City of Scottsdale planning for the North Access Area at the north end of the McDowells is proceeding. Climbing is now recognized as a legitimate activity (City approved) as long as we comply with the rules of the Preserve and guidelines for rock climbing. Rules will include item like stay on designated climber paths and no new bolts in new locations. The McDowell Sonoran Preserve, in which the rock climbing occurs, is intended to preserve the natural beauty of the Sonoran Desert and we must tread lightly. We should be pleased to have kept all the historic rock climbing.

The Arizona Mountaineering Club applied for a grant from the Access Fund to install trail signage at critical points for climbers so that we all can do our part to help preserve the natural terrain. Essentially this will be somewhat like the Pinnacle Peak Park model with main trails and designated climber paths leading off the main trails. I am pleased to announce that the Access Fund awarded the grant and we will be reaching out to local climbers to help with work projects to install the signs.

On the other side of the equation, we will need to change some of our habits. There are already several road and trail closures which we must respect.

Three new temporary parking areas exist for the north McDowells. El Paraiso is the east-west dirt road. It is now closed west (before) the traditional Sven Slab parking area. The permanent parking is being designed, and we can park just west of the traditional access (where some folks have parked anyway). In addition, there are two temporary parking lots in the vicinity of the historic Morrell's Parking Area. The permanent parking will also be in these areas. Please do not park elsewhere along El Paraiso or otherwise in the desert and hike cross-country.

The old north-south road that to Tom's Thumb past the lone house is now closed to public access. We tried hard to retain some parking in this area, but it was not negotiable. Please respect the City mandate and park at the Temporary lots.

There is new access to the climbs in the Tom's thumb cirque. Tom's Thumb primary access is on a new City Tom's Thumb trail. Prepare for a big vertical and long hike, but the trail is great. At TT#3 (pole with numbered emergency marker) along the new Tom's Thumb trail, a new climber's path leads west toward Fort McDowell, Half and Half, and Lost Wall. Tom's Thumb can also be access this way by traveling easterly along the top of the ridge line.

Gardener's Wall can now only be accessed on the new climber's trail at TT#5 part way up the first hill on the new Tom's Thumb trail. It contours from the main trail around the wash and climbs up to Gardener's Wall just above the large boulders that hold the cave. Return the same way. All access to the "cave" and up the wash (historic access) will be closed. This is a critical wildlife habitat and the City is adamant about keeping humans out in order to restore the native habitat.

All the new trails are either fairly well established or marked with orange and pink surveyor’s tape. Please leave these markers in place.

While considering climbing in the area, access to Sven Towers I, II, and III is now a lot easier. Those rock formations face east toward Four Peaks and are at the head of Mesquite Canyon. They contain some long moderates (multi pitch) where the AMC has been holding outings. There is a good set of trails leading up and out of the wash to the southeast from the large boulder (Morrell's Boulder) by the Temporary parking.

Please do what you can to educate other climbers. The tradeoff is that we get to keep all the historic rock climbing. We may have to walk a little further to those crags, but it's worth it considering the alternative.

If you want more information, please contact Erik Filsinger off line at smorefil@aol.com.

Even worse news, Paraiso Road will have a gate across it. It will be open during daylight hours only.

The NIMBY types have gotten a gate put in to stop vandalism etc; although none has been reported. Only one burglary in 3 years and yet they have to stop people that have been using this road since it was a dirt road. Sucks.

If you do approach via Paraiso and have to return in the dark, as may happen, use 128th Street's bumpy dusty road. Hopefully the wind is blowing west towardst the neighborhood that is keeping us out.

Hikers got nice trails right off the pavement, mountain bikers got an amazing assortment of trails with easy access. The pretty people got a brand new visitor's center. Climbers were the original recreational users of this area and, although the climbing was saved, no new routes, no exploration, and we get to park nowhere near the best crags in the area. I don't want to look a gift horse in the mouth, but I suspect that the new and improved approach hike to Tom's Thumb (arguably the best crag in the area) is going to virtually eliminate climbing there.

The new improved approach adds at least 45 minutes to the hike into Gardners or Tom's Thumb. As far as new bolts...well, in my opinion Scottsdale will never know whether there are new ones placed or not. Not that I'm saying anyone do that... After all, all the little volunteer ranger Nazis in Scottsdale spend their time at the pretty people visitor center.

I say f**k Troon and all those snob turds. Their idea of desert recreation is to sit on the patios in their gated communities staring up at Pinnacle Peak or go golfing.

ROTFL

perhaps the city could accomodate an ATV Shuttle Express

I wonder if there is any chance of the city permitting dispersed camping in the area of Tom's Thumb and Gardner's wall since the hike is even longer now.

