A short but mighty, mini-roof crack.  Great jams and fancy footwork along with stellar granite and perfect protection makes this stout gem a must-do for the crack-lovers.  An airy start and a tight jam leads to a creative lie-back and maybe another jam before easing up to a nice belay perch.

Gravity

Renaissance Direct

First Impressions

Phantom of the Opera

Facer's Choice

Black Streak

Broken Knob Job aka unknown crack

Fearless Leader

For Cryin' Out Loud

Hanging Tough

Renaissance

Brusin' and Cruisin'

Battling Fear

Kreuser's Chimney

Dog Fight Giggle

Seam-In

Electric Lady Land

The Phantom missed the Opera

Easy Chair

Gobs of Nobs

Southeast Arete

Hanging Gardens

The Phantom

Lickety Split

Yikes, this will be a tough onsight for most.  A very cryptic sequence just to clip the bolt and remaining difficult until the pitons.  The lichen on this part of the wall makes for some fuzzy climbing but is overall a nifty endeavor.

 It took several attempts to figure out the start and a few more to move above the bolt.  Once in the seam the rock is crisp and clean, the climb eases up considerably a few feet after the pins.

Pitch 1 (100'): 2 bolt face to a right facing dihedral. Follow dihedral up to a small roof. Pull the roof and continue up crack and belay from a nice ledge with a tree (2 bolts w/chains). Pitch 2 (~150'): Face climb to top. 4 bolts. Run-out between 1st and 2nd bolt and from 4th to top, but relatively easy climbing.

 There are now two glue in bolts w/rappel rings at the top of the route. Double rope rappel (60m ropes) back to the ledge. A second (100') rap will put you back at the base of the route.

Short climb, but one of my favorites at the crag. Start with 40 feet of straight-forward, and awkward off-width climbing in the 5.8-9 range. Either exit straight up through a chimney, or traverse out left on a steep horizontal 5.10 hand and finger crack.

Putatively one’s first trad, multi-pitch lead could have been Hanging Gardens. It was possibly followed, maybe belatedly by a gripped chafe session on Renaissance Direct. Perhaps not, supposedly one may definitively scamper the opening bolted slab, then smoothly transition left across RD, face climbing past two newer hangers to the easier second P1 crux of the upper Kreuser’s Chimney Direct crossover. A crack there exits left and gains a bonzer horizontal ledge, which takes greater than medium cams for belay (right of The Phantom and Gobs of Knobs). The next pitch above reaches past bolts five and six, where it becomes a dash for safer passage. This likely third mental crux is deciding quickly your best trace. Know the gritty McDowell moxie when ascending here, pro options do exist above, shortly before this 35m second pitch concludes at a prominent horn with two glue-ins. If the opening mount of the P1 slab start and above that goes well, you shouldn’t have any issues with the upper P2 runout.

Never a notable crux other than keeping a quiet mind on your way to the single clip.  Choose your starting spot and enjoy solid ledges and nice rock.

It is probably wise to scope the two bolts before starting out.  The first bolt can be found fairly easily but the second is a bit more hidden and difficult to find.  Either way, climb up black streak to a group of pockets/pods and place your gear.  Crimp but don't cramp your way towards the bolt and continue your journey upwards.  A fair amount of loose flakes and edges are encountered down low.  The route gets easier the higher you climb.

Start in the pit. Stem up between two boulders until moving onto the face about 15' up. Great edges and knobs aid in the committing moves to get established and up to the large knob.  Mantel the knob and clip the first bolt about 25' up. Move into the crack and clip a solid old pin. Cruxy moves past this to a bomber finger lock and easier moves to the top. 

  Walk off the back. Easy to set up a top-rope as well. 

  Alternate start could be to traverse in from the left side over to the large knob; still unprotected climbing.

Both Phoenix Rock books have an "R" rating for this route.  All bolts are new.  Maybe if you fell going from bolt two to three you would hit the ground or just come real close.  Typical, thin but not horrible edges eventually leads you to the left most portion of the Hanging Gardens crack.  Easy climbing directly above takes you to a semi-hanging belay and even easier climbing to the summit.  

