PRINT: Rock Climb Cripple Creek, Mount Lemmon (Santa Catalina Mountains)

Cripple Creek

5.10-, Trad, 3 pitches,

Avg: 3.6 from 38 votes
FA: Dave Baker, Merle Wheeler
Arizona > Southern Arizona > Mt Lemmon (Sant… > Mt Lemmon (Cata… > 2 - Bear Canyon > Pharaoh

Description

A stout climb with fantastic exposure. Nice mix of face and crack climbing with some wide surprises. On pitch one, move up and right to a steep face into a corner/flaring chimney. Sketchy! Pitch two follows a direct line up a crack/corner system. Pitch three continues up a crack before traversing left under a roof to a steep slabby finish.

Location

Look for two or three small roofs down low. Above you will see a left facing corner/slot. The route starts left of the small roofs. There are fixed anchors at the top of the first and second pitches. Gear anchor necessary for the last pitch. To descend, pass through a small notch near the summit to the west side. Drop into a large dish with rappel anchors just below a small tree. Rappel down (over) a gulley. Be careful not to fall into the slot.

Protection

Bring your standard rack. At least on fist size piece will be useful

Photos [Hide ALL Photos]

Pitch 2 of Cripple Creek.

Approximate topo of the route, using my advanced electronic drawing techniques.

Double arm bars on pitch 1 of Cripple Creek.

some history found on the way up to Pharaoh

Comments [Hide ALL Comments]

jbak x
tucson, az

A Top-20 Lemmon trad classic. Mar 5, 2007

Jimbo

jbak, I find myself agreeing with you again. Mar 5, 2007

Christian RodaoBack
Tucson, AZ

Make sure to get some pro in on the easy leftward traverse at the end of the third pitch because there is one last tricky upwards move to get to the belay..Probably the random guano around there doesn't help either..

I'm not sure if that last move was the cause of the Alex Pendleton accident (see climbaz.com) but I thought I'd put this out there anyway.. Jun 30, 2007

James DeRoussel
Tucson, AZ

As mentioned above, this climb was host to a leader fatality in recent years. Ought not to be taken lightly at the grade. Apr 6, 2008

John Hayes
Bend, OR

5.10-

I agree that this is a classic. There are (at least) two starts possible. One steps left up the very shallow left facing corner system into the crack that leads up and back right to the first belay alcove. The second start goes pretty much straight up the steep cracks just to the right of the big corner system (to the right of the first start.) Both starts are about equally difficult though I find the right version slightly more strenuous. Jan 6, 2010

John Steiger

This is one of several now-classic routes on Mt. Lemmon first climbed in 1971 (others include Trick or Treat, Centerpiece, Fiutt, Helms Deep, and Voodoo Child). For a more challenging variation, climb the thin crack of Gashlycrumb Tinies (5.11a) to the first belay (maybe a 3-4 star pitch itself, but double up on the small wires). Feb 19, 2010

Jon Ruland
Tucson, AZ

DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE THIS CLIMB!

i can only attest to the first pitch since i ended up limping out of there after pulling a piece, but you should be VERY solid on mount lemmon trad before getting on this climb. the gear isn't always where you want it and you should be comfortable with "leader must not fall" situations. i was not and i paid the price (bad ankle sprain).

Aug 20, 2015

1Eric Rhicard
Tucson

Thus the name Jon Ruland. It is also the site of one of Mt. Lemmon's fatalities. Place bomber pro, it is there, or don't fall off! Hope you heal up quickly Jon. Aug 24, 2015

Jordan Stone

5.10b

I felt like the pro on this route was all great after about 25 ft off the ground---save, perhaps, an exciting move at the beginning of the 3rd pitch. In the first 25 ft there are options, but I found one stretch of no-fall zone. Awesome climb, not more sketchy than days of future past out in Cochise, if that's helpful as a point of reference. Oct 29, 2015

J J
Tucson, AZ

The anchors for P1 and P2 are super rusty. May want to back them up. Mar 8, 2016

Neil Kauffman
Bishop, CA

Double rack to 2". Leave packs at the north face then walk left, east to the base of the route. Rap route comes down a chimney left of the two sport climbs on the north face. Feb 4, 2017

Josh Gross

12 + years later , still classic , every pitch is quality. Anchors could use some love. Feb 12, 2017

Andrew Megas-Russell
Tucson, AZ

Great climb! Solid pro where you want it, really not that sketchy a route. Classic technical granite footwork akin to Mount Lemmon! A good warm up/progressional climb for Lizard Marmalade. There is a spot to place a #4 camalot in the flaring chimney at the top of the first pitch which protected the move well, but it seemed like other pro may be had here to allow leaving the 4 behind (since it was not necessary on P2&3). A single #3 came in handy on some pitches. THE DESCENT is only 80ft long, so it is fine to rappel with a single 60m rope. Mar 14, 2017

Dima Sh

5.10

Great climb! The route is surprisingly clean, no loose rock, not even sand at the belay ledges, it looks power washed :)
First pitch is the hardest, if it's 5.10-, it's Yosemite grade 5.10- :)
Do not be scared by "wide surprises" in the description, because they are can be protected well with midsize cams.
The bolts at the belays do have a coating of rust (they are not stainless steel), but they look very reliable. Maybe they were replaced since 2016.
I had double rack (as recommended in comments) and double ropes, so I could place gear without worrying about rope drag or running out of gear, and I did not feel that I was in a no-fall zone at any time. The gear placements are there and good, they are just not at every foot. Read all previous comments, stay focused, do not try to run it out because you think you can on 5.10 and you will be fine. Nov 13, 2023