On the second day we pick the Camelback Mountain for our adventures. This mountain is close to the city of Phoenix, almost inside it and can be easily accessed even for a half day trip, which was my intention.
The heat and the quick walk up 150 meters or so in elevation caused my lungs to gasp for air and my heart to pump. But we are headed to a two pitch climb of a famous pinnacle visible from many directions: the Praying Monk.
The first pitch, Head Wall (5.0-5.2) is an easy scramble up among the conglomerate rock. Still, the tiny pathways we pass through are interesting. As far as I'm concerned, the landscape could be from another planet.
After completing the Head Wall we reach the bottom of the Praying Monk. This is a huge boulder sitting on top of high wall on the unclimbable backside of the Camelback Mountain. A traffic jam awaits us there in the form of three amateurish climbers. We take cover from the sun, rocks, and possibly falling climbers in a cave conviniently located near the Monk. Finally we get to climb the east face of the Monk, which is a 5.6 corner climb at the beginning, then easing off to a slightly positive 5.3 with an incredible exposure.
As we reach the top, I see helichopters flying below us, and a lone cactus sitting on the top of the Monk. The views are excellent. We are practically sitting on top of the posh houses in the Paradise Valley.
The whole Camelback mountain looked interesting. From the top of the Monk we could see some climbers climbing on a smooth, round face that eventually turns negative.
The next order of business was to get ourselves down from the bald head of the monk. But how do we Get Us Out of Here?