While the opportunities of solitude and reflection are lost in the McDowells with the incessant sounds of progress and destruction....a bold and perhaps terrifying lead is not.  Access your inner gecko and tighten the laces before romping up this beauty.  Clip three bolts (the same for Lickety Split) and then begin your journey right, passing two more bolts, and access the obvious thin crack.  Wiggle but don't jiggle your way up the crack to a rusty, original bolt.  Climb upward to the shrubs and then traverse right and up to a nice belay.  Beware of a large cactus near the belay ledge.

 Pitch two continues straight above using three, old, original, distantly spaced bolts to the summit.  The climbing on this pitch is easy but a slip would be painful at best.

 All new bolts except the one you want the most.....or the final three on the last pitch.

Follow hanging gardens P1, start P2 as normal; face into crack, then exit the right angle crack back onto face prior to crack going vertical for a run out slab to a horizontal crack for last piece.

Climb the dihedral just right of Renaissance Direct. P1: Some balancy jams to the roof. Pull over the roof and follow Renaissance direct from there.

Start on the 3rd class ramp of Hanging Gardens, but move right into the giant flake about 25' up.   

  Bruise you way up if you want to climb it like an offwidth and be prepared for a fight.  Or Cruise it and take the more enjoyable way up, having a blast liebacking up for a long ways.   

  Most of it is very secure, but a short section about halfway through is a bit tougher.  Get through this and cruise to where the flake ends.  Then traverse left to meet up with the last 20' of Hanging Garden's. 

  Leading this would be pretty heinous and require a  lot of really large gear.  The best way to enjoy the climb is to set up a TR after climbing the first pitch of Hanging Garden's. 

  Added:   There is also a second pitch to this route that starts up the second pitch crack of Hanging Gardens, then veers up the face above. There's an old bolt up there somewhere as well as the occasional pro possibility (you have to wander a bit to get gear).

The start of this route will feel significantly harder than 93% of most 5.10's.  The immediate start and getting to the second bolt is tough but bearable.  Crimp and smear on razor edges until you reach a wonderful, short crack, and are able to clip bolt #2.  Edge up to bolt #3 and continue straight up towards the tree's (can use the cracks to the left if the runout is to grand) and trend right.  Two potentially loose blocks must be climbed around/over to access the other two bolts and semi-hanging belay.  Long runouts to belay station but easy climbing.  

 Pitch two climbs easy ground above with one bolt.  All bolts and belay are new hardware.

P1 (100+ ft.): 2 or 3 tricky smear moves up to crack. Scramble up to large ledge. Go deep inside chimney and scramble up. Squeeze through a small, awkward gopher hole, then move right onto ledge with tree and bolts. This was not much fun. Preferred variation: stay on outside of the chimney and stem move your way to belay ledge. Although the chimney is wide, there are plenty of cracks for cams and nuts. Harder than the scramble in the chimney, but much more fun. 

  P2 (120+ ft.): from belay ledge, move left back into chimney.  Opening moves are tricky as chimney is narrow and flares out. Not wide enough to stem. Too wide to hand/arm jam. Felt harder than 5.3. Also, for the first 25 - 30 ft., it is too wide to take any protection. This makes for an intimidating run out. Finally, you will reach a diagonal crack branching out and up from right side of chimney. #2 or #3 cams work nicely. From there, the route gets much easier to climb and protect. Keep following chimney to the top (more of a large crack than chimney near the top). Last 30 feet or so are an easy scramble. To the right (climbers') of the top there are two bolts.  Use these and some big boulders past the top to protect the belay. 

  Descent: It is possible to rappel down on one 60-meter rope. You will need to downclimb the climbers' left-side of the chimney to an obvious little ledge with a boulder on it at the top of The Phantom.  Find two bolts with rings on the face to the climbers' left-side of the small ledge.  Rap down and to the right to reach the ledge at the top of pitch 1.  Use the chains at top of pitch 1 to rap down to base.  Ideally you would rap down and to your left to reach the base of Kreuser's Chimney..  A 70-meter rope might do it.  with a 60-meter rope, go straight down to reach the ground to the right of Kreuser's start.  Once on terra firma, boulder move your way left 10 ft. over the rock leaning against the face to get back to your gear.

