Late November trip to Mt. Lemmon

A friend and I are planning on making the drive from Austin to Mt. Lemmon to spend a few days camping and climbing. Would love to get some local insight into can't miss climbs, local ethics, navigation, dogs, etc.

I'm a mid 10s sport climber and my buddy is a letter grade or two behind me. All of our climbing experience comes on the limestone here around Austin. Short and well featured rock but pretty steep and sustained for the grades. I've been going through the routes here on MP to pick some out for us to try. Are the ratings fairly accurate, or should I think about sticking to 8s and 9s that may turn out to feel like 9s and 10s? I'd also like to give a good effort on some hard but safe 10s to really push myself though.

We're planning on just camping in the dispersed camping areas up near Mt. Bigelow and Incinerator Ridge. Will the climbing walls up there still be climbable or will everything be too cold that high up?

It will be a bit chilly up high in late Nov.

As far as which routes...go to Lower Highway section of Mt Lemmon and click on "best routes for you".

De nada.

mountainproject.com/v/munch…

Hank,

Munchkinland is one of my favorite sport areas on Mt. Lemmon, and I don't *think* it will be too cold. One of the good things about Munchkinland is that there are just so many routes to choose from -- and they're all good! If you start on the more moderate routes on "The Tower," you can judge how the grades go, and then see if you want to get on the harder routes (5.10, 5.11) on the "Wall of the Marching Munchkins." There's No Place Like Home is a GREAT route (5.9) there -- straightforward, long, really fun! On the other side, you have the "Wall of the Waltzing Witches," which also has great climbs, although I don't personally recommend the 5.7+.

Note, the guidebook (Squeezing the Lemmon II) can help you avoid paying the parking fees at Rose Canyon campground -- it has great information, but the newer walls at Munchkinland are not included in it. (Only the "Wall of the Marching Munchkins.")

As far as dogs go, at a place like Munchkin, there are many times unleashed dogs, as it is a very popular place. In addition to your normal "Leave No Trace" ethics, typically your friends should follow on YOUR draws and then the last climber should set him/herself up to rap down to spare wear on the anchors. On some routes (I can't remember if it's the case at Munchkin) you will find mussy hooks or old carabiners in place that the last person can lower off of -- if an anchor biner isn't good anymore, then it is hoped that whoever is climbing there will replace it with another old (but not bad) biner.

Have fun! Mt. Lemmon is a treasure!
Abby

John, do you think it will be too cold at Munchkinland?

The Ruins has a fair amount of 10's and is low enough on the mountain to be relatively warm.

Although, I did go to Ridgeline on a sunny January day and thought the temperature was fine. Some 5.10 crags around that are are Boneyard and Munchkinland.

Coming from Austin, the routes are a lot different than TX limestone, and the grades might feel a little stiff. If you climb at ERock at all, I would use your grade range from there as a better guide for which ratings to seek out on Mt Lemmon.

Sunny areas up high will likely be ok in late Nov. Munchkinland, for example, faces west, and will be chilly in the morning, but once the sun hots the wall will be pretty nice. Druid has a some good 9's and 10's and faces mostly south.

Ruins is a good spot for 10's, but the approach will seem torturous by Greenbelt/Reimers standards. The views are pretty spectacular from the crag, though.

The upper tiers at Sun Spots crag have some fun 9's and 10's.

I haven't climbed there, but heard from other visitors that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Crag was fun, and is all 8-10. It may be a little warm in Nov, though.

Milagrosa should be really nice then, but most of the good climbs are hard 10 - easy 11.

And the camping on Mt Bigelow and Incinerator Ridge is great, but may be pretty chilly in late Nov. If you want a warmer option, Molino Basin Campground is pretty nice, and close to a lot of the lower elevation crags.

Have fun!

Thanks for all the help guys! Really looking forward to this trip. I visited Lemmon with my road bike back in May and saw lots of climbers on my way up and back down, and I've been planning the climbing trip ever since.

Is Squeezing the Lemmon a necessary buy, or is there enough beta here on MP to find my way around? If it is, where should I look to buy it? I emailed The Bloc and they said they are sold out. I guess I could always order it online, but if there's somewhere in town I can buy it I always try to buy from a local shop than a website.

Squeezing the Lemmon can be helpful for directions to crags, but after you find the crag, MP is almost always better for the individual routes, since it's more up to date. I wouldn't say the guidebook is a necessity. MP has decent directions to most crags. If you wanted to get STL, you could get it from Summit Hut on Speedway Blvd.

If it gets super miserably cold up top, which is unlikely in Nov, but possible, hairpin is great. Also, if you want a little adventure, there's some great routes at the outback. I helped put a fixed rope out there a year ago and rappelled with my dog off my harness. It's not straight down, so that might not be necessary, but definitely recommended.

Also, if it's a sunny warm day, windy point should be nice in the afternoon. Make sure you hit Hitchcock Pinnacle for a photo op. Bring a #2 cam just in case, since its a 40ish ft pitch with just one bolt.