Intro

For Christmas holidays 2020 and 2021, Nate and I had climbed at Cochise Stronghold for two weeks (these trip reports are linked at the head of this page). Both times, we had a blast. And both times, even before the trip was over, we booked the Airbnb we were staying at for the following Christmas and were making a list of routes to do when we returned. For Christmas 2022, we planned on a full 2 weeks. I used a couple of vacation days and was able to get most of the time off, with the caveat of some work in the evenings during our trip.

In late December, weather in the Stronghold can go either way—it can be 70° and sunny or 10° and snowing, or anywhere in-between. The previous two years we had been fortunate to have good enough weather to climb most of the days we had been there, with maybe one or two glorious t-shirt days. Going into our 2022 trip, the forecast looked great: stable with highs in the low 50s and mostly sunny. We were psyched.

It was another spectacular trip to the Stronghold. This was the first trip where we decided to check out the west side, which entailed a 1-hour drive from our Airbnb to the trailhead for Sheepshead, well worth it for the quality and quantity of rock on the Sheepshead. Our stats: 14 days of climbing, 17 bigger multipitch routes plus 23 1- or 2-pitch routes, and exactly 100 pitches (!!) of climbing ranging from 5.7-5.11+. We climbed 12 of the formations: The Sheepshead, The Muttonhead, End Pinnacle, Cochise Dome, Stronghold Dome, Waterfall Dome, Worm Dome, Murray Dome, Waste Land Dome, Bastion Towers, Zappa Dome, Lebowski Wall. We targeted mostly routes given a higher star count in the guidebook (two to three stars), so most of the climbing we did was spectacular. And despite the quality of the climbing, we never encountered another party on any of the routes we did. Nate did all of the leading on this trip. Just about every pitch here has some section of runout out of my comfort zone (which likely explains the paucity of other climbers in such a spectacular area). With Nate on the sharp end, we climbed the routes quickly. He cruised up the notorious Cochise runouts and difficult 5.10-11 sections with impressive ease. I enjoyed the ride and climbing with my favorite partner.

During our time at the Stronghold, we stayed in the same Airbnb we had stayed in the previous two years: a trailer a mere 15 minutes drive from the trailhead. We enjoyed mornings in the heated warmth of the trailer drinking coffee, checking the news, doing computer work, and watching the sunrise over the Stronghold. We enjoyed evenings grilling good food, working on trip reports (me), reading (Nate), and watching Yellowstone. We were treated to homemade Christmas cookies and warm socks from the awesome hosts Theresa and Ron.
We had both Tanya Bok's guidebook and Geir Hundal's guidebook for the area. We found that having both guidebooks to the area was better than having just one of them. I really appreciate both of these guidebooks for their wealth of route information and area detail. I am aware enough of the underlying controversy that surrounds Cochise route development to know that praising both guidebooks in one sentence would be a local rarity, but alas I am not a local. Over the course of three trips to Cochise and gaining a fair bit of familiarity with the area, I have developed some of my own opinions on the matter, but I'll keep those to myself.

For three years in a row now Nate and I had a wonderfully enjoyable trip to Cochise. We didn't want these enjoyable trips to end. Up to this point we had climbed primarily on the east side, making the 1 hour drive to the west side only a few times. We felt like we had climbed most of the routes we wanted to climb on the east side, and the west side felt like a giant playground of new routes. So despite our sadness in not returning to our beloved Airbnb on the east side, we booked a nice-looking Airbnb on the west side for the following year (Christmas 2023) and began looking forward to the new adventures to be had.

The following page gives our itinerary and a nice photo overlay and photos for each of the climbs we did. I had given Nate my extra camera setup, so I included a mix of both his and my photos to give an even more complete tour of our adventures. Combined, we took a trip total of 1269 photos (420 of these were Nate's). Nate took lots of great photos.

Enjoy!

