Kelly Canyon Report

Headed out to Kelly Canyon this morning to check out the climbing conditions. I was psyched and surprised to see that the road had finally been opened by the forest service making the approach easier. The road all the way to the parking area was clear and completely dry, surprising after our last few days of rain and snow.

I started out on the trail at 8:30am and was a bit surprised at how chilly it still was as I made my was down the trail. The trail was mostly dry with some small sections of slick mud and pine needles. At the top of the first major switch back I could already see that there was snow down near the Trailer Park. I also came across several trees obstructing the trail. I took care of the easy trail work quickly and headed down to the Trailer Park.

At the Trailer Park I found a large section of snow 1-2(+-) feet deep. The Aloha arete was above enough snow to cover the entire landing zone and it looked damp. The Crimp Problem and Roof Problem Wall had 2 or so feet of standing water but the rock looked dry. The Triangle Arete has obviously been receiving plenty of sun because the rock was completely dry and the landing was as well.

Snowy Aloha Arete

I then headed up canyon towards Dope Lounge and Donkey Punch. This direction in the canyon seemed to be getting enough sun to melt the all of the snow away. The small creek was flowing and there were several small to medium sized pools of water but it was easy to maneuver around.

The Xtreme Problem with some snow

Looking down canyon,
Gym Wall in background

The Donkey Punch wall was a bit damp but was receiving the morning sun and was pleasantly warm. Dope Lounge was completely in the shade and look very damp from the ground. The Slab Wall was in the full sun but was being partially obstructed be a large downed Ponderosa. Two of the the three climbs are not climbable until the tree is removed. The Chinese Gangfight wall was completely in the shade and look really damp and full of green soaked lichen. Bummer.

Down trees at the slab wall

First hold of Chinese Gangfight

Beautiful green colored lichen

I then turned around and headed down canyon towards the Arkansas Wall. The morning sun was starting to warm up the canyon and the temps got a bit warmer.

Actually...perfect for climbing.

There was only a little bit snow on the southern shaded side of the lower canyon. There were several small pools of water along some of the lesser climbed walls down near the Arkansas Wall. The Arkansas Wall had no snow and was receiving some late morning sun. Most of the climbing looked dry down low but it was hard to tell if the upper section was dry. It seemed that the ground above the wall was still drying off from winter. I did notice some recent chalk...good to see people are already psyched! I kept hiking and made it all the way down to the lower wall which was in the sun and mostly dry and then decided to head back.

My conservative opinion is that Kelly is only about 20% climbable right now. It could be up to another month before all the climbing is ready to go. Most of the classic climbing and warm ups were either over water or appeared to be wet or damp. Since Kelly is a Coconino sandstone climbing area, the rock is weak and can be very brittle if wet or even damp. With all of the recent broken holds due to the soft rock it is important to be aware of the conditions of each climb before deciding to climb it. Be smart, don't break holds and ruin our climbing.

I look forward to seeing you all out there in one of my favorite Arizona climbing areas. If you do decide to go...

bring a brush
or...

even a broom.