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Tom Thumb

5.11 PG13, Trad, 400 ft (121 m), 4 pitches,  Avg: 2.9 from 7 votes
FA: Jack Hauck, David Lovejoy, 1971 FFA (entire route): Jim Waugh, 1979
Arizona > Central Arizona > *Prescott Area > Granite Mountain > Middle Section
Warning Access Issue: Falcon Closures from February 1st until July 15th DetailsDrop down

Description

If you are looking at Green Savior, look just left for a fairly conspicuous tower. On the left side of the tower is a small roof with a fist crack out the left side.

Pitch 1, 5th class: Climb up fractured, broken rock (kind of spooky) to a belay 15’ below the roof.

Pitch 2, 5.11-: A classic crack climbing pitch with an off size roof. Climb up rattly rock to roof. Plug some decent gear in and climb out and left. The crack actually gets smaller as you climb and some very nice hand jams await just after the crux. The crack will eventually end in fingers towards the top of it. Rig a gnarly belay.

Pitch 3, 5.11: The bolts on this pitch were replaced in 2013. Reported to be anywhere between 5.10+ to a whole grade harder. Techy climbing leads left the a seam feature. Climb that until you can weave back right along a path of least resistance. 

Pitch 4: 50’ of OW.

Location

Left side Middle section

Protection

Standard rack of doubles to #4, wires, runners.

Photos [Hide ALL Photos]

Heather Hayes powers into the crux of Tom's Thumb 2nd pitch (yes, it is wide- note the helmet she had to leave behind to fit deep enough to jam!)
[Hide Photo] Heather Hayes powers into the crux of Tom's Thumb 2nd pitch (yes, it is wide- note the helmet she had to leave behind to fit deep enough to jam!)
Tom Thumb p3
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Slight deviAtion from the topo’s line seemed the most natural . A bit confusing.
[Hide Photo] Tom Thumb p3 Slight deviAtion from the topo’s line seemed the most natural . A bit confusing.
Sam styling the roof
[Hide Photo] Sam styling the roof
Bobby on the second pitch of Tom Thumb (Photo by Zach King)
[Hide Photo] Bobby on the second pitch of Tom Thumb (Photo by Zach King)
Zach Harrison getting into the crux on pitch 3 (rebolted) (Photo by Zach King)
[Hide Photo] Zach Harrison getting into the crux on pitch 3 (rebolted) (Photo by Zach King)

Comments [Hide ALL Comments]

[Hide Comment] Did this route earlier this fall. Everything I heard about the face pitch after the roof sounded really scary so we traversed left to other routes via the Grand Traverse Ledge. Definately carry a #4 Camalot for the crux roof moves.

I suggest Green Savior Direct -> Tom's Thumb -> C.W.Hicks.

A good route, but if you are up to the grade I would reccommend Coatimundi Whiteout over this climb. Dec 29, 2008
ZachDKing
Aspen, CO
[Hide Comment] Tom Thumb has been re-bolted! Thanks to Zach Harrison. I feel pretty comfortable with GM ratings and I must say the pitch that Zach re-bolted (originally rated 10c on the topo) certainly felt harder than 5.10. In my opinion it required 5.11+ effort with a little spice on the last bolts..maybe I'm just a weenie though..I'd be very interested to hear what other people think. Nov 13, 2013
Zach Harrison
Flagstaff
  5.11 PG13
[Hide Comment] I finally got on this thing after replacing the bolts on pitch three. I would say that it felt solid 5.11 to me, so at Granite Mtn that's 11a? That's what the pitch was rated in the GM fold out topo. It is likely that some holds have broken off over the years. Pitch 3 hand size gear needed at belay ledge. Pitch 4 is 50 feet and runout but easy offwidth. I would recommend a rack of singles from BD # .3 to #4, 12 slings w/ some double runners. Have fun kids! Jan 4, 2014
[Hide Comment] Goiks. Heads up climbing in order to reach the roof/hand crack. While the climbing is not that difficult it is worth a mention of the loose and unstable boulders you get to climb on and over. A fall in this section seems like a bad idea...I guess it is the price of admission in order to "enjoy" the crack above. Sep 1, 2018
TravKlein
Tempe, AZ
[Hide Comment] Agree with Sean. Probably the worst rock I’ve encountered on the mountain. PG13 for leader and follower Sep 3, 2018
JJ Schlick
Flagstaff, AZ
  5.11 PG13
[Hide Comment] I don’t use the word “spooky” all that often while describing routes;) Sep 3, 2018
Gabriel Kerbs
Lander, Yeehaw!
  5.11 PG13
[Hide Comment] Yes a little choss climbing through the dike before the roof. The roof is rad n burly, have your partner carry your helmet. Face pitch is amazing (the Money Pitch IMo) and an ass-kicker that took me several attempts to figure out n redpoint. Not 11a, holds must have broken. I removed the piton in the beginning by hand. There’s a good c3 placement in its absence. Bolt two has a loose hanger bring something to tighten if you care.
The natural path of the line is a little different than the topo shows in my opinion. I’ll add a photo to clarify. An excellent line, and a little serious. Oct 19, 2018