The mountain ranges of Cochise County are filled with exceptional climbing locations. There is the Cochise Stronghold, the Dry Canyon, the Farmhouse, the Mustang, the Biscuit and many more potential climbing areas being developed in the Huachucas.
These areas feature everything from moderate routes for novice climbers to a route that professional climbers speculate could be one of the hardest sport climbing routes in the world. “You’re getting the big world class climbers coming down to your home, but you don’t know about it,” said Angel Mangual, a local route developer and owner of CIBA climbing gym in Sierra Vista.
The top three climbing locations in Cochise County are certainly the Cochise Stronghold, the Dry Canyon and the Farmhouse. Each location offers something unique.
The Dry Canyon
The Dry Canyon is a popular sport climbing destination tucked away in the Whetstone Mountains just south of Kartchner Caverns. The established routes here range from 5.8 to 5.14+, but a majority of the routes range between 5.11 and 5.12. Some routes here are accessible to the beginner climber, but it is a place best enjoyed by more experienced climbers.
The highlight of the Dry Canyon is the Celebrity Cave. The cave features steep, hard routes with alien-looking limestone formations to use as handholds. This tucked away cave is even home to a route that just may be one of the hardest in the world.
In 2017, an unclimbed route named “Lee Majors” caught the attention of Olympic silver-medalist Nathaniel Coleman. After two seasons of climbing, Coleman made the first clean ascent of the route and gave it the grade of 5.14c/d- making it the current hardest route in Southeastern Arizona.
But the story does not end there. The vertical face or headwall above the cave still remained unclimbed and Coleman set out to change this.
At first, Coleman believed the headwall would be a difficult section of rock to climb but nowhere nearly as difficult as the climbing in the cave. But he was wrong.
“It’s one of the craziest pieces of climbing I’ve ever done,” said Coleman. “When I first
bolted it, I had no idea it had the potential to be that hard. It’s hard to even give it a sport grade, it’s going to be like v11 into v15.”
Coleman’s climber partner and fellow professional rock climber, Sean Bailey, has compared the route to “Bibliographie,” one of the hardest climbing routes in the world. Bailey, who recently made a clean ascent of “Bibliographie” said that this line feels more difficult. That would put this route in the Dry Canyon on par with “Silence,” the current hardest climbing route in the world.
The Farmhouse
The Farmhouse is another popular limestone sport climbing destination in Cochise County. To reach the Farmhouse one must make a steep hike up to an exposed cliff face off State Route 82 between Sierra Vista and Sonoita.
As you approach the Farmhouse, the trail splits. For those seeking more beginner-friendly climbing routes, go right at the fork in the trail. This will take you to the Vineyard.
For those seeking harder routes to climb, go left at the fork in the trail. This will take you to the Bowling Alley. There is a little something for everybody at the Farmhouse.
The Cochise Stronghold
The Cochise Stronghold lies in the heart of the Dragoon Mountains. Its granite domes attract climbers seeking bold, multi-pitch adventure routes. Climbing in the stronghold is not for the faint of heart.
Most routes here are traditional climbing routes meaning that one must place their own protection as they climb. Bolts are sparse and long, bolt run outs in between protection points are common. Even on the sport routes in the area, some trad climbing skills are often required.
The Cochise Stronghold is about as wild as climbing gets in Southeastern Arizona. The granite domes require technical slab climbing skills and a lot of guts from those wishing to reach their summits.
But if you dare to scale one of these domes, the views are worth it. From the top, one can see almost all of Cochise County stretched out before them.
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