Itinerary

Dec 16 (Fri): Leave Boulder/Estes Park, Colorado and drove all the way to Deming, New Mexico, where we stayed in a cheap motel for the night. (~740 miles, ~11 hours driving from Estes Park to Deming)
Dec 17 (Sat): Make the remainder of the drive to Cochise Stronghold. Climb Reen's Arete (5.7R, 1-2p) and Unnamed (5.10-, 3p) and Stage Fright (5.11+, 1p) on Stronghold Dome before getting settled into our Airbnb. (~170 miles, ~3 hours driving from Deming to Cochise, for a total of ~910 miles, 14 hours driving from Estes Park to Cochise.
Dec 18 (Sun): We had not climbed on the west side during our two previous years to Cochise, so we decided to drive 1 hour to the west side and climb a route on The Sheepshead. We climbed Absinthe of Mallet (5.10-, 7p), which was a great route and challenging at the grade. We weathered a cold rainstorm halfway up the route, but it just made us look even more forward to to the upcoming sunny forecast.
Dec 19 (Mon): We had enjoyed the rock so much the previous day that we decided to return to the west side and climb again The Sheepshead. We climbed Dark Horse (5.10-, 6p). Another excellent climb on this giant chunk of granite. The sun was out and the weather was glorious. We returned to the Airbnb where Nate enjoyed the last rays of the afternoon sun on the porch and I got started on a few hours of work on a mini-analysis my supervisor had emailed me earlier that day.
Dec 20 (Tue): It was already the fourth day of our trip and we had still not gone grocery shopping—every day we had prioritized climbing and at the end of the day not felt like making the 35-minute (one way) drive to Wilcox or Benson. So in the morning while I did a couple of hours of work, Nate volunteered for the task of driving to Wilcox to pick up some groceries. We spent the afternoon at Stronghold Dome, where we climbed Welcome to the Stronghold (5.10+, 3p) and then added on a couple of bonus pitches: Unnamed Pitch 3 (5.10-, 1p) when our rope got stuck on the rappel and Direct Start to Reen's Arete (5.10+, 1p) an excellent stand-alone pitch of climbing. That evening, we enjoyed our first meal cooked on the grill, and I put in some more work hours in the cozy Airbnb.
Dec 21 (Wed): With the cloudless blue skies and warm sun, it certainly did not feel like the first day of winter. We spent the glorious day climbing three routes: first we linked up You Bet Your Life (5.10, 2p) and Concentration (5.11, 2p) on Cochise Dome and then on the hike out we took a quick detour to climb Cosmic Purity (5.9, 2p) on Waterfall Dome.
Dec 22 (Thu): The previous year, we had climbed a day with Scott Ayers (perhaps the most prolific first ascentionist in Cochise with an incredible eye for a good line—most of the routes we've climbed in Cochise have been established by Scott). So we had let him know we were in the area again, and he was psyched to meet up with us for a day of climbing. We headed to Stronghold/Worm/Murray Domes area for a tour of several superb not-known-to-the-general-public-one-and-two-pitch routes he had recently put up. We climbed nine pitches on excellent rock: Unnamed (5.10-, 1p) on Stronghold Dome, Unnamed Left (5.10-, 2p) and Unnamed Right (5.10, 2p) on Worm Dome, and Magnas Coloradas (5.11-, 1p), Unnamed (5.11, 1p), and The Nose Goes P1&2 (5.8 R, 2p) on Murray Dome.
Dec 23 (Fri): Now reacquainted with the Stronghold and with the good weather holding, it was time to head up to the spectacular (and perhaps a bit more intimidating) Rockfellow area. Playing the sun, we started the day with Pair a Grins (5.10, 3p) (morning sun) on Bastion Towers and then climbed Welcome to the Machine (5.10, 5p) (afternoon sun) on End Pinnacle. Given the favorable forecast of the upcoming week, we left our packs at the base of End Pinnacle and bounced back down the trail.
Dec 24 (Sat): We had planned to climb up at the Rockfellow area on this splitter day, but it just didn't feel like the day to push it hard, so we hiked back down and nabbed a few pitches (Splish Splash P1 (5.8, 1p) and Unnamed (5.10, 2p)) at Waterfall Dome before heading the rest of the way out.
Dec 25 (Sun): Our Christmas present was a forecast for sunny, calm, and a high of 60°. We had not yet climbed on Waste Land Dome this trip, so we headed there and climbed The Roedel Route (5.11-, 4p) and What the Thunder Said (5.10, 2p). T-shirts on Christmas Day!
Dec 26 (Mon): It was another splitter sunny day and time to head back to the sunny Sheepshead on the west side. We climbed The Peacemaker (5.10-, 6-7p) and then couldn't resist a quick bonus lap up Ewephoria (5.8+, 5p). Fun in the sun!
Dec 27 (Tue): It was forecasted to be the warmest day of our trip, and also perhaps the last nice day (as rain and clouds were on the way). We decided to head back to the west side, since despite the slightly longer drive it is a great place to get in a lot of quality pitches and bask in the sun. We climbed The Climb Too Tough To Die (5.10-, 6p) on The Sheepshead followed by The Inevitable Awaits You (5.11-, 3p) on The Muttonhead. The day was characterized by immaculate rock and fun in the sun.
Dec 28 (Wed): Sooner or later the weather had to shut us down....when we awoke it was unusually warm, super windy, and there was a threat of rain. But after 11 straight days of climbing and a need to make a grocery run, a rest day was not unwelcome. I spent the day enjoying a 1000-piece puzzle, catching up on my trip report, and eating cocktail shrimp while Nate read, napped, munched on chips and salsa, and watched YouTube.
Dec 29 (Thu): Cloudy in the mid-50's. Not great but good enough to climb. We headed to Zappa Dome, a sport climbing crag on steep rock on the east side, popular for its short approach and density of routes, but hardly a Cochise objective. We climbed all of the 5.10's and the single 5.11 on the wall: The Grand Wazoo (5.9, 1p), Burnt Weenie Sandwich (5.10, 1p), Weasels Ripped My Flesh (5.11, 1p), Latent Appliance Fetishist (5.10, 1p), Playground Psychotics (5.10-, 1p), You Are What You Is (5.10-, 1p), We're Only In It For The Money (5.10-, 1p) on Zappa Dome
Dec 30 (Fri): We had planned to climb on the west side for the day, but an overnight rain shower produced morning clouds and damp rock, so I went on a morning run and Nate did some reading, and then we spent a couple of hours at Lebowski Wall, where we climbed Nobody F**ks With the Jesus (5.10-, 2p) + I Dabbled in Pacifism P3 (5.10+, 1p). We tried to climb another route but the rock was a tad damp and the wall was now in the shade, so we headed back to the airbnb to enjoy a relaxing afternoon on the porch reading (Nate) and working a logic puzzle (me).
Dec 31 (Sat): We were blessed with a glorious sunny forecast for our final day in the Stronghold. We needed to get in 14 pitches in order to reach 100 total pitches for the trip. We thought we could do it. The Muttonhead on the west side was a good choice. We climbed No More Credit From the Liquor Store (5.10+, 3p), I'm Your Huckleberry (5.11-, 4p), Tour Buses Welcome Pitch 1 (5.9, 1p), and Mystery of the Desert (5.10-, 6p). What an awesome day of climbing to cap off our awesome trip. We then drove back to our airbnb and spent an hour packing and cleaning up in preparation for leaving the next day, and then enjoy our last evening at the airbnb.
Jan 1 (Sun): Drive all the way from Cochise to Boulder/Estes Park, Colorado. (~910 miles, ~14 hours driving from Cochise to Estes Park.)

