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.