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East Mogollon Rim

Arizona > Northern Arizona > Northern AZ Bouldering*

Description

The Mogollon rim has some of the most diverse rock in all of AZ and is also one of the least explored areas for climbing. The rim is lined with sandstone that goes on for miles and the higher areas are littered with granite gems waiting to be found. In the canyons and draws between these rock layers there are some sweet spots with great overhanging limestone. Unfortunately much of the roofs have few holds and a lot of the landings are often wet; but there are few pieces of rock with a lot of potential and I'm sure there is a lot still to be found.

Getting There

From Phoenix take the 87 up past Strawberry. On the right the rim access road is forest road 300, take this for about 20 miles turning down FS road 123, to the closest AZ trail access point to the west end of blue ridge reservoir.

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The Turtles
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Joe Borysko
Tempe, AZ
[Hide Comment] There's a string of limestone boulders off of Service Rd 96. If you're heading east on it, you'll see a sign to the right labeled "Chavez Spring". Maybe 100 yards after that to the right, you'll see an overhanging boulder in the creek bed, and there will be a pull out to park. You'll see more boulders trending east and north that follow the creek which eventually turns into a small canyon. At first, the boulders will be a bit too short to climb, but eventually you'll hit taller ones that range from steeply overhung walls to gently overhung boulders. At the other side of the canyon are more similar boulders. Careful not to get lost though, the creek forks at some points. I think the pullout is around here: 34.530127, -111.125542. I'm itching to get back there and try climbing them.

There's also a single limestone boulder right at the intersection between service roads 95 and 96 that looks awesome to climb. It's right next to a campsite. 34.550968, -111.162994.

Update: After revisiting the boulders next to Chavez Spring, I think most of them are pretty mediocre. Unfortunately, the overhanging parts are pretty blank, and the more vertical parts are littered with huge pockets that make it too easy. Out of the 30 or so boulders, I think there are several awesome climbs though. The boulder right next to the road in the creek bed is especially cool. I recommend checking it out if you're camping/living near there. I made sure my phone wasn't dead this time so I could take pictures: drive.google.com/folderview… Sep 7, 2015