Climbs We Did

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Reen's Arete follows the south buttress where the SW and SE faces of Stronghold Dome meet, and then continues up the second pitch of Beeline to the top. We then climbed a 3-pitch unnamed bolted line. After this we toproped Stage Fright, a 5.11+ blank friction face below the lowest rappel on the descent. We would have climbed one more route (Welcome to the Stronghold was our vote) but we needed to get settled into our Airbnb so we headed back out mid-afternoon.

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Nate and I had not climbed on the west side on either of our two previous trips to Cochise, so we decided to spend the day climbing a route on Sheepshead. We chose Absinthe of Mallet, which is described as arguably one of the best routes in Cochise. This route requires many different Stronghold techniques. The route was developed over many years to reach its present state. Nate and I thought the climbing on this route was great and had a wonderful day, despite the chilly rain (and some snow) storm that we weathered half way up the route.

OUR TIMES: DRIVE: 1:40 (E SIDE to W SIDE via BENSON) / 0:57 (W SIDE to E SIDE via MIDDLEMARCH ROAD) APPROACH: 0:40 BASE TO TOP: 3:51 (including weathering a storm for about 30 minutes) DESCENT (TOP TO BASE OF ROUTE): 0:25

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We had enjoyed climbing on The Sheepshead so much the day before that we returned for another route. Dark Horse is another 3-star 5.10- route on The Sheepshead, featuring a fun second pitch chimney followed by a few pitches of engaging face climbing. The sun was out and we enjoyed the glorious weather.

