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Church Spires Area
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Cemetery, The 
Christianity Spire 
Church Wall and Religion Wall 
Minister and the Pulpit 
North Tower aka ? 
Streaker Spire 
Trundlers Club Buttress 
Twin Butte Area 

Church Spires Area

Submitted By: Orphaned on Mar 22, 2006
Administrators: Greg Opland, James DeRoussel
Elevation: 4,200 feet
Views: 23,840 page views

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The Four Flying horsemen of the apocolypse. From ...


Description 

This area includes the formations found in the area of Twin Buttes, or near the Chapel Of The Holy Cross. Many new routes have been added to the walls immediately behind and east of the Chapel in the last few years.

Formations include (but not limited to): Streaker Spire, The Watchtower, Christianity (aka Beckey) Spire, Minister and the Pulpit, Blow Job Rock, Devil's Thumb, etc.


Getting There 

Drive on 179 to Chapel Road (easy to spot from both ways), head east on Chapel Road and find a spot in the lower parking area (getting harder to do).


The Classics

Mountain Project's determination of some of the classic, most popular, highest rated routes for Church Spires Area:
Original North Face Route   5.7+     Trad, 3 pitches, 225 feet, Grade II   Streaker Spire
Follow Your Bliss   5.10-     Trad, 1 pitch, 65 feet   Church Wall and Religion Wa... : Church Wall
Genesis   5.10-     Trad, 65 feet   Church Wall and Religion Wa... : Church Wall
Poop Chute   5.10-     Trad, 1 pitch, 70 feet   Church Wall and Religion Wa... : Lower Religion Wall
Trundlers Club   5.10d     Trad, Sport, 5 pitches, 350 feet   Trundlers Club Buttress
Space Cowboys   5.11c PG13     Trad, Sport, 1 pitch, 80 feet   Church Wall and Religion Wa... : The Planetarium
Castles in the Sand   5.11+     Trad   Church Wall and Religion Wa... : Church Wall
Watchtower   5.11+     Trad, 2 pitches   Church Wall and Religion Wa... : Lower Religion Wall
Mission To Mars   5.12d     Sport, 1 pitch, 80 feet   Church Wall and Religion Wa... : The Planetarium
Browse More Classics in Church Spires Area

Featured Route For Church Spires Area
Trundlers Club goes up the large corner system.  In this photo you can see the stem box at the base of pitch 2 which is the start of the steep stuff which deposits you into the Bat Cave belay.  You can also see pitch 3,4.

Trundlers Club 5.10d  AZ : Sedona : ... : Trundlers Club Buttress
Pitch 1: Start up slab to big hole in the rock. Small to medium cams and bolts take you to a two bolt belay. Pitch 2: Stem up box past bolts, make the "cross to the choss" move and then up the crack and into the Bat Cave to a two bolt belay. At the top, keep an eye out for the lone pocket... Set of doubles and bolts. Pitch 3: Stem out cave past bolt and up to a fingery layback/stem system. Look for moves leading left around a corner on edg...[more]   Browse More Classics in AZ


Photos of Church Spires Area Slideshow Add Photo
You can see Castles in the Sand on the left (big roof), the Watchtower is in the middle, and then the religion wall in the bottom middle.

You can see Castles in the Sand on the left (big r...

Remember.  Smoking is bad for your healthy.  Note the start of the trail left of the sign (sorry I clipped it)

BETA PHOTO: Remember. Smoking is bad for your healthy. Note ...


Comments on Church Spires Area Add Comment
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By Joe Keyser
Jan 2, 2007

What is the trick for the parking here & accessing the trailhead? It seems that the only parking is only for church tourists, etc... Tried going there a couple times only to be turned around. There are plenty of other crags to go to in Sedona, so no big loss, but I'm curious what tactics are used for getting to the climing here?? Thanks!

By Jeremy Schlick
From: Flagstaff, AZ
Jan 2, 2007

There used to be parking right outside the gate. Now adays you have to go back down Chapel road and find a pullout and walk back in. Kind of a drag, but... I have never been locked in the gate area or ticketed.

By Seth Dyer
Jan 2, 2007

We've never had trouble since we started parking lower on Chapel Rd. And realistically it only adds a minute or two to the approach.

By Joe Lee
From: Nogales, Arizona
Jan 17, 2008

Climbing. Excellent.

Parking. F---- Sucks.

I wonder if anyone has ever petitioned the owner of the church to allow general parking during off-peak hours. The lot was empty during my visit.

For visitors, before you enter the gate, you can squeeeeeeze three vehicles on a pullout on the left before the gate. And maybe one car on a pullout before a sign just in front of the gate.

I recommend parking elsewhere and carpooling to the site to save space for your fellow climbers.

By cammo
Dec 6, 2008

Dan Langmade, Stan Mish (two of the four Banditos), and I did a teeny tiny tower in this area in about 2000. It was 5.8 or so, with one drilled bit of gear. Got any idea where it is? I'm not familiar with Sedona. Cammo