This was the third and final day of our climbing trip to Cochise Stronghold. Will and I had climbed
Abracadaver the day before—our main objective of the trip—and were starting to feel the cumulative fatigue from a couple of late nights.
The original plan for the day was to hike back up to the Rockfellow Group, where we had stashed our packs and ropes, and climb
The Labyrinth (5.10 R, 5 pitches) on Rockfellow Dome—a wild route that winds through caverns to the summit that I had always wanted to climb but never gotten around to. But we got a later start than ideal, and by the time we made it up there, it was quite windy. Combined with our fatigue, the stoke just wasn’t quite there. We decided instead to haul most of our gear down and shift objectives to Stronghold Dome for the day.
The 400'+ Stronghold Dome hosts a number of quality crack and face climbs, and I’ve spent quite a bit of time there over the years. Among them,
Beeline stands out as one of the most popular—and for good reason. It’s one of the finest crack climbs in the Stronghold: clean, aesthetic, and well-protected where it counts around 5.9+. The route follows a wide crack that gradually thins, shooting straight up toward a roof-corner. I had climbed it once before, back in
2020.
Will took the lead, and we were on top in no time. We descended with a rappel down the south face.
We had loosely planned to climb another route, but first I took an unprecedented nap at the base—glorious, and exactly what I needed after being up until 1am the previous day working on my
Abracadaver trip report. An hour later, whatever motivation we’d had for more climbing had quietly slipped away. Instead, we packed up and started the hike out. Along the way, Will stopped to try a boulder problem he’d been eyeing every time we passed it on the trail. After that, we swung by the campground at the end of the road to dump trash, wandered the nature trail for a bit, and then made our way back to camp.
It wasn’t the most ambitious final day of climbing, but it turned into a relaxed and enjoyable one—perfect weather, good company, and time to just take in the beauty of Cochise. All in all, a great trip.
This page includes a route overlay for several climbs on Stronghold Dome (including Beeline), along with photos from the day.
