Climbing in the North Preserve

The north area of the McDowell Sonoran Preserve has fantastic climbing opportunities and Chris spent most of yesterday trying out some of them. The climbers refer to these boulder areas as walls. The one pictured here is called Half and Half Wall. I call it Sleeping Dragon (does anyone else see it?!). From a distance, the climbing doesn’t look that steep but check out the inset image. (Another climber took this shot of Chris just before I got mine). If you’re not familiar with climbing, the ropes are there to catch you if you fall and then used to rappel down. The rest of the time, the climber uses only his hands and feet to get up.

The Arizona Mountaineering Club worked with the City of Scottsdale for five years to work out a plan for access to climbing in the Preserve. Read more HERE.