A photo of the author follows, in a pose typical on the morning
before a big backcountry climb. In this particular case, I am
enduring the rigors of a brisk morning in the west side of the
Cochise Stronghold, in the Dragoon Mountains of Southern Arizona.
Later this very day, a party of 3 (myself included), climbed
"the Whale", which is a very recommendable climb in this corner
of Arizona.
Rock climbing is just one section of a spectrum of activities that
might be called climbing. We have mountaineering with snow and ice
climbing on one hand, and urban climbing in indoor gyms on the other.
As in all such human prescribed classification schemes, the boundaries
are artificial and the different activities make smooth transitions
from one to the other. Nonetheless, backcountry climbing has much in
common with mountaineering (in many cases it *is* mountaineering), and
has unique aspects that ought to be considered by those who might care
to engage in it.
Here are some tests you might apply to determine whether you are doing
what might be termed "backcountry climbing".
- Once you get to the base of the climb, is going back to your
vehicle for something you forgot completely out of the question.
- Do you routinely carry bivuouac gear and a flashlight.
- Is getting up the route and back to your pack before dark a
significant issue.
- Is getting started on the approach at or before sunrise a
essential ingredient in success.
- Is camping near the route rather than hiking in and out on the
same day a sensible option.
As with mountaineering, climbing of this sort has an aspect of seriousness
that is not present doing one pitch climbs along the highway. If you
are injured or screwed up, help may be a long time coming. (If you neglected
to tell someone where you were going, it may never be coming.) Even hiking
4 miles with a sprained ankle can be a nasty proposition. Many backcountry
routes, even really excellent ones, don't get done all that much and can
have significant loose rock and other hazards.
On the other hand, for those
with a taste for the outdoors, climbing like this many times puts you in
fantastic places that are seldom visited, even by the most serious hikers.
A bit of hard work on the approach purhases one of the rarest of commodities:
true solitude!
Feedback? Questions?
Drop me a line!
Tom's Rock Climbing Info / ttrebisky@as.arizona.edu