Are you serious? Scottsdale banned camping out there years ago. Here is how Scottsdale Parks works: if it means extra work, it won't happen. Phoenix lets you leave it's parking areas at the various places (SoMo, Dreamy Draw, 40th Street, 32nd Street, 24th Street) all after dark. Scottsdale locks you in if you are late getting out. Scottsdale is the most user unfriendly place I've seen in AZ> At Pinnacle Peak I had a little Nazi ranger volunteer come up and yell in my face for being five freakin' minutes late. He was a foot from my face yelling at me, spittle flying everywhere. I looked at him and said: 'Asshole I've been climbing here for years before your little ass showed up. Get outta my face or I'll put a #5 Camolot up your ass.'

I hate Scottsdale. The whole city is nothing but a pimp for developers.

spellcheck, it's Snotsdale tradster (:

pete that's one snappy-lookin quacker

Wow, this really BLOWS. I think Greg is right. This will pretty much eliminate Tom's Thumb. It won't be worth the hike. Not sure I understand where this new parking is, but I'm going out on a limb to say that I DOUBT overcrowding is going to be a problem.

BTW: I'm pretty sure that the graffiti in that cave was NOT climbers and I sincerely doubt that there has been ANY wildlife there in many years.

No, clearly the cave was tagged by an ancient tribe of pot smokers. Can anyone with experience with the city confirm Tradster's pessimism i.e. there is no point even trying to push camping for climbers in light of the new trail arrangement?

I wasn't too psyched about pinnicle peak turning into a park and the mcdowells have been touchy ever since that house went in on gardner's wall trail. THEY ARE SQUEEZING US OUT! Last time I went, I camped at that pay camp what, east of sven. Lame!

Thanks OP for working on that and getting us the info anyway.

Steve

There is no camping allowed. We are lucky to be allowed in at all in this Preserve the City of Scottsdale owns. If you want it changed, good luck. I think we got as good as we can get. At least nobody is gonna spit in Tradster's face up there. Not yet anyway.

The new parking is really not much further than the old place,the parking area is at Morrell Wall, just a bit further drive east but not much. The trail from the new parking lot skirts the hillside above the old way in; Tom's Thumb has always been a long walk. I never made it in less than 45 minutes on the trail skirting Gardener's Wall. Now we are required to stay on the trails (no more bushwhacking ala the approach instructions on this site: Greg, maybe you could change that?) since part of the Preserve's intention is to save the flora and fauna. I used to see lots of deer and javelina there years ago. I was told folks still see them occasionally so I can understand wanting to limit impact to specific areas.

Tradster: did it really take you an hour an a half or more? I'll have to get out and walk the trail, I haven't been out this season yet. Report to follow.

Manny:

I figure it adds at least 25-30 minutes perhaps, but I was a slow poke the day I went in. The old Gardner's Wall Trail as it existed was not a sustainable trail. It was too steep and went straight up that wash. The new trail is definitely a much better version environmentally...it won't erode out like the old way in. In fact, you can mountain bike the new trail, which would be a climb fest. The nice thing is you could ride the bike from Tom's Thumb all the way back down to the parking lot. Now that would be totally bitchin'!!!

I did see six deer there last time I went in, so the critters are still hanging around.

We are lucky to still have access. Scottsdale took at least 7 years to give us back access to Pinnacle Peak. If it wasn't for the AMC looking into the contract agreement between the city and the developer, Scottsdale fully intended to deny access to Pinnacle Peak, as that is what the local resident carpetbaggers wanted. They got caught being at minimum deceptive, and lost out and essentially was forced to create access there. Like I said, Scottsdale is a pimp to developers.

Wow, the floodgates have opened.

Manny: I want to scope the hike up to Tom's Thumb soon. Let me know if you'd like to go.

No camping will be allowed, I guarantee it. Even if they did allow it, who's going to lug all their climbing AND bivy rig up to the ridge or wherever to camp?

I sincerely doubt that mountain biking up to Tom's Thumb (or back down) will be a viable option either. In any case, I expect that you will not be able (and it may not even be possible) to ride a bike on the "designated climbers trails." From the reports I've heard from friends and read on the local mountain bike boards, the feeling is that the trail was built specifically to make it unreasonable for bikers to ride the switchbacks up to the ridge. These comments were made regarding the ride from the southern side, not from the Morrells Wall trailhead. I'll let you know as I plan to do that soon as well.

Again, I'm very glad that a large part of the McDowells have been preserved. The mountain bike trails over there on the south side area awesome. I'm also very glad and thankful that the climbing areas have been saved and that climbing will be allowed. I guess that's better than the alternative. But the way it's set up, everyone will just go to Queen Creek... er...I mean somewhere else where climbing takes less than half a day to get to.

