Mt. Graham - Part I

Joe and I had been talking about exploring some of the remote climbing areas in southern Arizona for several years. Bob Kerry's Backcountry Rockclimbing in Southern Arizona guide book has brief descriptions of many of the established routes in this area. There is an area called Faraway Faces in the Pinaleno mountains (aka Mt. Graham) that looked like a good sized rock worth having a go at.

Over the past six months or so Joe had been exploring on Mt. Graham, which is located in southeastern Arizona not too far from Safford. Mt. Graham is an impressive mountain, rising high above the surrounding farm and ranch land to 10,720 feet. The mountain itself is easily accessible via the Swift Trail Parkway, a decent road that is paved for most of the way. There are a number of good trails and camping areas on the mountain but it is steep and rugged as soon as you get off the beaten path. After a few tries at the guide book directions, Joe realized that the approach description for Faraway Faces was incorrect and he was going to have to do some exploring to find it.

Joe kept me appraised of progress while I was still working. One day I got a text with a photo of the rock. He had found it! He some time trimming back brush on the 20 year old climbing trail, putting up a few cairns so we could find our way, and stashed some water out there. What more could you ask for from a climbing partner?

We decided to make an attempt at one of the climbs over the July 4th weekend. The weather report looked good for the first part of the trip and I was chomping at the bit for a backcountry adventure. We left Phoenix on Thursday with the idea of hiking to a small saddle right next to the climbing area that day. The saddle is visible in the photo above just to the left of the big rock face. We'd camp there that night and climb the next day.

In Arizona it's rare to find a water source so you have to carry whatever water you're going to need. Joe had already stashed some water so we only had to carry enough for one day. However, we had to pack in our climbing ropes, shoes, harnesses, a light rack of gear, and some basic camping gear. Our packs were probably around 50 lb each. Joe brought a hammock with a waterproof rain fly. I decided that I'd just bring a tarp for protection from rain and sleep on the ground. I realized there was some risk with this approach but it seemed like a reasonable one. The weather forecast looked good through the next day and the temperatures were pretty warm. If everything went poorly I was not likely to get hypothermia.

We began hiking on a nice trail which became more and more faint as we continued.

Joe points the way - the going is easy here

The trail becomes faint

After about 2 hours there was a break in the trees and we saw our objective. It was a beautiful sight! At this point we had to leave the faint trail that we were on and take the climber's trail that Joe had discovered. Calling it a trail is a bit generous but it did get us to where we wanted to go.

Our objective - Faraway Faces

Joe adding a cairn

Faint trail

It took us another 30 minutes on the climber's trail to get to the saddle. I think the elevation at this point is about 7,500 feet. We dropped our packs, checked to see if the water was still there (it was), and then went to take a look at the route we would be climbing the next day.

The route we had targeted is called Blind Pigs Eat Rocks, a 6 pitch climb (roughly 500 feet high) rated 5.10. After bushwhacking along the base of the rock we found the climb. It looked pretty good. We were both excited to get on it and see what challenges it would present.

The climb Blind Pigs Eat Rocks

We made our way back to the saddle and set up camp. It's not a big area and not especially flat so it took a little work to get things set.

Joe's hammock setup is pretty sweet

My tarp setup is flimsy

Evening came and we could see storm clouds building. The monsoon is on at this time of the year and anything can happen. Thunder began to rumble as the clouds rose towards us from the valley below. A few bolts of lighting reached across the sky and then came the rain. I figured that there would be a brief rain shower and it would clear up. At about 7 pm it started to rain gently and continued for about an hour and a half. Joe joined me under the tarp from the dry comfort of his hammock when the lightning started. The hammock was tied to one of the tallest trees in the area and I reckon he felt that getting a little wet under a tarp was preferable to getting lit up by 100,000 Amps. The tarp held up quite nicely and I managed to keep my sleeping bag dry. 

At about 10 pm the storm revived. This time it came with fury. It was one of the most amazing electrical storms I have been a part of. Joe again joined me under the tarp when the lightning started. This time it just wouldn't stop. Joe captured some of it in the video below. If you listen closely you'll realize that what sounds like static is actually rain hitting the tarp that we're sitting under.

This tarp setup was never intended to handle so much water for so long. I pulled my sleeping bag up around me as tight as I could, trying to keep it on the dry part of the thermarest. I grabbed my shoes and sat on them. This kept my rear end dry for awhile but the shoes took on water as time passed. I'm not sure how long we sat there listening to the rain pound on the tarp, the thunder rumble and watching the lightning shoot across the dark sky. First one butt cheek went to sleep and then my foot on the same side. I wriggled around to see if I could get the blood moving again. If only I could get my head to fall asleep I'd be set! Here's a visual of my position. Stand up in your sleeping bag. Now squat down and touch your rear to your heels while keeping your bag up around you and your knees together. Lean back just a little and sit, but not too far back or the wet bushes behind you will soak your back. Hold that position for about 3 hours. Fun, huh?

In circumstances like these it is best to think of the things that you have going for you rather than entertain negative thoughts. I was very happy that I had a synthetic sleeping bag because it retained my body heat even when wet. I was also happy that it wasn't too cold that night. It was probably in the low 60's and though I wasn't warm I wasn't really cold either.

It must have been around 1 am when Joe decided to move into his hammock. Perhaps the lightning had subsided or maybe he decided that getting struck by lightning would be better than spending the rest of the night under a narrow tarp with his knees in his face. I decided that I would crawl under the hammock to take advantage of whatever dryness was to be had there. If lightning hits we're going out together! Our packs were stashed under the hammock so I had to carve out a makeshift spot among them. Tight quarters, they were. I felt like I was doing a modified wall sit for the rest of the night. I would slowly slide down the packs and have to push myself back up with my legs. My sleeping bag was wet up to my waist, as was everything in it. The ground was wet, the temperature had dropped and I was getting cold. Joe gave me his thermarest and that perked me up a bit. I lay back and waited for the first sign of dawn.

The rain continued all night and slowed to a drizzle as morning approached. I got up as soon as the rain stopped, about 5:30 am. It was a relief to get out of that wet sleeping bag and stretch my legs. I think I'm going to rename it a "sitting bag" because I don't think I slept a wink in it.

Everything is wet

Dry spot under the tarp

During the night I had been considering the possibility of climbing the next day. At what point has it rained too much? Granite dries pretty fast. However, if it rains too much the water will pool in various places, run down crack systems and seep out in certain areas. Without knowing the area there's no way of knowing how this climb will be affected. We didn't bring enough food for two days and weren't that excited about spending another wet night with no food. With clouds rising from the valley we decided we'd hike out and live to climb another day. After the monsoon the probability for dry conditions will be much higher.

Ready for the hike out

Clouds in the valley

Back out the steep climber trail

After breakfast we packed up and slogged our way through the wet forest back to the trail head. It took us about 2 hours and 40 minutes. We were both pretty fried at this point. It's amazing how lack of sleep can affect you. I was looking forward to a warm shower and a nap! We met a few hikers at the trail head, who said there had been a pretty nasty hail storm lower on the mountain. It turns out we were pretty fortunate.

Overall this was a great adventure that I won't soon forget. I didn't feel like we had been defeated. If you're going to play in the woods you're going to experience a little discomfort from time to time. We obtained invaluable information about the approach and the climb and I feel like it was worth the effort. We'll be back to do the climb and it will mean so much more to us for having suffered a little in the pursuit.

Stay tuned for Part II of our adventure...we put up a first ascent on different rock formation the following day.