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1 - Lower Highway

Arizona > Southern Arizona > Mt Lemmon (Sant… > Mt Lemmon (Catalina H…

Description

This area covers climbs from the bottom of the highway (milepost 0) up to Kessler's Corner (milepost 8.6).

The lower portion of the Catalina Highway offers varied climbing in a Sonoran Desert setting. Warm temps among towering saguaro cactus make climbing here a unique experience.

Rock quality in this area tends to be poorer and more varied than higher on the mountain, so take that under consideration. Still, in the winter months, the crags here are hard to beat for climate and accessibility.

Getting There

From Tanque Verde Road take the Catalina HIghway (General Hitchcock Highway) heading NNE.

Photos [Hide ALL Photos]

View from Thimble Peak lookout before a monsoon
[Hide Photo] View from Thimble Peak lookout before a monsoon
stick and move or bob and weave
[Hide Photo] stick and move or bob and weave
Reachy for me...
[Hide Photo] Reachy for me...
Blinded by the Light (5.10a), Mt. Lemmon
[Hide Photo] Blinded by the Light (5.10a), Mt. Lemmon

Comments [Hide ALL Comments]

[Hide Comment] Hello fellow Mountainprojectors(ha) Just wondering if anyone could help me find out any beta for an area. The crag is just before the pay station and the pull out everyone shoots at, It has 3 bolted lines up the first face( directly off the road)with various trad slings on other lines in the surrounding area. I see people climb here a lot, but I'm not sure on the beta. Any info would be helpful! Thanks and climb on! Dec 27, 2010
[Hide Comment] Chris Pruitt did these routes I believe. PM him for more info. He also did a bunch of stuff at the Butterfly Wall. Dec 29, 2010
Chris Prewitt
Tucson, AZ
[Hide Comment] I climbed several trad lines on those cliffs but never got around to actually bolting anything, and I think Tony Lusk said they climbed there WAY back in the day. A couple months ago I saw some folks on that wall so I'd expect they placed the hardware. Not sure who it was. What I did climb was fun enough given the amount of effort needed to get to the crag. Rock quality varies greatly. Jan 2, 2011
[Hide Comment] Cool , thanks for the info. Chris/Jimbo if you get a chance
to try the bolted lines there let us know what you think, ;) Jan 10, 2011
[Hide Comment] EFR and I stopped by several weeks ago and did the 3 bolted lines.

The two on the right were good. Worth the stop for sure. 5.9ish maybe easy .10.

The left hand one was bolted strangly and contrived if you tried to stay one the line of the bolts. Still worth doing but the worst of the 3 for sure. Some 5.10 moving on this one. Jan 11, 2011
[Hide Comment] cool ty for the info/beta.. I kind of leaned that way on the bolted lines aswell Jim. Seemed the left one was contrived. Jan 17, 2011
j mo
n az
[Hide Comment] does the left one have you repeatedly returning to blocky holds on the arete and clipping bolts out right, and at one point committing briefly right to a questionable flake with a fingerlock and then an undercling? if so, then i say (at the risk of incurring The Interwebzian Wrath of Jimbo), that i disagree and found it superfun. definitely pull on stuff with caution. Oct 6, 2015
mikehilbert
Tucson, AZ
[Hide Comment] As yet, the crag in question here (just off the road on the right going downhill from Molino Vista) is still not listed on MP and I'm unable to find any beta beyond this thread. So, I'll throw in my 2 cents...

I found three bolted lines. From left to right, they go 5.10a, 5.9, and 5.6 (imo). Leftmost climb offers a contrived 5.10a first half, then fun juggy climbing above. Middle climb sports a blocky start up to a roof/arete, pulling left around the arete is the fun 5.9 crux (watch crumbly left hand sidepull here - it blew on me). Rightmost climb is a blocky 5.6 that is consistent to the grade the entire way with solid clipping stances making for a good potential first lead. There may be other lines here that I didn't see (since bolts and chains are camoed) but I took a pretty thorough look around.

Some of the rock here is hollow/crumbly and belayers should definitely wear a helmet. Nice camoed bolts and 2 minute approach. Still unsure of who put it up but thanks for bolting and camoing! Curious to know the FA's thoughts on names/ratings for these climbs. Oct 18, 2015
Kemper Brightman
The Old Pueblo, AZ
[Hide Comment] The area in question is now listed as Crags Against Humanity mountainproject.com/v/crags… . The three original routes have been included along with 12 new lines. Enjoy! Dec 15, 2016
jbak x
tucson, az
[Hide Comment] The Bertelstones !! Dec 16, 2016
Zay Redux
Mariposa
[Hide Comment] Found a national parks pass in the creek bed enroute to jailhouse. Name clearly written on it. If the glass slipper fits, send me a Facebook message! I'm here for 4 more days. Jan 7, 2018