Bill: To be fair, I think you're giving too much credit to the AMC for the Pinnacle Peak turn-around. As far as I know, it was Anna and/or Dief who found the loophole in the agreement that made that happen. I don't believe the AMC had anything to do with it, but I could be wrong.

I'll update the approach info on here after I get a chance to scope it out, including a comparison between what it used to be and what it is now. I think I heard a rumor that someone in the AMC is writing a new guide to the McDowells, so maybe they'll publish something soon.

For those that haven't been out to the McDowell's of late, there's still plenty of wildlife; I've personally seen an eagle, lots of owls, many javelina, deer, a bobcat and more - all within the past 10 months.

The trails are pretty decent too. What you might spend in a little extra time getting to Tom's Thumb now more than makes up for the bushwhacking we used to do going straight up the hill near Gardiner's Wall. There's also a climber's trail that branches off from the new Tom Thumb's Trail, traverses the wash near Sean Murphy's house (the house near the old trail head to Tom's Thumb/Gardiner's Wall) and proceeds up to the ridge line to the right of Tom's Thumb.

While I can not speak to the AMC's role in restoring Pinnacle Peak (I wasn't a member then), I know that they were involved, and being a current AMC insider, I know that Erik Filsinger has been instrumental in saving 'climbing' from the preserve extremists whose idea is that no human footprint should be found within the preserve. I've watched him maneuver the political minefield on this issue and never lose sight of the goal: "keep rock climbing in the McDowells". So thanks to Erik and whoever else is involved that has worked to maintain climbing in this area.

To those that were instrumental in restoring climbing at Pinnacle Peak, I thank you also, for I too can climb there now.

So if you haven't been out to the McDowell's in a while, come on out to the AMC's adopt-a-crag on Halloween (10/31) (see previous post), spend a few hours in the morning putting up Access Fund funded signage for climbers trails, climb in the afternoon, and get reacquainted with the land.

Note: If you're going to the adopt-a-crag, please let Erik know (see previous post) so that he can plan with the City of Scottsdale to have support for all of the participants.

While a 'preserve' solution may not be the best alternative in the eyes of many climbers, the alternative could have been complete loss of climbing access to a non-preserve environment. One needs only look to the encroaching neighborhoods in the south to realize that it would only be a matter of time before the developers encircled the mountains and closed access for a good long time.

On another positive note, I understand that the area around Little Granite Mountain and Cholla Mountain is destined to be preserve as well, eventually saving the historic climbing areas there too from the developer's bulldozer.

Climb on everyone. Hope to meet you all at the adopt-a-crag.

Robert England - on behalf of myself. No 5.10 climber or first ascentionist to be sure, but enthusiast just the same.

Greg:

Anna and Dief did have plenty to do with it, I kind of just merged them with the old AMC. The new mountain biking is awesome, but it would be nice to night ride it too, but the sunset lock-down time is a bummer. Went from Pemberton to Wingate Pass down to Gateway in Scottsdale, a very nice ride.

I wasn't referring to the designated climbing trail per se, but the system that socially exists up there. I figure you could ride up to it from the west side but that is just speculation on my part, as I haven't ridden it yet.

Manny, Tom's Thumb on Sunday sounds good. I'll PM you with my cell #.

I went and hiked up the Tom's Thumb trail from Morrell Wall with a friend and my fat dog. It begins up a series of steep switchbacks. We had to stop a couple times, she's not much of a hiker.

We made it to the junction with the ridge trail about 30 minutes later. Here's the view you see when you come abreast of Gardener's Wall (Tom's Thumb lies beyond):


The new trail continues along the ridge behind Glass Dome and Gardeners Wall to the base of Tom's Thumb another 30 minutes for us.

On the way back we had a great view of the steep trail and the house near the old way into Gardeners Wall.


The best trail may be to take the other trail heading west along the flat desert to the ridge just west and below Tom's Thumb. Next time.

Hiked to Tom's Thumb yesterday, it's apparent that a lot of hard work went in to creating it...

Did note one thing though, the first section of the trail (steep grade up to the Morrell Wall)... is going to be a great place to sit and watch people eat sh*t.

those who built the trail did SUCH a good job flatting and removing every rock/feature on the trail that coming down some sections where the grade is steep enough it is like walking on marbles (granite pebbles)... I am looking forward to the show! =)

Hope this gets roughed up a bit or we might have to go find a more natural way up similar to the one they just closed...


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"Suburbia is where the developer bulldozes out the trees, then names the streets after them." ~Bill Vaughn

wow! That sucks they are making access difficult... Specially to the thumb! Does anyone know if the Wild Horses that live or lived at the base of the mcdowells got to stay on their land there? Seems similar to what they did at lumpy. The hike to Sundance is a lot longer now too. I loved those horses!