Hiding in plain view (sort of), this might be one of the finest 5.9's in Yosemite, oops the McDowells.  A thin and delicate start quickly places you on-top of flake and next to a clump of oak.  Continue up crack that may be filled with ferns until you can track right towards a single bolt.  Clip and continue to belay ledge or continue upwards on easy crack.  The route Gravity (obvious, small roof crack) is the belay ledge unless you climb past and to top.

Something is amiss with this route.  According to book (not mentioned in the original Phoenix Rock, or PRII) it is listed as 5.10 and the first ascent by the two fellows that would probably solo up/down without a blink.A 5.6 rating is generous, it is short and not worthy of the hardware that has been installed.  Climb this one if you want to feel good about yourself because the guidebook tells you it is a 5.10.

Combine the Phantom route and the Opera route in your own special way.

In essence, not as presumed and somewhat similar to the sillier Electric Lady Land. The '96 Phx Rock II has it listed as a 9+, but we weren't persuaded.

Pitch one is a nice crack (The Phantom).  Pitch two angles up and right using cracks and face to edge of chimney (Kreuser's Chimney).  Pitch three crosses the chimney and heads to the chain anchors of Hanging Gardens.  Pitch 4 and/or 5 continues to the right and up clipping a few bolts and gearing the easy crack(s) to the summit. The final pitch stays to the left of the three bolted face (For Cryin' Out Loud) and uses the crack for gear and climbing. 

  Cool route, crux for some will be trusting the rusty bolts and sideways and even a bit of down climbing to keep the grade 5.7/5.8

Another old style of bolting (spacious by todays standards) with the first one close to sixteen feet up and potential for a bad landing.  Crux one is encountered climbing above the bolt and onto the easy wedge.  Cruise the wedge to creaky boulder and climb out left to find the second and third bolt.  Easier climbing but a chance for some airtime if you fumble the moves.

 A must do for the face-climbing aficionado and those that enjoy a healthy runout.

Pitch 1: Scramble up the left-angling ramp/crack to the base of the flake.  Continue diagonally up left in crack to a right angling crack.  Follow this crack to a 2-bolt hanging belay.  100' 

Note - this belay is also the location of the 2nd rap.

Pitch 2: Make a thin move from the belay into a crack diagonaling right.  Follow this crack as it becomes slightly steeper and heads straight up.  Go left on easy cracks and face to the top. Gear belay.  ~130'. 

Descent: Locate bolts for the 1st rap to the left (climbers left). Two double rope raps back down to your the base - watch out for other parties coming up the route! 

  Alternately, the descent can be completed with a single 70m rope. You can rap from the top of Hanging Gardens to an anchor on another route, a little bit climbers right of where the rope naturally hangs. From there, rap to the ground. You get near the end of the rope, but just tie stopper knots and there's nothing to worry about.

Starts with a straight in hand crack with some finger locks on a steep face.  Pass a very old ring on a piton before making some sport moves to a fun mantle.  On pitch two climb a short wide crack to the left.  Continue up discontinuous cracks and then follow a low angle arete to fixed anchors at the peak.  This last section is unprotected (and therefore the R rating) but pretty easy.

We did the route in one long pitch with a 70 meter.  Crux is encountered immediately and then again going from bolt two to three.  The original description has the route with only two bolts so either a bird is laying bolts for eggs or there is a bolt fairy adding a few here and there...either way I was glad to use them.  Down low it feels oddly more 5.9 or harder with moves over the rusty original hardware.  After the cool horn/quartz feature (bolt number 4 or the original belay) the route eases up and you get to clip another newer looking bolt.

Gardeners Wall is a nice place to climb a few routes near Phoenix. It is noteworthy as pretty much the only multi-pitch formation in the northeast metro area. For the most part, traffic at Gardeners is mainly climbers looking to do the moderate classic routes such as Hanging Gardens (5.5) or Reinaissance Direct (5.7), but there are other fine routes here as well. Still, you're not going to have to deal with crowds here as it seems granite climbing near Phoenix is out of vogue.

Description

Location

Protection

Routes in Gardener's Wall