 This overview shows the 4x4 road to the start, and the short hike. One can camp at a wash on the E side, on the 2WD road. |
 This close-up shows the climb. The USGS map, with elevations obtained by photogrammetry, is massively incorrect; the highpoint is really where the track ends, not on the N peak. This bad DEM* is carried over into the Google Earth model as of 2013. |
 View W to Picacho at sunrise. Taken from the ridge above the campsite (in a wash on the 2WD road). |
 View of Picacho to SSE; taken from near the 4x4 TH. |
 Photo of the W side of Picacho, by Tracy F. |
 A minor peak to the NW. |
 View N from the notch between the W summit and E (higher) summit of Picacho. |
 Heading S along one of the shelves. |
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 The 2nd ladder. The webbing "securing" the ladder needs desperately to be replaced; it was very frayed and ratty. We were rushing back down, else I would have tried to resecure the ladder. |
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 View NE as CP ascends the "exposed class 4" on the way up the N side of the false summit**. An unbelayed fall here would probably be fatal-- the climb is directly over a drop of at least 200'. |
 View NE to S side of false summit. This is the infamous 15', slightly overhanging cliff, that you must re-ascend on the way back down (unless you took the route through the window below the false summit). |
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 View ~S from summit. |
 Panoramic view. |
 View E as CP looks for the register on summit. |
 View E, of the tall guys on top. |
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 This window looks down over the east cliff, probably ~1000'. |
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 View W of me. It was a bit gusty, so I forwent my normal pose. |
 Now I am looking N as CP heads back to false summit block. |
 CP starts to set up Tracy's ascenders. We never did figure out how to get these ascenders to move smoothly; Tracy had last used them for caving, maybe a while back... |
 ...So I used prussik loops and Klemheist knots to ascend one line. Tracy eventually got the ascender set-up to quasi-work, and CP just used prussiks. |
 Now the tall guys are back on top of the false summit; view S to true summit. |
 Set-up to rap down over N side of false summit; We had 120' of 9mm static, and it was more than enough. I also had 10', 20' and 50' pieces of 15mm tubular webbing; we did use the 50' to haul packs and act as a secondary belay line from the 2nd bolt on the S side of false summit. |
 Down the N side of false summit. To L of CP is where one has the "exposed 4th class" on ascent. |
 Wider view of false summit. |
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 CP rebags the rope. |
 Now we head N from False summit block. You have to watch the route carefully; at one point there seems to be a worn route over to a cliff at R, but you really have to descend more L through a slight notch. |
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 The W summit, showing the differential erosion. |
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 View back N to Tracy in the notch between the two summits. |
 Tracy caught this odd minor peak in the right light-- the darker needle in front (in shadows) is overhung on L. |
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 After Tracy geaded home, CP and DB and I went to a surveyed, but unnamed peak ESE of Picacho (ijn back) |
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 Next morn at sunrise. |
 Fuzzy view of Picacho from SE. |
 View (shooting into sun!) of Castle Dome in KOFA, on drive back. | *This is a well-known error in the older photogrammetry, typically caused by proximity of a cliff in shadows. **CP was the most experienced and best climber there, and the only one who asked for a top-belay here. That argues that he was also the smartest. If I had it do over again, I would try to set up a bottom-belay for the 1st climber, with the belayer down over the W side of the neck connecting the ridgeline to the false summit. That way, if the climber slipped, there would at least be some slim of catching her/him before the 200'+ fall on the E side. |