SE Ridge

var. Sixth Saturday P1:var. Step onto small ledge and climb wide crack past block onto right-arching, bushy ledge. Continue into seam, up faces to a lower-angled ramp. Follow broken corner system up to steep wall with crack splitting its middle face (200 feet). Belay from large blocks near water streak. P2: Class three up yellow-green face to the left of prominent black streak, passing Saguaro and angling right into a complex of shallow, small dihedrals pocketed with a bunch of huecos. The climbing is low-angle with a bush belay at another ledge (130 feet). This pitch may seem like you’re climbing a mellow easy cl.5 route in Queen Creek. P3: Scramble north, up and right of main ridge to base of grungy chimney. Climb squeeze chimney past several chockstones, onto steeper face and mantle onto ledge near a clump of Yuccas. Continue up another steep, wider chimney to gain the ridgeline again at large boulder belay (70 feet). P4: Move across ledge, slightly down and stem off large boulder to mantle awkward crack/seam back left to gain ridgeline again and then up an easier face past large block to another ledge. Traverse this prominent ledge left below steep face. There’s an airy step across at a large grass clump, before reaching a nice vertical crack. Climb crack up and move left again to inconspicuous ledge before broken blocks and slightly overhanging groove. Pro belay in several small to medium cracks (135 feet). We believe this is approximately where the Sixth Saturday var. splits off from the original line's P5. If you climb right at the top of vertical crack, it goes to base of steep arête, directly on prow of main ridge. Perhaps this arête is listed as the sixth pitch in ’87 Phx Rock and ’98 Supes Select, but I’ve never climbed that way. P5:var. Traverse left from belay ledge, crossing face to an even smaller ledge, below large, precariously perched blocks. Squeeze overhanging mini-chimney, using cracks and thin nubs to mantle pourover (5.10-). A single, small nut will protect this crux. Follow groove up and left to alcove at base of dihedral chimney (45 feet). Belay from small tree or use pro in the crack at back of dihedral. P6:var. Stem chimney dihedral, past large chockstone and step across to right-arching crack. Continue up easier face to col. Downclimb right to access a hidden gully system. Sling belay from base of four-foot Saguaro (55 feet). When we did this route in October of 2008, we traversed left (west) from the obvious col and climbed an easier section for the final technical pitch. It finished at the top of the massive chockstone that is above the P7 belay alcove described below. We still aren't sure where the original line's seventh pitch 5.7 chimney is located. P7:var. From Saguaro in gully, stem up, east (right) of shallow dihedral seam. Set pro in right crack, eventually stepping across to mantle onto a ledge above the crack system. There was an abandoned hex and two quickdraws here (likely bail gear). There’s also a narrow squeeze chimney at this ledge where one can see north through to the main gully. Climb up steep face, move left and traverse thin, flexy holds and foot rails (5.9 R) to regain the upper dihedral gully. A small cam protects the traverse about halfway across and another medium cam for the final step over. Continue up solid, easier faces through several small ledges to boulder alcove below massive chockstone (110 feet). Pro/sling belay from blocks.

From the chockstone, scramble cl.3 up several hundred more feet to base of much steeper section. We chockstone sling rapped north from here, down a broken chimney system into a hanging mini-gully. We then down scrambled north and climbed a cl.4 section (past exposed Agave mantle) to another semi-ridge. Follow this ridge up, scrambling across boulders and up past a large clump of Desert Spoons. There’s an easy water groove that can be climbed with a massive dead Juniper at the top. A bit more scrambling gets one to the top ridge of The Acropolis.

Prominent right-side ridge of The Acropolis, across steep, black water-streak gully WNW from Arizona Ice Climb. Starts slightly north (right) of the bottom corner of the ridge where some large Desert Hackberry bushes are growing. There are obviously many variations on this ridge.

We got by with single set each of cams, tricams and nuts and about ten runners. We walked off by using the same gully as if one was descending from Arizona Ice Climb (next gully east of top-out, yellow on topo overlay). It would be possible to rap the South Face route, but that would probably take longer, especially if you don't know the route. Approach was possible in ~45 min. from the rough 4x4 road that splits off north from the Peralta Road (#77). If you don't have a wheeler, the closest approach is probably the Carney Springs TH (Wave Cave madness).