AZ Climbing Center

-- No Longer in Business --

The Arizona Climbing Center
was located at 1911 W. Cheryl Dr in Phoenix

Glen Dickenson owned the gym and other businesses he took over and continued.
Hence the Arizona Climbing Center had other names like:
- North Phoenix Climbing Center
- Arizona Wilderness Extremes
- Ascend AZ ( after the Ascend store closed).

...........................................

The gym closed in April 2002, and soon after Glen moved to Tucson, AZ
Thursday July 16, 2015 Glen died in a hiking accident.

- 2015 The Associated Press
Glen Dickenson
Dies in Fall just after his dog fell.
July 17 2015 Fox10 posted:

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) - Authorities in Coconino County say a 62-year-old man has died in a fall off a cliff.
The sheriff's office identified the man Friday as Glen Dickinson of Tucson.
Dickinson and his blind dog had been hiking north of the Forest Lakes community Thursday afternoon. Authorities say the two had been walking along the rim of Chevelon Canyon when they fell a few hundred feet.
An Arizona Department of Public Safety rescue crew spotted them from the air, and a second helicopter lowered a rescuer to the scene.
Authorities say Dickinson was unresponsive. The dog was found dead about 10 feet from him.

............................................

Northern Arizona law enforcement officers have recovered the bodies of a man and his blind dog, who both died after falling hundreds of feet inside a canyon in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest.

The victim has been identified as 62-year-old Glen Dickinson of Tucson.

According to the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office, emergency dispatchers received a report around 2:30 p.m. Thursday that the pair had fallen off a cliff in the area of Chevelon Canyon, located north of Forest Lakes. Coconino County Sheriff’s deputies, the Coconino County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue unit, Navajo County Sheriff’s Office, U.S. Forest Service personnel, Forest Lakes Fire Department and Arizona Department of Public Safety Air Rescue crews based in Flagstaff and Phoenix all responded.

At the scene, the reporting party told first responders the victim and his dog were walking along the rim of Chevelon Canyon when they fell off a cliff that was approximately 500 to 600 feet above the canyon floor. The DPS Air Rescue crew from Flagstaff saw the victim about 300 feet below the cliff, but was unable to land due to the rough terrain. A crew member said the victim was not moving and appeared unresponsive.

A second DPS Air Rescue crew responded from Phoenix and was able to lower a DPS technical rescue officer to the deceased victim’s location. The technician prepared the body for transport and they were flown out of the area utilizing the short haul method. The dog was found deceased approximately 10 feet from the victim’s location.

Glen was a happy guy but eccentric nonetheless. I climbed at his gym a few times and had fun. Plywood gym with a ghetto paint job, close to 30' tall. Glen didn't change the routes that often and the holds would get "glassed over" because of the rock dust from the loose gravel flooring getting on the climbers shoes. One day I stopped in on the weekend and Glen had a hose and was spraying down the walls with water. The ground was made of gravel so the water eventually filtered out of the gym, but I found that to be quite interesting. Then he took the route tape and retaped the existing holds already on the walls into different possible routes. I mentioned to Glen that visiting other gyms is a great thing to do to gain ideas on bettering your gym. He said that going to other gyms is cheating and he didn't believe in it. Soon after he broke open a can of Bondo and started to paste it on his walls to create permanent foot holds. In writing this I remember there were a few climbers that took over the gym from Glen to keep it in business so props out to ....... I cant remember your names.

Glen sent me a email inviting me to stop by and help him move things out of the gym. The first thing I did was pulled out my saw and cut out a chunk of his wall to preserve in the museum. Glen found it amusing. I was able to get three of the big gym signs, the large "A- (Ascend store logo with climber") and the Ascend store rug. Also a neon sign saying "Mountain Sports" that broke on me a few years later.

Over the years Glen and I traded many pieces of gear. Thanks again Glen for your museum support!!!