The Elephant's Trunk  5.7

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Type:  Trad, 6 pitches, 1000 feet, Grade III Consensus:  5.7 [details] FA:  Joe Bernfield, Dave Hansen, 1970 Season:  September - March Submitted By:  James DeRoussel on Jun 30, 2008 You & This Route  |  Other Opinions (14) Your todo list: Your stars: Your rating: -none- [change] Your ticklist: [add new tick]

BETA PHOTO: The Elephant's Trunk as seen from Wily Javelina on...

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There is no public access road provided by the BLM to the Coyote Mountains Wilderness Area. MORE INFO >>> There is no public access road provided by the BLM to the Coyote Mountains Wilderness Area. This wilderness is surrounded by state, reservation, and private land. Permission to drive on an access road through the King Anvil Ranch property is granted by the owner during the months of September through February (access closed March through August). This access road also crosses Arizona State Trust Land. The owner of the King Anvil Ranch and the Arizona Game Fish have provided a sign in station for you to register your visit. Please sign in and sign out at the station. Furthermore the Arizona land managers require that you obtain a recreation permit to drive across Arizona State Trust Land. The application for this permit ($15/year) can be found at: www.land.state.az.us/programs/natural/rec_permit.pdf This information is a public crowdsourcing effort between the Access Fund, and Mountain Project. You should confirm closures, restrictions, and/or related dates. Keeping climbing areas open and conserving the climbing environment Access is via PRIVATE land and may be CLOSED! MORE INFO >>> The access for Mendoza Canyon is via the good graces of the owner of the King Anvil Ranch you pass through to get to the canyon. Update from Jeff Mayhew: 3-20-10 Mendoza Canyon access will still be open through King's Anvil Ranch from September 1 through March 1, as usual. The ranch owner, John King, is considering allowing foot access again at the original parking area, (see Approach Map,) from Sept. 1 through Dec. 1. After that he may re-post the No Trespassing sign, but may still allow foot access through the alternate parking area at the north end of the canyon's mouth, (see map.) Legally set traps are throughout the area so the suggestion is to leave the dogs at home. Regardless of this information, please obey all posted signs in the area. Access is still hanging by a thread! After talking to Game and Fish, State Land Dept., and BLM it is clear that Mr. King has every right to block access at any time... and he is ready to at the drop of a hat. Fortunately, there are only about 15 of us that even go out there, so we mainly have to worry about the random rabble-rousers, (now there's a good name for a climb!) Thanks for all the support and feel free to contact me. Jeff Mayhew (user JMayhew on this site) Update from Jeff Mayhew 10-18-10 As of 10/2010 the access along the dirt road leading from the "original parking" at the small corral (see approach map) is still signed "No Trespassing." Please respect that! The "alternate parking" shown on the map still allows foot access along an old, faint road. This eventually connects to the main dirt road before the pond, but Mr. King had said last spring that access was permitted at that point, as long as people respected the private property. Be sure to remember that fork--it can be tricky to see when you're hiking out tired... and possibly in the dark! There is still an old, hand written note in the sign-in box stating access to Mendoza is closed. This was in there before Mr. King gave "us" permission to access via this alternate roadway. Update from Charles Vernon (12.6.10): We ran into John King's daughter herding cows yesterday, on the way into the canyon. She was very nice, and we talked to her for a little while. She believes that the missing traps that led to loss of access last year were a result of hikers (climbers? hunters?) whose dogs got caught in the traps, leading to the dog owners taking or destroying the traps to free their dogs. Regardless of what exactly happened, she made it clear that dogs are not welcome. It sounds as though just heading out there with dogs, without more, could be enough to cause them to rethink access. So please, do not bring dogs to Mendoza! This information is a public crowdsourcing effort between the Access Fund, and Mountain Project. You should confirm closures, restrictions, and/or related dates. Keeping climbing areas open and conserving the climbing environment

Description 

The Elephant's Trunk is a long, fun adventure route in a backcountry setting that is hard to beat. The most moderate established route in the area, it is mostly 5.5 or less, but varying rock quality and tricky pro will keep you on your toes.

The route follows the striking left profile of Elephant Dome.

Start at the foot of the buttress below the left end of Elephant Dome.

P1) Climb easy fifth class buttress on okay rock for a pitch (5.6), until the terrain flattens out and you can walk over to the bottom of Elephant Dome proper. This should put you in a large saddle/notch at the left end of Elephant Dome.

P2) Climb moderate face, generally following the vague arete, for a rope's length to belay ledge.

P3)From belay, step left to a few steep moves (5.7) past a bolt then back right over crappier rock and up to another good ledge.

P4-6) Follow easier climbing two to three more pitches to summit.

Descent:

While there are other options, the commonly accepted descent these days is to rappel off fixed gear down the W/NW side of Elephant Dome. Look for the first bolted station at the bottom of a gully. WARNING: Hazards abound on this descent. Be cautious of loose rock when pulling rope between rappels. This rappel also has a well-deserved reputation for stuck ropes. Doing this in the dark would be stressful to say the least.

The rappel puts you in the canyon between Elephant Dome and Table Dome. From there it is a 20 minute hike around the same buttress you started on, and another few to get back on trail.

Location 

Approach as described for Mendoza Canyon, but head for the far west end of the Elephant Dome, not the east end as you would for B-Cubed and Elephantiasis. A large buttress descends from the left end of the dome down to the desert floor. Aim for the toe of this buttress.

Protection 

Standard Rack

Photos of The Elephant's Trunk Slideshow

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Hottie on the trunk...!	At the first rap station on the SSE descent of Ele...	The trunk
Back side of elephant dome from the trunk	There is some good climbing on this route!	The "Trunk" as seen from Table Dome
The Elephant's Trunk	BETA PHOTO: Another quick/efficient option: Leave packs at Oak...	Soaking it up
What better thing to do than take pictures while b...