OUR TIMES: DRIVE: 0:57 (W SIDE to E SIDE via MIDDLEMARCH ROAD) APPROACH: 0:40 BASE TO TOP: 3:14 DESCENT (TOP TO BASE OF ROUTE): 0:25

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We returned to Stronghold Dome. Our main objective was Welcome to the Stronghold. This climb is excellent, characterized by a stretch of pure friction climbing on the crux pitch, which is a solid introduction to what a shoe can stick to at Cochise. Afterwards we tacked on two more pitches: Pitch 3 of Unnamed when our rope got stuck on the rappel descent (we had climbed the full Unnamed a few days earlier) and the Direct Start to Reen's Arete, an excellent stand-alone pitch of 5.10+ climbing and a great addition to a day at Stronghold Dome.

OUR TIMES ON WELCOME TO THE STRONGHOLD: BASE TO TOP: 1:25 DESCENT: 0:45 (rope got stuck)

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Climbing these two routes back-to-back make for four excellent pitches of climbing without having to haul approach shoes on the harness. Both routes begin off a large boulder located about halfway up the right side of Cochise Dome, and share the same anchors. The rock quality is great and the climbing is engaging. You Bet Your Life is the left of the two routes, and climbs a 5.10 crack/corner system for two pitches (the original first ascent climbed left at the top of the second pitch to intersect What's My Line, but this creates a runout section on poor rock—nowadays most climbers just climb right to the anchor at the top of the second pitch of Concentration). Bolts (added after the 5.10X first ascent) made this fabulous line a more reasonable affair. Concentration is just right of You Bet Your Life and climbs a superb corner and a steep bolted slab (the crux). It is possible to climb to the top via a third pitch of 5.8R climbing (we decided not to since we had already been to the top of Cochise Dome and it was easy to rappel back to the base using the route's anchors).

OUR TIMES: APPROACH: 1:30 YOU BET YOUR LIFE: 1:13 CONCENTRATION: 0:59 DESCENT (2 RAPPELS): 0:07

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This all-trad (no bolts!) provides a quick and fun romp to the top of Waterfall Dome. We were impressed with the quality of the rock and abundance of 1- and 2-pitch routes, and made note to return to Waterfall Dome if we wanted a day with several pitches of lower-commitment climbing.

OUR TIMES: BASE TO TOP: 0:39 DESCENT (2 RAPPELS): 0:08

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The previous year, we had climbed a day with Scott Ayers (perhaps the most prolific first ascentionist in Cochise with an incredible eye for a good line—most of the routes we've climbed in Cochise have been established by Scott). So we had let him know we were in the area again, and he was psyched to meet up with us for a day of climbing. We headed to Stronghold/Worm/Murray Domes area for a tour of several superb not-known-to-the-general-public-one-and-two-pitch routes he had recently put up. We climbed nine pitches on excellent rock.

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When we had climbed Forest Lawn the previous year, we had noted to come back and climb Pair a Grins, which combines the spectacular corner of Pitch 1 of Forest Lawn with a wonderfully exposed detour onto the featured face for Pitch 2. A typical Stronghold experience very well worth it if you have a good lead head.

OUR TIMES: BASE TO TOP: 1:26 DESCENT (3 RAPPELS): 0:08

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Welcome to the Machine starts right of Endgame (which we had climbed in 2020) and ends left of Endgame, and offers a similar quality and difficulty of climbing. We enjoyed another adventure to the top of End Pinnacle. The Sons of Gums descent was as always a fun way to get down.

OUR TIMES: BASE TO TOP: 1:54 DESCENT (SON OF GUMS SINGLE ROPE DESCENT): 0:38

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We had planned to climb up at the Rockfellow area on this splitter day, but it just didn't feel like the day to push it hard, so we hiked back down and nabbed a few pitches at Waterfall Dome before heading the rest of the way out.

