep wall with a perfect landing. Afternoon shade.Squat start just left of the buried rock in two juggy pockets. Make few moves up to a small cobble/pocket then make a long move directly right to a block pinch. Move across and then up to a jug. From here a long move up left to a white pocket, then continue straight up to eventually top out at a small palo verde....[more]Browse More Classics in AZ
The approach is still just desert walking for part of the way, so slight changes to some of the directions may occur. Please try to avoid placing cairns until the "best" line is found by those familiar with the area.
I hiked up to the wall behind the boulders 20 years ago to look at the corner and decided the hike was too long and the rock didn't warrant the hike either. That was before I became a chosstafarian bra. Perhaps the rock is worth climbing but that hike will most likely still keep me away.
The hiking here is so much easier than the Butterfly Wall. I have some interesting pictures of those upper walls; maybe I'll get around to posting some day. Yes, those do seem too far while the boulders are a different story. This place is worth the hike. Wait, I feel like I've said that before...
The hike is long, but not as bad as it looks. It is also real easy to chase shade here, so when it is warm (but not too hot) like now, the hike is a bit worse, but the climbing is nice.
I may have left a pair of 5.10 Dragons (size 9) up there on October 23. Anyone seen them? If anyone heads up there, I'd appreciate it if you could keep your eyes open for them.
If anyone checks this place out any time soon, I'd love to hear your thoughts about the area and what you guys climbed. This place is cleaning up pretty well and the problems that are going up so far are very high quality.
Come on out, mobley! There will be plenty of FAs still up for grabs.
Climbing here takes a lot of initial cleaning, but once it is cleaned a little and climbed a few times, the lines are real good. Small feet will continue to break for a while, but most of the handholds on the established climbs should be solid. Lines here should be kept natural - no chipping or drilling, and no gluing. The rock here is highly featured, and there should always be another way to climb through a section.
Try not to get discouraged by the condition of your hands on your first few times here. Well calloused tips aren't quite enough protection from the full-palm, toothy holds encountered on most of the problems. Even after climbing at Panther long enough to build steel-belted mitts you may find yourself with bruised and bleeding digits.
Coming back to AZ for vacation in a about a week. My climbing bro Trey told me about this place. We are so going to check it out. The hike looks so much more worth it than the hike to Linda Vista.
The hike is well worth it if you are prepared to hike, and prepared for a little choss. There are some real good boulders here, but there is still a fair amount of loose rock. Many problems are cleaning up nicely, but others still need more traffic. And there are still PLENTY of new lines if you are willing to put in the effort of cleaning them up a bit.
Ok, so i must say that the area has potential. The hike kinda sucks, but i can see that (like the area) the more the trail gets used, the better it'll be. Great work on the cairns marking the trail. Quivering Beast is a LONG problem and a must do.
Very nice area, I eyed that hillside years ago but never went through with the dedication of hiking up there and cleaning the place up. Good job Chris, Joe and others for developing this area, unlike any bouldering I've ever done in the tucson area, would like to get back out there again, good stuff.
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