Access to Enchanted Tower

Tried to go this morning but found a sign on the gate:

"WARNING
THIS ROAD CLOSED TO ALL TRAFFIC
EXCEPT EMERGENCY VEHICLES &
DELIVERY VEHICLES

DUE TO EXTREME FIRE DANGER
CLOSURE OF NATIONAL FOREST IMMINENT

NO ACCESS TO CLIMBING ROCKS"

and a key padlock through the chain.

Thanks for the update, Bob. That's unfortunate but is quite prudent considering how extremely dry all of NM is right now.

Definitely unfortunate but most prudent of the rancher. Both times I've been there in the last month and a half there have been people burning campfires. I approached one group and the response I got was "I feel I'm perfectly capable of managing an fire." When I pointed out the access over private land the response I got was "I used to live in Magdalena and have spent many weekends here." Whatever they hell that was supposed to mean. The second group extinguished their fire. Glad the rancher is doing what he can to help protect out public lands and his own. Let's hope for a very wet summer!

Just washed my truck! That'll get the monsoons rolling! No fires people its fuckin windy!

Steve

Forest closure was imminent (as we all kinda dreaded anyway):
Cibola NF Magdalena district closure order

Goes into effect Monday morning 8AM. Sigh. Come on monsoons!

I just had some Friends of mine go out to the Tower this last weekend and they didn't have any issues.?

Any update?

I was just there this past weekend when the park was still open. They closed it on Monday due to the fire. The wind was pretty crazy and the last thing they need isn another fire out there.

Ok kool. Thanks for the heads up. Any end in sight?

Prolly won't see any closures rescinded until after we get some regular rains. Monsoons typically start early July in the Datils/Sawtooths, so cajole your favorite deity to send us some moisture. Relative humidity 11% here today, record high temperatures forecast. Already close to 90F, which is very unusual.

Bob Broilo wrote:Prolly won't see any closures rescinded until after we get some regular rains. Monsoons typically start early July in the Datils/Sawtooths, so cajole your favorite deity to send us some moisture. Relative humidity 11% here today, record high temperatures forecast. Already close to 90F, which is very unusual.

I can confirm the early monsoons at the Tower, got rained and hailed on every single day of a 4day trip I took there mid-July last year...

Any updates?

once again, for these folks who think that they entitled to climbing at their crag, YOU ARE NOT. If the road ever opens again, don't drive at night like you weren't suppose to do in the first place.

Did it ever occur to you that some out of towners have 4 wheel drive cars as well. And how are you going to climb if the bolt hangers are removed? you can't place trad at the tower. The lack of easy access will in fact keep strong climbers out, who have most respect for the tower.

Geez, this is kind of a bummer. The tower is one of the few places that can get me to pack up my stuff and seriously contemplate sleeping on the ground.

A couple of thoughts:

@Bruno & Boris: it was plenty crowded in the 90s. At least sometimes. I haven't really noticed a difference. I don't think of the tower as a true destination -- the big guys don't go because there are no 14s. Back in the 90s I asked one of my super-strong friends "when are we going to the tower ?", and he looked at me like "why go there... no challenges left." Me: "oh".

@essay: funny stuff ! Even though I'm from AZ, people coming in after dark always irritated me. Are you really from Flag ?

I don't think its presence or absence from MP would really mean much...everyone knows about it anyway.

IF crowds are becoming more of a problem, I suspect the combination of gyms and facebook are part of the reason.

Many of us AZ climbers have had a tradition of spending Friday night sleeping either off the forest service road on the left right before the tower or on the open land to the right before the last town on the way in so as to avoid driving in after dark.

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

The guy that found and started developement at ET was from France not NM so stay off his crag. It is for the french people only.

Gosh, what ever happened to ragging on the Texans.

If the Tower is too crowded for you feel free to join us here in AZ. I will be happy to show you some crags where you will not be disturbed by Arizonans. Be sure and bring your own hangers though as we left most of ours at ET.

Hahahahahaha

You guys are funny. Thanks. I needed that.

Too busy showing some nice folks from NM a great crag here in S. AZ to respond. peace

First of the guy you are thinking off is Scott Ayers. Second of, I've only been to the tower twice and I destroyed most of the tower, frog prince cave and the land and beyond. Since access is not an issue for me, I'll go there again in October and send the rest rest of the routes there. and I am only helping people from Tuscon and Phoenix and that's it.

The climbing area is on public land. No reason to ever "close it down."

It can be accessed by driving around the back way but that adds well over an hour to the trip.

Cattle ranchers own the land at the entrance to the canyon. Heavy use of the area may be perceived as a threat to their interests or at least annoying.

A close friend of my holds the grazing rights to the area immediately around the rocks but he sold his heard a couple years ago and won't be running cattle up there for awhile.

So I actually have a question. I have not been on the 4x4 road yet and was wondering how gnarly is it?

Pat Mac wrote:So I actually have a question. I have not been on the 4x4 road yet and was wondering how gnarly is it?

Dude, your from Tempe you don't get to go there anymore.

And this winter if you see any NM plates be sure to send them home.

Wow, this thread really went off of the deep end.

No doubt there are lots of people in CO who wish the NMer's would stay home. And then when the CO people go to WY they get the same shit.

In a warming hut outside of Bend, OR some one wrote go back to CA. I thought well make sure you stay home too then.

Back in the day when I lived in the Black Hills, SD it was great to meet climbers from all over the country and the world for that matter. We welcomed them to the area gave them directions to the classics, beta if they wanted it, let them lead if they wanted, or I would lead what I could if they wanted to follow.

Of course that was back when climbing was still considered dangerous and there weren't as many climbers. And as far as I remember they mostly all knew how to dig a cat hole.

Peace and Sex.