Having been involved with rock climbing developments with the City of Scottsdale for about 15 years, I would like to share my perspective on the formal re-opening of the north McDowell rock climbing areas. If anyone wants more information, I would be happy to visit offline with you at smorefil@aol.com.

The Preserve is currently around 16,000 acres of land purchased and owned by the City of Scottsdale. It is managed by City staff. The citizens of Scottsdale voted several times to tax themselves to buy and set aside for preservation this land that otherwise would have been developed into homes, resorts, and golf courses.

Climbers have been involved with the Preserve from the beginning. Paul Diefenderfer and Tom Matthews (Access Fund Regional Coordinator at the time) were among those who attended meetings of Scottsdale citizens in the early 1990s who felt that, “We need to stop losing an acre an hour to development.”

After the McDowell Sonoran Preserve Commission was formed, Bill Berkley from the AMC was appointed as a Commissioner. Wayne Schroeter of the AMC joined the effort and past AMC Presidents Tim Schneider, Tom Conner and Sue Goins were prominent and influential speakers for the “Save the McDowells” campaign. These rock climbers established extremely good relationships with City of Scottsdale staff and officials that continue to this day. I became a member of the Preserve Commission’s Planning Sub-Committee in the 1990s and have just come off a 6-year term as a Commissioner, serving the last several years as the Commission’s Vice Chair.

The purpose of the Preserve is to protect and preserve the land and the flora and fauna on it. That was clear in the citizen votes and in the governing ordinances passed by City Council. While education and recreation are also recognized, they are secondary to land preservation. (See: Chapter 21 of City Code is the Preserve Ordinance - http://library6.municode.com/default-test/home.htm?infobase=>>>>>.

In this sense the Preserve is more akin to other nature preserves, not to city, state or federal parks. When you visit the Preserve, you are entering lands where the land owner feels very similarly to how the Nature Conservancy views Aravaipa Canyon or Hart Prairie near Snowbowl. A fair comparison would be to the Conservation Easement adjacent to Lumpy Ridge in Rocky Mountain National Park; off trail hiking is prohibited where the trail to Lumpy Ridge crosses the Conservation Easement.

Over the years we have tried very hard to find ways to get the most climbing we possibly could. We have had to deal with those who wanted to label climbing an “off-trail” activity and prohibit it entirely (a similar argument has pretty much done away with rock climbing in the White Tanks, etc.); with those who wanted to “remove the bolts”; and with those who took a “no new climbing crags” stance, even when new City trails open potential new climbing, e.g., Sunrise Slabs to the south.

Against the backdrop of a “Preserve,” and working within the confines of an official mandate of “No Off Trail Activities,” the City Staff and Preserve Commission have come up with a way to allow for continued rock climbing. They have identified historic use trails to climbing crags, and where necessary are in the process of realigning those for sustainability. These are now part of the City's Rock Climbing Plan for the North Access Area (see AMC web site).

We have been able to save all of the historic rock climbing, though with no new bolts in new locations, and climbers must stay on the designated trails. If it's in Waugh’s or Opland's guide books, we can keep climbing. The AMC web site has maps and other documents - http://www.amcaz.org/Access_Issues/Access.htm. If contacted offline, I can email you photo/maps of other less well known crags where we will be able to continue climbing.

While all of us would probably like it to stay the way it was in the good ol’ days, consider the alternative – homes, resorts and golf courses. Isn’t “all the historic climbing” a reasonably good outcome? Troon Mountain, Lower East Wall, and the Boulders are basically lost forever – that could have true here too if not for the work of climbers.

Enjoy the beauty and get on some mighty fine granite!
Erik Filsinger

Wow, Erik - that's great information. My thanks to you and everyone who have worked to ensure that we still can climb in the McDowells. Nice job! I haven't been on the new trails yet, but I don't mind a good long hike to get to some great climbing. I'll have to check it out.

I've been climbing in the McDowells for less than a decade, but the amount of development in just that time is crazy. Glad to hear that it won't continue all the way up to Tom's Thumb and beyond.

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For what it's worth, I don't have any problem with hoofing a long ways to any climb. Anyone who knows me knows that.

This ain't about the climbing, it's about ACCESS and making easy predictions about how many will want to visit a beautiful place.

Sure, more access points would be a good thing. What was the reason for just one access point? I'm certainly not a cheerleader for Scottsdale, but I'm glad that climbing was not banned.

My comments are based on my personal experiences only. Every time I've ever been out to the area, there has been maybe one or two other vehicles at the most, but usually mine was the only one (Gardners, Morrels, Sven, etc.).