Go back to Sedona.
Go back to Cochise Stronghold.
Summary
Oak Creek Spire.
In February of 2007, Shirley & I flew to Phoenix for a couple (literally) days of climbing. On Saturday, we climbed the Oak Creek Spire via its North Face – West Cracks (5.9+) line. The most memorable part of that outing was the wild step across (though most are not tall enough to step & in fact have to jump the gap…thankfully I am sufficiently tall) just below the spire’s summit. We have actually attempted this climb back in 2005 but could not find our way to the base of the tower through the new (relative to guidebook) suburban sprawl of Sedona. This time we were armed with superior approach beta and had no issues. On Saturday evening, we drove down to the West Cochise Stronghold and climbed The Peacemaker, a new 5.10a line on The Sheepshead that’s 7 pitches long and pretty much a sport climb (think I did bring a rack and might have placed a cam or two…mostly because our beta on it was sparse). A nice line – some slabs, some crimping, great setting. We hiked out just as the storm was brewing and made our evening flight out of Phoenix (but just barely).
Photos
Oak Creek Spire from approach. North Face route starts from the saddle behind the spire. Southwest corner visible (Feb. 2007).
Shirley on the approach hike (Feb. 2007).
Oak Creek Spire (Feb. 2007).
North face of Oak Creek Spire. North Face – West Cracks route is on the right obviously (Feb. 2007).
A closer look at pitches 2 and 3 (Feb. 2007).
Leading pitch 1 of North Face – West Cracks route on Oak Creek Spire (Feb. 2007).
Views from the route (Feb. 2007).
Shirley finishing pitch 1 of North Face – West Cracks line via the easy slot (Feb. 2007).
The steep and thin (and hard) start of pitch 2 of North Face – West Cracks line on Oak Creek Spire (Feb. 2007).
More views from the route (Feb. 2007).
Leading the flared chimney on pitch 2 of North Face – West Cracks line on Oak Creek Spire (Feb. 2007).
Shirley on pitch 2 (Feb. 2007).
Shirley in the flared chimney on pitch 2 of North Face – West Cracks route on Oak Creek Spire (Feb. 2007).
Into the choss squeeze! Careful – don’t drop any blocks on your belayer’s head. This is the start of our pitch 3 – in fact, if you do break pitches 2 and 3, you should belay right after/above this squeeze. There you’ll have a nice big & flat ledge (Feb. 2007).
Shirley getting ready to start pitch 3 (Feb. 2007).
Shadow of the spire (Feb. 2007).
Shirley topping out on pitch 3 of North Face – West Cracks route (a fun pitch). This puts you on top of the lower rabbit ear (Feb. 2007).
Topping out on pitch 3 (Feb. 2007).
Shirley on the sub-summit (Feb. 2007).
Looking west through the chimney that splits the towers (this is what you’re jumping across). Courthouse Butte is visible (Feb. 2007).
Looking at the jump across move that marks the start of pitch 4 of North Face – West Cracks route. This is the summit of the lower rabbit ear and one needs to get across this gap to top out on the higher ear (Feb. 2007).
You sure about this shit?
Looking back across the chasm towards Shirley at the belay (atop the lower rabbit ear; Feb. 2007).
Leading the steep but easy ground on the final pitch of North Face – West Cracks line on Oak Creek Spire. This is just beyond the chasm crossing (Feb. 2007).
Views from just below the summit (Feb. 2007).
Shirley topping out on Oak Creek Spire via North Face – West Cracks route (Feb. 2007).
Summit views (Feb. 2007).
Shirley on the summit of Oak Creek Spire (Feb. 2007).
Summit register (Feb. 2007).
Summit register atop Oak Creek spire. What is this curious device I found in there?
Summit views (Feb. 2007).
Starting the descent with the shadow of the tower in the background (Feb. 2007).
Shirley rapping down the route. Pitches 2 and 3 of North Face – West Cracks line are visible here (Feb. 2007).
Oak Creek Spire (Feb. 2007).
Shirley on the hike down (Feb. 2007).
Oak Creek Spire (Feb. 2007).
Pure fire (Feb. 2007).
The west/southwest face of The Sheepshead as seen from the approach. The tallest aspect of this face hosts Absinthe Of Mallet and Peacemaker. Muttonhead is on the left and the Crisis Center formation is on the right (Feb. 2007).
The west/southwest face of The Sheepshead (Feb. 2007).
Leading the opening slab on pitch 1 of Peacemaker route. Route essentially goes straight up with minimal meandering (Feb. 2007).
Higher on pitch 1 (Feb. 2007).
Nearing the first belay (Feb. 2007).
Shirley starting up pitch 1 of Peacemaker (Feb. 2007).
More views from Sheepshead (Feb. 2007).
Pitch 1 (Feb. 2007).
Shirley in the finishing chimney of pitch 1 (Feb. 2007).
Starting up pitch 2 (Feb. 2007).
Leading pitch 2 of Peacemaker – this might be just past the route’s crux moves. Thought it was harder than it looked from below (Feb. 2007).
Shirley starting up pitch 2 of Peacemaker (Feb. 2007).
Pretty views from Peacemaker (Feb. 2007).
More of Shirley on pitch 2 (Feb. 2007).
Shirley at the second belay (Feb. 2007).
Starting up pitch 3 (Feb. 2007).
Leading pitch 3 of Peacemaker. Well bolted as is the rest of this line (Feb. 2007).
Views from the route (Feb. 2007).
Starting up pitch 4 (Feb. 2007).
Shirley on pitch 4 (Feb. 2007).
Pitch 4 (Feb. 2007).
Shirley on pitch 4 of Peacemaker line on Sheepshead Dome (Feb. 2007).
Shirley topping out on pitch 4 of Peacemaker on Sheepshead Dome (Feb. 2007).
Starting up pitch 5 of Peacemaker – more slabs and crimps (Feb. 2007).
Shirley on pitch 5 (Feb. 2007).
Pitch 6 (Feb. 2007).
Shirley arriving atop pitch 6 (Feb. 2007).
A comfy belay atop a huge ledge (Feb. 2007).
Looking back at Shirley from the lead of pitch 7 (Feb. 2007).
Views from the summit of Sheepshead (Feb. 2007).
Shirley topping out on Sheepshead Dome via Peacemaker line in high winds. View is roughly southwest (Feb. 2006).
More summit views (Feb. 2007).
View north from the summit of Sheepshead toward Muttonhead Dome (Feb. 2007).
Back at the base (Nov. 2007).
Shirley hiking down as dark clouds build (Feb. 2007).
The Sheepshead (Feb. 2007).
Shirley hiking out after our climb of Peacemaker. There’s a storm moving in. We had just enough time to get to the car and pack our stuff before the sky opened up (Feb. 2007).
The Sheepshead (Feb. 2007).
On the drive out (Feb. 2007).
Go back to Sedona.
Go back to Cochise Stronghold.