The “mountains” in Phoenix don’t really feel like mountains to me (Northern Arizona native perspective) (Tucson: camp, tax)

[yukon]

Originally Posted by locolife

They are minor mountain ranges if you want to get super technical but they blow what most cities have out of the water. A hill does not have the geographic connectivity of a south mountain or McDowell mountain range. I lived out East for a while, you should see what they qualify as mountains....

Indeed they do blow many cities out of the water. But I moved here from NM, and have spent a lot of time in CO and TN in past years. Plus visited a lot of other mountain ranges in the US, Canada and Japan. So yeah, I have a decent point of reference as to "mountain".

I'll admit, though, it's not nearly as flat here as most newcomers and visitors expect it to be. They think "desert" and assume it's flat as far as the eye can see. Nope, it's not. And that's a good thing.

[LS Jaun]

As a 4th generation Arizonan, I know exactly how the OP sees the mountains that are close to Phoenix proper. South and North mountain are more like big brown hills.

[slowesthand]

It just wouldn't have sounded right if they named it "South Hill Park" !

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by Prickly Pear

Pretty sure the Estrellas are taller anyway.

The Estrella range is the most mountainy looking place in the Phoenix metro. The highest point in the Estrellas is 4512 feet so the relief (what makes a mountain fit the concept) is about 3500 feet. It'shigh enough for some juniper woodlands near the peak, but not enough to be lush. In a wet winter the Estrellas get pretty green looking especially on north facing slopes. White Tanks go over 4K too, but for some reason it doesn't look like it to me. The best mountains in AZ are the White Mountains, not the peak near Flagstaff. Escudilla is a very cool area. The sky islands of SE AZ are rather fascinating as well. As for Phoenix "mountains", not much to see here but beats the daylights out of anything east of the Pecos.

[More Rock]

I go the Madrean Sky Islands when I need my mountain fix.

[KurtAZ]

Originally Posted by locolife

I don’t think Flag is small by CO standards, sure they have the 14ers but nearly 13 is big pretty high up and tops all but 1 or 2 of the max lift served elevation at ski resorts in Colorado.

Just saying..12,633' doesn't even put it in the top 55 in Colorado:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...ks_of_Colorado

[BIG CATS]

Originally Posted by locolife

They are minor mountain ranges if you want to get super technical but they blow what most cities have out of the water. A hill does not have the geographic connectivity of a south mountain or McDowell mountain range. I lived out East for a while, you should see what they qualify as mountains....

Same as we do here... Twobit Peak in the PHX Mts is a hill. In fact most of the "mountains" in the PHX Mts are tiny, 100' tall hills at best.


IMO, the only real mountains we have here in PHX are the Mazatzal Mts, and those are still a good 40 miles outside PHX. The Estrella Mts have some decent vertical, too. Most of the "mountains" here in PHX are quite a bit smaller than the Sears Tower (it'll never be the Willis Tower to me).

[locolife]

Originally Posted by BIG CATS

Same as we do here... Twobit Peak in the PHX Mts is a hill. In fact most of the "mountains" in the PHX Mts are tiny, 100' tall hills at best.


IMO, the only real mountains we have here in PHX are the Mazatzal Mts, and those are still a good 40 miles outside PHX. The Estrella Mts have some decent vertical, too. Most of the "mountains" here in PHX are quite a bit smaller than the Sears Tower (it'll never be the Willis Tower to me).

What are you talking about?

Two-bit has >700’ in vertical
Shaw Butte has about 1,000
Piestewa Peak is about 1,200

South Mountain alone has 9 trails that gain over 1,000 on the way up (Pyramid, Alta, Lost Mine, Geronimo, Corona de Loma, Holbert, Ranger, National, Old Man, Young Man)

McDowells has at least 5 I’ve personally done (Thompson peak is over 2000, Toms Thumb from the West is almost 3000, Sunrise is over 1000, East End is over 1000, Bell Pass, Windgate...)

The white tanks have at least 3 1,000+ big hikes Ford Canyon, Goat Camp and mesquite
Estrellas have the quartz peak trail that’ll get you over 2,000 as well
Head to the Supes and now you’re hitting multiple 3,000+ vert trails
Four Peaks will get you closer to 5,000 of vert

Who the hell cares about the sears tower? It’s not a hike and it’s man made.

[locolife]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

The Estrella range is the most mountainy looking place in the Phoenix metro. The highest point in the Estrellas is 4512 feet so the relief (what makes a mountain fit the concept) is about 3500 feet. It'shigh enough for some juniper woodlands near the peak, but not enough to be lush. In a wet winter the Estrellas get pretty green looking especially on north facing slopes. White Tanks go over 4K too, but for some reason it doesn't look like it to me. The best mountains in AZ are the White Mountains, not the peak near Flagstaff. Escudilla is a very cool area. The sky islands of SE AZ are rather fascinating as well. As for Phoenix "mountains", not much to see here but beats the daylights out of anything east of the Pecos.

The best mountains to me are the ones I can pedal to from home and work, being able to put together massive hikes and rides out of my back door with 100’s of miles of trails is what I’m interested in.

The whites are awesome but getting they’re isolated and that makes it hard to get to.

[locolife]

Originally Posted by yukon

Indeed they do blow many cities out of the water. But I moved here from NM, and have spent a lot of time in CO and TN in past years. Plus visited a lot of other mountain ranges in the US, Canada and Japan. So yeah, I have a decent point of reference as to "mountain".

I'll admit, though, it's not nearly as flat here as most newcomers and visitors expect it to be. They think "desert" and assume it's flat as far as the eye can see. Nope, it's not. And that's a good thing.

We have better access to mountains then most major cities in the US, that’s a big reason I love living here. Even working in downtown Denver I wouldn’t have nearly the same ease of access as I do here. I don’t know many cities where you can put together a 3,000-4,000 vert off road mountain bike ride pedaling from downtown after work.

Phoenix- this can be done at south mountain or Phoenix mountain preserve

Salt Lake for sure, is it a major city?
Portland I don’t think so but maybe
LA probably
San Diego I don’t think so
San Fran maybe
Memphis maybe I don’t know the area
Denver, mountains are too far from the city core
Seattle, mountains are too far from downtown
Vancouver, BC absolutely
Winnipeg/Calgary- probably
Chicago and the entire Midwest no way
Florida, no way
Texas, not a chance
Northeast, too flat near all the major cities
Charlotte, too flat
Atlanta, too flat