Tucson in August, are we nuts?

We'll be visiting Tucson in August and hoping to do some climbing while we're out there. It's supposed to be the rainy season, from what I understand, is it possible to climb then? Any suggestions on walls with moderate sport that will be dry enough or not roasting enough to be climbable?

No problem. If it does rain, the storms are usually short-lived, and the rock dries very quickly. Folks climb here all year around. If it does storm, be cautious of lightening and flash flooding (the latter if you happen to be in a canyon). Obtain a copy of "Squeezing the Lemmon II" to locate sport areas up high on the mountain.

Many thanks!

Watch for lightning high on the mountain. Rocks are an excellent conductor of electricity. My buddy and another random climber were struck, and had they been grounded they definitely wouldn't be alive.

for moderate sport try ridgeline or munchkindland. go to the munchkinland main wall in the morning and head around back in the afternoon to chase shade.

or if you don't want to wade through a sea of other climbers, try the outcroppings.

Outcroppings = HOT on a sunny day. While they are high in elevation, two of the three walls (Incinerated Ridge, Tall Wall) face south and become oven-like. They are my favorite winter climbing destination. :)

Brigette wrote:Outcroppings = HOT on a sunny day. While they are high in elevation, two of the three walls (Incinerated Ridge, Tall Wall) face south and become oven-like. They are my favorite winter climbing destination. :)

i've been there twice this summer and it was fine. we went to cave wall the first time (which gets shade) and maybe we had an unseasonably cool day the second time, dunno, but it was aight.

Jon Ruland wrote:for moderate sport try ridgeline or munchkindland. go to the munchkinland main wall in the morning and head around back in the afternoon to chase shade. or if you don't want to wade through a sea of other climbers, try the outcroppings.

+1

Munchinland is great, but crowded, while Ridgeline has some nice moderate climbs, but is usually fairly quiet. That happens to be the same place my buddy was zapped.

Middle Earth is pretty decent also

Thanks all! Looking forward to it!