Hung Jury  

Trailhead: Courthouse Loop      

Distance: 5 Miles      

Difficulty: Hard  

Elevation Gain: 1,030’-1,300’

ACA:  3All    

Duration: 3-5 hours

Rope: 2 x 200’

Anchor Materials: 35’ of webbing + 3 rapides

Parking: Park at The Bell Rock Pathway. Parking Pass available at the electronic kiosk.

Overview: Hung Jury is a memorable adventure route that explores a large alcove on the iconic Courthouse Butte. The approach will likely require a few small climbing cams to advance past a 60’ class 5 crux. The Summit is one of Sedona’s best and most iconic, and also one of the most challenging and hardest to access. The overall goal is to tag the summit, then take the hung jury rappel route back down. The technical climbing challenges on the approach place this route in the hard category.

• Prized Summit

• Archaeological Sites

• Luxurious Alcove

Approach:  Start on Big Park Loop and hike just over .5 miles to the junction with Middle Trail. Take a left on Middle Trail and continue north another half mile to the next junction with Big Park Loop. Take a right onto Big Park Loop and walk less than 100’ before leaving the trail on the left side. Follow faint social trail up a small ridge to the first bench. From the first bench continue left or southwest, working your way to the center of the formation. The first crux is a 5th class ramp with an old metal piton fixed into the rock on top. Scramble 50’ up to easier terrain and continue working your way into the main bowl. Work your way around the ledges within the bowl and gain elevation by going up a boulder filled gully. From the top of the gully, traverse the main ledge around to the second 5th class crux. The hardest part of the hike to the top is the bolted 5th class section. This section is said to be the first “First Ascent” of Sedona. A few small cams will help protect this 60’ blocky arete as you mantle your way up to the bolted anchor station. From the bolted anchor station, it’s a short jaunt to the summit. Leave your heavy gear at the turnoff (T) and return to this location to start the traverse for Hung Jury.

Descent: Traverse the garden ledge or vegetative band to the top of the grand alcove. Locate the anchor from a tree on the right hand side.

R1:  105’ from a tree near the edge.

R2: 200’ from a tree in the center of the alcove.

R3: The third rappel can be down from a tree down on a ledge on the right and is ~70’ into a crack.

Climb out of the crack and back up to the old piton on top of the arete. If you trust the piton you can use it to rappel back down, or to aid in the downclimb. I usually just downclimb.

Exit: After rejoining the trail you came in on, return the way you came.

Preservation: Please respect archaeological sites and sensitive terrain along your journey.

Link Ups: Hot Loop Canyon would be a good warmup.

Route Established By: Eric Moorcroft & Forest Burke