The Cochise Stronghold
The Dragoon mountains lie approximately 50 miles south-east of Tucson, Arizona. The range is naturally divided east and wet longitudinally with backcountry climbing on both sides. The Stronghold is formed of the West and East side and since there is no short way to hike or drive across the range, pick a a destination and access it through the respective side.
The West side
The spirit of adventure is alive and well on the west side. The West side has been divided into five areas, Sheep’s head, Muttonhead and Environs, Ilse of you and Environs , Roadside and the Roads end. The domes tend to be rounded, which present less vertical terrain with long sections of grippy slab. Due to the rounded nature of the domes and the length of the multi pitches, it’s hard to avoid the sun. It’s best to start early and avoid the scorching hot of mid afternoon.
The East side
The East side is filled with pioneering roots when the primary goals were to pluck the plum summits . The domes stand proud on the ridge lines that form this area of the Dragoons. Below, the valley collects precious water, so don’t be surprised to see some animals or unusual plants.
The rock we love to climb
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Chicken heads?
As you climb in the Cochise Stronghold, you will quickly become familiar with a feature known as a chicken head. Chicken head shaped lithic lumps are connected to the rock through a bridge or neck. They typically form due to a process called case hardening. This happens when the outside layer of rock is more weather resistant than the interior. When the outer layer of rock fractures, the softer inner rock erodes, leaving a knobby feature, the chicken head!
Geological overview
The climbing areas of the Cochise Stronghold are primarily comprised of granite, which is 73 million years old. The Dragoons are amongst some of the most structurally complex ranges in south eastern Arizona. When you hike through the intricate topography of the Cochise Stronghold, many of the trails are lined with grus a sandy soil that is a product of disintegrated course granite. The domes and boulders in the area are rounded at the top because of spherical weather processing called exfoliation, Brightly colored lichens, only grow on rocks with certain chemical compositions, and such the characteristic of many granite walls in the area.
The rock we love to climb
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Bean fest
Beanfest occurs bi-annually once in the fall usually on the East side and once in the spring in the West side.