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Our Christmas present was a forecast for sunny, calm, and a high of 60°. We had not yet climbed on Waste Land Dome this trip, so we headed there for the day. The Roedel Route features lots of interesting, demanding climbing on superior quality rock. Each pitch has some 5.10+/5.11- climbing and as well as an intimidating roof section. Another must-do route. On the descent, we nabbed a couple of bonus pitches (and another summit tag) by climbing What the Thunder Said.

OUR TIMES: BASE TO TOP: 2:43 (ROEDEL ROUTE), 0:50 (WHAT THE THUNDER SAID) DESCENT: 0:35

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This is one of the three most popular routes on the Sheepshead, with interesting climbing throughout its length. I had climbed this route in 2015 (click here to go to my Cochise 2015 trip report) as my first ever climb in the Stronghold. It was fun to climb again.

OUR TIMES: BASE TO TOP: 2:23

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After climbing The Peacemaker, it was still early in the afternoon and such a splitter day, so we decided a quick lap up Ewephoria was in order. With its moderate grade and generally well-protected climbing, Ewephoria is the most popular route on the Sheepshead. As the guidebook mentions, diverse climbing at a moderate grade on high quality rock make this a must-do route, no matter how hard you climb.

OUR TIMES: BASE TO TOP: 1:07

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This is another of the 3-star 5.10- classic routes on the Sheepshead. It is also the longest route on the formation. The climbing is mostly 5.8-5.9 with the occasional 5.10- move to keep you on your toes. It was shortly after noon when we finished this route, so afterward we decided to head over to the Muttonhead for another few pitches of climbing.

OUR TIMES: BASE TO TOP: 2:25

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It was shortly after noon when we finished The Climb Too Tough To Die on the Sheepshead, so we decided to head over to the Muttonhead for another three-star adventure. The Inevitable Awaits You is the first bolt line on the left side of the face, located to the left of the obvious left-facing dihedral that marks the first pitch of Mystery of the Desert. Each pitch presents challenging 5.11-/10+ climbing on impeccable stone. The route goes quick since the descent is to rap right back down to the base. This was one of our favorite routes on the trip and a great addition to the day.

OUR TIMES: BASE TO TOP: 1:09 DESCENT (3 RAPPELS): 0:07

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It was cloudy in the mid-50's, so we headed to Zappa Dome, a sport climbing crag on steep rock on the east side, popular for its short approach and density of routes and sunny aspect. A Frank Zappa aficionado might recognize the route names from the artist's repertoire. We climbed all of the 5.10's and the single 5.11 on the wall.

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The Lebowski Wall is located on the rocky ridge that parallels FS 4809. The wall faces NE and is lower than many of the large rock formations. Almost all of the routes are sport and are 1-3 pitches in length. This is a great place for a day of cragging when conditions are not as favorable or comfortable up high. So the Lebowski Wall was a good choice when an overnight rain shower produced morning clouds and damp rock and we had to forgo our plans to do something bigger (we had planned to go back to the Muttonhead on the west side). We climbed a few pitches (including the final pitch of I Dabbled in Pacifism—we had climbed the first two pitches the previous year and had not been able to climb the third pitch due to a rainstorm). We tried to climb another route but the rock was a tad damp and the wall was now in the shade, so we headed back to the airbnb to enjoy a relaxing afternoon on the porch reading (Nate) and working a logic puzzle (me).

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We needed to get in 14 pitches in order to reach 100 total pitches for the trip. We thought we could do it. The Muttonhead was a good choice. What an awesome day of climbing to cap off our awesome trip.

No More Credit From the Liquor Store - This is another multipitch bolted line on the southwest face of Muttonhead. Although bearing the same name as the original line this modified route is more direct and offers superior, quality climbing. Start in the left-facing, arching corner, with bolt line above.

I'm Your Huckleberry - This route starts at the toe of the SE corner of The Muttonhead, directly below the huge boulder leaning against the dome.

Tour Buses Welcome - This enjoyable climb begins just t the right of Mystery of the Desert. The climbing is mostly slab, save a curous oval-shaped indentation on the third pitch, which has interesting stemming.

Mystery of the Desert - It is no mystery why this route is one of the most popular climbs in the area. It's a classic with good variety, good rock quality, and the top of another dome.

OUR TIMES: NO MORE CREDIT FROM THE LIQUOR STORE: 1:00 I'M YOUR HUCKLEBERRY: 1:30 MYSTERY OF THE DESERT: 1:15