The Cochise Triple Direct is a mash up of several sections of different routes on the southeast face of Cochise Dome. Every pitch was either slab or chickenhead climbing, with a number of healthy runouts thrown in.
Routes climbed:
| Name | Grade (YDS) | # Pitches | Quality (1-5) | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cochise Triple Direct | 5.10- R | 5 | 4 | trad |
Peaks/Towers climbed
| Peak | Elevation | Topographic Prominence | Summit Coordinates (lat/lon) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cochise Dome | 6,315 ft | 176 ft | 31.92938, -109.98166 |
Gear
- 70m rope
- cams: single 2, 4
- a few small to medium stoppers
- 10 alpine draws and a few double-length slings
Total Stats
2.7 miles
1,500 ft gain/loss
The approach took us about 1.5 hours at a leisurely pace, following a series of use-trails to the east side of the dome.
route viewed from approach
Pitch 1 (5.10-)
This shared a similar first pitch to What's My Line Direct. After stepping off a rounded arete at the start, I clipped a bolt and did a few moves of low 5.10 slab to a large jug. After clipping another bolt there, I diagonaled up and left on 5.9 slabby face, running it out to a third bolt below a small overlap. I clipped this, climbed over the overlap, then ran it out on a long section of easy chickenheads to the bolted anchor. There was at least one chickenhead that was good to girth hitch about halfway through this runout.
David on the chickenhead runout
Pitch 2 (5.9)
This entire pitch involved clipping only a few bolts but mostly slinging chickenheads. The crux came shortly off the belay with some face climbing, heading straight up for about 20 ft before veering right at a 45 degree angle and running out to a hard-to-see bolt. After reaching the first bolt, the following bolts were easier to spot and could be followed to the bolted anchor.
Andrew starting up pitch 2
Pitch 3 (5.6)
Chickenheads galore. I only placed one piece of protection on this whole pitch- a nut between two chickenheads. The anchor was bolted.
Pitch 4 (5.9)
This was a fun one. An obvious line of bolts led up a water streak, climbing on slabby face with crimps. As the water streak ended, we turned left for about 20 ft to access a short crack that veered back right for about 10 more feet, before clipping a bolt and heading straight up to a large belay ledge with a bolted anchor and separate rap bolts on the right side.
looking up the water streak
Pitch 5 (5.8)
This was a short pitch used to access the summit. We did it as a single pitch from the pitch 4 ledge, belaying everyone up one by one and lowering them back onto the ledge.
Awesome views of the Rockfellow Group from the summit
Descent
Starting from the bolts on the right side of the pitch 4 ledge, two raps with a single rope brought us to the ground. We descended for about 5 minutes to reach the packs, following the edge of the dome.
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