Elevation: 1,390 ft
GPS: 33.363, -111.986 Google Map · Climbing Area Map
Page Views: 41,462 total · 381/month
Shared By: Eddie Brown on Feb 10, 2010
Admins: Luke Bertelsen, JJ Schlick, Greg Opland
Access Issue: Phoenix South Mountain Park & Preserve Details

Description

Pima Canyon has the highest concentration of problems in South Mountain. Although considered a choss pile by some, the well travelled routes are generally free from breakage. Some of the less travelled routes should be approached with caution. Overall there is a high concentration of mediocre problems with a few gems scattered about. Any way you look at it, it's better than the gym!

GUIDEBOOK: Marty Karabin sells beta maps. Most local stores carry his guides. Please purchase a beta map as it will make your life much easier!

Getting There

From the parking lot at 48th St. and Guadalupe head down the Pima Canyon Dirt Road. This meets up with national trail and is the most traveled path in this part of the park. After a mile of walking on the dirt road you will encounter a stone ramada on the left (south side) of the trail. At this point head left (southwest) up Pima Canyon. After a 1/4-1/2 mile of travel up Pima Canyon you will run into the entrance wall.

90 Total Climbs

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Classic Climbing Routes at Pima Canyon Area

Mountain Project's determination of the classic, most popular, highest rated climbing routes in this area.
V0 4
 36
● Gimmie Some
Boulder
Entrance Boulders
V0+ 4+
 25
● Razors Edge
Boulder
World Boulder
V2 5+
 30
● Hookers are fun!
Boulder
Entrance Boulders
V2 5+
 35
● Silly Little Dirty
Boulder
Entrance Boulders
V2 5+
 27
● The Tongue
Boulder
Entrance Boulders
V3 6A
 19
● Crown of Thorns
Boulder
Entrance Boulders
V3 6A
 21
● Main Attraction
Boulder
World Boulder
V3 6A PG13
 8
● Nasal Cavity (Jump Start Left)
Boulder
Amphitheatre
V4 6B PG13
 18
● Crown Jewel
Boulder
Entrance Boulders
V4 6B
 7
● Stairway to Heaven
Boulder
Entrance Boulders
V4 6B
 19
● Tsunami
Boulder
Entrance Boulders
V4 6B PG13
 14
● Cocaine Corner
Boulder
Amphitheatre
V6 7A
 3
● Caveman
Boulder
Studio
V6 7A
 11
● Elephant Tree
Boulder
Amphitheatre
V7 7A+
 8
● Hairy Cleavage
Boulder
Africa Boulder
Route Name Location Star Rating Difficulty Date
● Gimmie Some Entrance Boulders
 36
V0 4 Boulder
● Razors Edge World Boulder
 25
V0+ 4+ Boulder
● Hookers are fun! Entrance Boulders
 30
V2 5+ Boulder
● Silly Little Dirty Entrance Boulders
 35
V2 5+ Boulder
● The Tongue Entrance Boulders
 27
V2 5+ Boulder
● Crown of Thorns Entrance Boulders
 19
V3 6A Boulder
● Main Attraction World Boulder
 21
V3 6A Boulder
● Nasal Cavity (Jump Start L… Amphitheatre
 8
V3 6A PG13 Boulder
● Crown Jewel Entrance Boulders
 18
V4 6B PG13 Boulder
● Stairway to Heaven Entrance Boulders
 7
V4 6B Boulder
● Tsunami Entrance Boulders
 19
V4 6B Boulder
● Cocaine Corner Amphitheatre
 14
V4 6B PG13 Boulder
● Caveman Studio
 3
V6 7A Boulder
● Elephant Tree Amphitheatre
 11
V6 7A Boulder
● Hairy Cleavage Africa Boulder
 8
V7 7A+ Boulder
More Classic Climbs in Pima Canyon Area »

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Photos

Boulders abound in Pima Canyon - South Mountain
Boulders abound in Pima Canyon - South Mountain
 0
Jared LaVacque on Mini Slash Face, a great V9 stand start with a V10 sit start.<br> Photo courtesy of Hugo Almanza
Jared LaVacque on Mini Slash Face, a great V9 s…
 0
Pima Canyon, South Mountain Arizona
Pima Canyon, South Mountain Arizona
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4 Comments

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The Captin
The Captin  
This area was primarily developed by Matt Kirk and Aaron Adams back in 1996. At one time they had over 120 mapped problems almost all of the names are new shown here but that's cool some of the classics were are listed here are accurate like cocaine corner and mvfp (Mike, Vaughn, Foot, Beta) just saying thought they should get their props. Oct 28, 2011
manuel rangel
Arizona
manuel rangel   Arizona
Yea, lot of folks began climbing here before 1990. The place definitely looked different. Most of the stuff climbed was obvious and easy to us. Lot of the problems done were renamed arbitrarily by Javier then others. Matt K came a bit later.

Guys like Mike Covington, Jay Anderson, Scary Larry, Dave Insley, Kiril the russian, Chris Hahn, Corey Chatwin, and I'm sure I left a few of the other guys out. Over time a lot of people left their mark quietly and some problems were found over and over again.

A lot of this began after the '88 Phx Bouldering Contest that was held at the South Mountain Boy Scout Camp on 24th Street. You aren't allowed there anymore but it would be worth getting it open if you have an in. Mar 19, 2014
Eli .
GMC3500
Eli .   GMC3500
As a non-local, I found it pretty hard to find anything other than the World Boulder area, and the Entrance Boulders. The directions on how to get to the boulders seemed to imply that you go up the path to the right of the stone building, which lead to some chossy unestablished boulders that are very misleading, when in reality you want to go basically straight past the building and follow the bottom of the canyon on the left until you reach the entrance boulders.
Hopefully this is not taken as criticism, I just want to help people find some pretty great boulder problems.

Thanks for all the hard work and development, I had a great time! Jan 3, 2015
manuel rangel
Arizona
manuel rangel   Arizona
The first part of the approach along the dirt road is above the actual canyon floor. When you arrive at the stone building (built by CCC in the 30s, as was the trail in the canyon floor you are about to enter), drop into the canyon floor heading west. From the stone ramada you can choose to continue on the trail and hike or drop into the canyon for another 5-10 minutes for some bouldering. May 9, 2016