Thar She Blows...
Bob Kerry, in his guidebook "Backcountry Rockclimbing in Southern Arizona", gives Moby Dick a three star rating and it is considered to be a Cochise Stronghold classic. The climb is a moderate climb on the Whale Dome with the crux being rated 5.8. The lower pitches protect well but the upper pitches, although fairly easy, are runout. To get off the dome, there is an invigorating rappel. Bob Kerry describes it as "...a classic, hairy rappel; a scary (but safe) start and all air."
Keith Haskell has an excellent trip report with many photos of the route. He has a detailed description of the climb, describes the emotions of his group, and has a large number of photographs on all aspects of Moby Dick. Between his photos and mine, virtually the entire route is covered.
Directions and topos to Moby Dick can be found in "Backcountry Rockclimbing in Southern Arizona" by Bob Kerry or "A Falcon Guide: Rock Climbing Arizona" by Stewart M. Green.
Warning: Gear belays and gear placement are shown in the photos below. The gear belays and gear placement shown in these photos should not be considered safe. Use your own judgement if you do the climb. The second belay is especially tenuous. There are not many options for gear placement at this belay. The strongest feature at this belay is a small tree that would probably pull if a packrat took a fall on it.
Warning: If 5.8 is at your limit for leading, Moby Dick is probably not for you. There are long runouts high on the climb and you would not want to 'rap the route' if you get wigged-out. Read Keith Haskell's trip report for his description of "...mild grippage" on the upper pitches.
|
View of the Whale Dome and Moby Dick from the approach. The whale-like appearance of the dome is obvious from this angle. This thumbnail links to a photo with a topo. |
|
View of the start of Moby Dick. A topo is shown of the first and second pitches. |
|
The two bolt anchor at the first belay. Note the buttonhead. |
|
View of the first pitch from the first belay. There is one bolt on the first pitch - at what is considered to be the crux of the climb. BK rating: 5.8SMG Rating: 5.8 |
|
View of the second pitch of the climb from the first belay. Joe is standing at the second belay. BK rating: 5.7SMG Rating: 5.7 |
|
The belay at the top of the second pitch. Note that there are not a lot of features that can be used to set up a belay. Joe climbed above the ledge with the small tree and used a chickenhead and the crack to get two additional pieces in for the belay. This belay is the most difficult one to set up and using the tree alone should not be considered safe. |
|
Chickenheads used for the third belay. |
|
Downward view of the third pitch from the third belay. There is one bolt on the third pitch. BK rating: 5.6SMG Rating: 5.6 |
|
View of the fourth pitch from the third belay. Joe is at the fourth belay. There are two bolts on this pitch. BK rating: 5.6 |
|
The two bolt anchors at the fourth belay. Note the buttonhead on the left anchor. |
|
Bob on the fifth pitch. The only protection on this pitch is two bolts. The climbing is fairly easy on this pitch but it is runout. BK rating: 5.7+SMG Rating: 5.8 |
|
Joe is preparing to set up the rappel. The rappel anchors consist of two chain anchors with a bolt about two feet above the anchors. There are some questionable slings linking the two chain anchors to the bolt. |
|
Downward view of the rappel. I am at the chain anchors preparing to rappel. Joe is below and the rope is shown. |
|
View of the rappel from the bottom. We used a doubled 70 meter rope and when I got to the bottom of the rappel, there was about three feet of rope left below the rappel device. This would make the total rappel distance about 35 meters. |