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February 15, 2026
On day 2 of our Cochise Stronghold climbing trip, we climbed a semi-classic route up the expansive SE face of Whale Dome. Call Me Ishmael tackled a variety of slabs, crimps, and reachy face moves.
Routes climbed:
| Name | Grade (YDS) | # Pitches | Quality (1-5) | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Call Me Ishmael | 5.11 | 5 | 3 | trad |
Peaks/Towers climbed
| Peak | Elevation | Topographic Prominence | Summit Coordinates (lat/lon) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whale Dome | 6,380 ft | 120 ft | 31.94000, -109.99318 |
| "Cookie Peak" | 5,829 ft | 303 ft | 31.93236, -110.01533 |
Gear
- 70m rope
- cams: single .3-3
- a few small to medium stoppers
- 12 alpine draws
Total Stats for Whale Dome via Call Me Ishmael
3.5 miles
1,350 ft gain/loss
Total Stats for Cookie Peak
1.4 miles
900 ft gain/loss
Whale Dome was probably the most obvious looking dome in this part of the Stronghold with a distinct appearance of a breaching humpback whale. To reach it, we rock hopped up along a canyon between Whale Dome and the other recognizable Westworld Dome to reach a spot just SE of Whale Dome. From there, a short class 3 scramble up some slabs brought us to the face where the route started. The first couple pitches were kind of junky approach pitches, but everything after that climbed beautifully.
Whale Dome seen from the approach
Pitch 1 + Pitch 2 (5.9, 200 ft)
I started out by heading diagonally up right across a low-angle slab and face, aiming for the base of an arete-like feature described in the guidebook. Upon reaching it, I saw no bolts on it, so I kept climbing along the left side of it where there were protectable cracks. Eventually I did finally see a bolt way off right on the prow of the arete, and proceeded to place a bad cam in a seam with a full extension before traversing right onto the arete. The traversing moves here were not difficult (5.8ish) but it would've been a very bad pendulum fall. Once on the arete, the bolting was safe but now I was dealing with massive rope drag from the piece I had placed before traversing. A couple bolts later the arete dead ended at a tree. A sling around this tree marked the end of the pitch 2.
looking up pitch 1 + pitch 2
Pitch 3 (5.6, 50 ft)
From the tree, there was short chimney to the right which was visible once we turned a corner. We headed up this, placing only a couple cams due to the short and naturally protected nature of this pitch. The chimney popped out on a giant slanting ledge with trees on it which were slung for an anchor.
looking up the P3 chimney
Pitch 3.5 (class 3, 100 ft)
We unroped and continued up the giant slanting ledge with trees for about 30 ft, then dropped into a narrow chimney which was located between the ledge and the main wall. A bit of tunneling through this chimney brought us to a massive flat ledge where a couple bolts from the following pitch were visible.
P3.5 tunnel
Pitch 4 (5.11-, 150 ft)
This was an exciting, punchy, and reachy pitch. The first bolt was relatively easy to reach, followed by several dynamic reachy moves to good knobs and patinas. A middle crimpy section with fiddly gear then led up and slightly right to a right-facing corner with easier climbing and better gear. The pitch ended at a bolted anchor.
looking up pitch 4
Pitch 5 (5.11, 140 ft)
A step-down and 10 ft traverse to the right led up to a few bolts with a techy crimpy crux, after which the terrain eased up with giant chickenheads and easy slab. I ran it out on the easy slab and eventually found a boulder wedged in a gully. I threw the rope around this boulder and belayed off it.
Pitch 5 belay
A short class 3 scramble led to the summit of Whale Dome and awesome views. We rapped down the other side where one 70m rope barely reached, then turned skiers left and scrambled down a gully to the base before picking up our stashed packs and walking back to camp.
Whale Dome summit
Since it was still early, we set out for an additional peak for sunset, settling on an unnamed one that was under a mile north of camp which we ended up naming "Cookie Peak". We pretty much made a beeline directly for its summit, walking through tall grass and poky yuccas in the process. There were two summits which vied for the highpoint. The eastern summit was class 3, and the western one was a narrow block requiring a class 4 move. It was difficult to tell which one was actually higher without survey equipment.
ascending Cookie Peak
views from eastern summit
view from western summit
back on the eastern summit
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