It was a different summer for the usual Groom crew this year. With two marriages in June, endlessly high gas prices, Josh in Tennessee, and others just plain busy, we spent very little time together in our forest. Still, we knew we would always have the Groom Gathering. Brian booked the campground for late September. While fall temps were late this year, it was a perfect day and night on September 20. By mid-day dozens of climbers were wandering Groom Creek testing routes and jumping on old favorites. Small groups picked out their spaces, and while there was no large gathering at the boulders, by...

Labor Day has always been my symbolic last day of summer. In Oregon, the following Tuesday was always the first day of school. In Arizona, school starts in August and the summer heat lingers though September until one magic morning in October. This morning might be that day. It’s a cool and breezy 60-something heading to a high of 85. I have a sweater on and have taken the scoot to my favorite coffee shop, Lux, for a morning of writing. There is a lot to catch up on. Even if Labor Day isn’t the last day of summer in our desert, there is still a seasonal shift. Tourists come back, work picks up,...

It happened without much planning or ceremony. Dale hit his 100 mark at Groom on August 4. It started as a regular half day session when he, Erin, Greg, Liz and Justin went up for the afternoon. But when he hit 60 and the rain held off in the afternoon, he decided to go for it. He finished in just under 8 hours and just as it was getting dark. Telling his story back at the gym this week, his mind wandered. “If I could do 100 in an afternoon, how many could I do if I started in the morning….” Stay tuned! Related Posts:Dale’s Quest: 100 Climbs at GroomGroom Gathering #3Until Next

The ante is up on our Groom Creek circuits. Dale is getting stronger and stronger, despite our rain outs. He’s topped out at 60 problems in half a day, and it begs the question – how many could he do in a full day? So he’s thrown down his own personal gauntlet. We’re sweating out the last days of summer here in AZ. With cooler days in our forest within sight, Dale’s just waiting for that perfect day when temps and daylight hours set up the right conditions… Then it’s 100 climbs or bust! Well, maybe bust isn’t the best word. I’ll rephrase....

This time of year, the Arizona high country is cooler, but prone to afternoon showers. Our afternoon climbing session in Groom Creek on Saturday was a gamble. We could see thunderheads as we left Phoenix, and hit the storms as we got closer to Prescott. Still when we got to Groom Creek, we had about 20 minutes of ideal climbing conditions – cool temps made the rock super sticky! Then it started to rain. Dale, Erin and I caught up with Brian, Jenny, Greg and Bart and waited out the weather at a Starbucks. Unfortunately, it didn’t look promising. When Josh called from Groom Creek with a...