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Golden Gate Mountain, Arizona, January 2016

January 14, 2016 by Paul McClellan Leave a Comment

On Tuesday, January 12, I climbed Golden Gate Mountain, just west of Gates Pass in the Tucson Mountains. I climbed the Northeast slope from the David Yetman West Trailhead. The weather was ideal and the views were excellent. The upper slope was a bit steep but the footing was firm with some fun rock scrambling. Most of the brush was avoidable. I had the summit to myself and met only one party on my descent.

Golden Gate Mountain from above David Yetman Trail
Golden Gate Mountain from above David Yetman Trail

The Northeast slope of Golden Gate Mountain is a fan-like slope descending from rock bands below the north summit. It lies between two drainage channels leading towards Golden Gate Pass above the David Yetman Trail. It is just right of center in the above photo.

Approaching the Golden Gate Mountain summit
Approaching the Golden Gate Mountain summit

The rock bands above the slope were firm and fun to scramble over. Above the rock bands the slope eased back. I traversed left (south) below the summit ridge cliffs and up easy scrambling to the summit ridge. In the above photo the summit ridge cliffs are above on the right. The south summit is the ridge left of center.

Gates Pass below
Gates Pass below

I scrambled up the south summit over some firm rock above the steep west face of the mountain. Golden Gate Mountain lies in the Tucson Mountain Park. It has excellent views of the Tucson Mountains and the many surrounding ranges. The south summit had a registry and appeared to be higher than the north summit. After taking many photos I scrambled over to the north summit and got some better views north from there.

Santa Catalinas and Tucson to the northeast
Santa Catalinas and Tucson to the northeast

The recent mountain snowfall in the higher mountains highlighted those peaks in the distance, especially the Santa Catalina Mountains to the east.

The descent went well. It was helpful to have thick gloves and long pants and shirtsleeves for the occasional brush and cactus. I enjoyed the short climb and after several hikes am gaining confidence in traveling off-trail in the Southern Arizona desert. As the weather warms up in the coming months I will carry more water and take extra care watching for rattlesnakes.

Filed Under: Climbing Tagged With: Arizona, Golden Gate Mountain, Tucson Mountain Park

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