It's a little cheesy and cliche, but as the year comes to an end it is hard not to look back and reflect on the previous 12 months. Did we live up to our expectations? Did we meet any goals, check any items off our Bucket List? For climbers, this inevitably means thinking back to our favorite climbs, those elusive projects, and the great times laughing at the crag. With that in mind, I thought I would share some of the highlights from my year in climbing, and hope that some of you guys will share a few of yours in the Comments section. 

The year started off with a couple of high notes from the midwest. First, a group of friends from St. Louis came to visit and do some climbing. I got to play tour guide, and take them to some of our local classics, including Steve's Arete, Hitchcock Pinnacle, Arizona Flyways, Blood Book and of course, Milagrosa Canyon and Gates Pass. Shortly after that I flew to St. Louis myself, and between spending time with family and friends, got to squeeze in a trip to the Holy Boulders of Southern Illinois. With near perfect temps and high motivation, I was able to finally send a long term project that had eluded me for many reasons. But I managed to pull out a send of Jungle Book, an ultra-classic sloper arete, and one of the most striking lines I've ever had the pleasure to climb.

This summer I fell in love with the Orifice Wall, and had a blast climbing up there. I felt like I finally developed some of the skills necessary to be a decent sport climber, and toiled away at a few projects up there. I feel pretty confident that Hard Day at the Orifice and Orifice Politics will always be among the best sport routes I will ever climb.

After Orifice season, I was pretty psyched to switch gears and start bouldering some more. When Chris Prewitt sent me satellite images of Panther Peak, I was salivating at the chance to head up there. It was exhilarating exploring the area, and finding cool new lines around every corner. And after cleaning epic amounts of choss, I feel we found some pretty good problems up there, and begun development of what could be a real good area. Snagging the first ascent of Righteous Beast was definitely a highlight. And even now, after the initial excitement of sending the problem has worn off a bit, I am convinced it is one of the best problems in Southern Arizona. Hopefully development will continue up there, as there are plenty of stellar lines still waiting to be done.

Recently it has been a lot of fun to work on this website. It has been a lot of work, but well worth to help people find some new areas to check out. Thanks especially to every one who has contributed to the site or offered feedback or suggestions! I hope to keep improving the site and keep adding more and more information and media.

Of course, the most memorable thing about any year of climbing is all the amazing people I have been fortunate enough to climb with. From the OG's of Team Tuesday, to the peanut gallery at the Orifice Wall, and all the folks I have been bouldering with lately - THANKS FOR A GREAT YEAR! There are so many reasons I love and continue climbing, and the people I get to climb with are right on top of the list. So thanks for the laughter and stories, the motivation and support, and for sharing this passion and making every day that more interesting and meaningful.

What about you???

Having lived and climbed in Texas, Missouri and Connecticut, I have to say that it is relieving to finally live in an area where access to climbing areas is not too much of an issue. Not once in my time in Tucson have I had to hop a fence, or pretend I didn't see the obvious "NO TRESPASSING" sign. The one area I can think of that has been closed is Campbell Cliffs, and we have to avoid certain areas during falcon nesting season. But for the most part, we can head out to climb without having to also act like secret agents.


Phoenix climbers have suffered more losses, as urban development started to encroach on the rocky areas around Camelback Mountain and Scottsdale. A pending decision to begin mining in the Queen Creek region could be the biggest loss of all, and will certainly hurt climbers through Arizona and the southwest. With the economy still sputtering, it seems like it will be increasingly difficult for climbers and conservationists to stop the proposed land swap. For those that are concerned about the loss of Queen Creek climbing and recreational opportunities, the Queen Creek Coalition deserves an enormous amount of gratitude for staying vigilant and continuing to represent our interests.


While I have only climbed at Queen Creek once, and haven't followed all the details and developments of the land swap deal, I would hate to lose this great climbing area. The only bright side to losing Queen Creek might be the areas we could potentially gain from the land swap, including the much talked about Tam O'Shanter. Dustin recently passed along this interesting document from the QCC, showing what the QCC has asked for, and how RMC (Resolution Copper Mining) has responded. 


There are some interesting and potentially beneficial items RMC has agreed to. 

• Transfer of Tamo and Apache Leap. 
• Roads and infrastructure to The Homestead and a few other areas. 
• $50K hardware fund for route development. 
• Potential relocation of boulders.

I still hope a deal can be reached and climbing access to all Queen Creek areas can be preserved. But if the land swap happens, and mining begins, I hope RMC lives up to this agreement, and fulfills these obligations. We could gain some interesting and unique areas, and with new roads and infrastructure open up whole new parts of central Arizona open for exploration.