Oak Flat, located just outside Superior, Arizona, in the Tonto National Forest, has long been a cherished site for both outdoor recreation and Indigenous ceremony. For decades, it has drawn climbers from across the country with its volcanic tuff boulders, expansive desert landscape, and historic importance in American bouldering. But Oak Flat is more than just a climbing destination. It is sacred land to the San Carlos Apache and other Indigenous nations, and it now sits at the center of one of the most high-profile environmental and Indigenous rights battles in the United States.
This blog will explore the layered history of Oak Flat: its place in the development of American bouldering, its deep Indigenous significance, and the legal and political efforts to stop a proposed copper mine that threatens to destroy it. We’ll also highlight efforts by the climbing community to support its protection, including the Oak Flat Crash Pad Collaboration between Flashed and the American Alpine Club.
The Birthplace of Arizona Bouldering
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Oak Flat emerged as a central hub for bouldering in the American Southwest. Its sharp, pocketed volcanic tuff offered unique challenges unlike anything else in Arizona. As the sport grew in popularity, Oak Flat became home to one of the most iconic bouldering events in the country: the Phoenix Bouldering Contest (PBC).
Founded in 1989, the Phoenix Bouldering Contest brought hundreds of climbers and spectators together for what was, at the time, the largest outdoor bouldering competition in the world. Held annually at Oak Flat until the early 2000s, the event was equal parts grassroots gathering and elite competition. It attracted some of the top names in climbing, like Chris Sharma and Tommy Caldwell, and helped put Oak Flat on the national radar. The PBC was more than just a contest—it was a celebration of community, movement, and the sandstone features that made the area so beloved.
Climbing development continued through the 2000s, and today Oak Flat features hundreds of established problems and countless projects. The area remains a vital part of Arizona’s climbing scene and a destination for traveling climbers seeking quality bouldering in a desert setting.
A Sacred Site for the Apache and Other Tribes
Long before climbers arrived, Oak Flat—known to the Apache as Chích’il Biłdagoteel—was a place of deep spiritual significance. It is part of a broader ceremonial and cultural landscape that includes springs, medicinal plants, petroglyphs, and sites of vision quests, prayer, and coming-of-age ceremonies. Apache girls still come to Oak Flat for their Sunrise Ceremonies, a rite of passage that marks the transition into womanhood.
The area is also integral to Apache cosmology and oral history. According to Apache belief, Oak Flat is home to spiritual beings that play a role in creation stories and ongoing cultural practices. To damage or destroy the land is not merely a physical loss—it is a profound spiritual and cultural erasure.
In 1955, President Dwight D. Eisenhower placed Oak Flat off-limits to mining through a special order, recognizing its importance and vulnerability. That protection remained in place for nearly 60 years. However, in 2014, a controversial land exchange was quietly added as a rider to the National Defense Authorization Act. This rider authorized the transfer of over 2,400 acres of land at Oak Flat to Resolution Copper, a subsidiary of multinational mining corporations Rio Tinto and BHP, for the development of a massive underground copper mine.
Resolution Copper and the Threat of Block-Caving
The mining method proposed for Oak Flat is block-caving, a highly destructive process that involves removing ore from deep underground and allowing the land above to collapse. Over time, the surface at Oak Flat would sink by more than 1,000 feet, leaving behind a crater roughly two miles wide. This would destroy not only the bouldering area but also sacred sites, endangered species habitat, and critical watershed features.
Resolution Copper argues that the mine would bring economic benefits, including jobs and domestic copper supply. But tribal nations, conservationists, scientists, and climbers have all raised serious concerns. The economic benefits are heavily front-loaded and largely speculative, while the cultural and ecological losses would be irreversible.
The Legal Battle and the Save Oak Flat Movement
Since the land exchange was approved, there has been ongoing resistance. Apache Stronghold, a nonprofit organization led by San Carlos Apache tribal members, has spearheaded legal challenges to the transfer. In 2021, they filed a federal lawsuit arguing that the transfer violates their First Amendment right to religious freedom. A federal judge initially dismissed the case, but it was later reinstated on appeal.
In March 2023, a Ninth Circuit panel ruled that the case could proceed, signaling that the courts may take Indigenous religious claims more seriously. However, in early 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case, sending it back to lower courts and prolonging the legal uncertainty.
Meanwhile, the Biden administration delayed publication of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS), which is required before the land transfer can be completed. This pause has provided a temporary reprieve, but it is not a permanent solution. Without legislative action to repeal the land exchange, Oak Flat remains at risk.
The Save Oak Flat Act, introduced multiple times in Congress, aims to reverse the land exchange and permanently protect Oak Flat from mining. It has gained support from tribal governments, environmental organizations, and members of the outdoor recreation industry, but it has yet to pass.
A Community Response: Climbers Join the Fight
The climbing community has played a growing role in the fight to save Oak Flat. Organizations like the Access Fund, American Alpine Club, and local Arizona climbing groups have supported advocacy, education, and policy efforts. Climbers have written letters to Congress, organized events, and used their platforms to raise awareness.
In 2024, Flashed Climbing partnered with the American Alpine Club to launch the Oak Flat Crash Pad Collaboration. The initiative featured a limited-edition crash pad designed by artist Collette Marie, a Xicana muralist known for work that centers Indigenous identity and environmental justice.
The design depicts two endangered species found in the Oak Flat region—the ocelot and the hedgehog cactus—framed by motifs honoring the sacredness of the land. All profits from the crash pad were donated to the American Alpine Club’s Oak Flat advocacy fund, which supports grassroots organizing, legal defense, and outreach.
The goal of the project was not only to raise funds but also to raise awareness. By embedding the story of Oak Flat into a piece of gear that climbers use every day, Flashed and the AAC aimed to spark conversation and deepen the community’s connection to place-based conservation.
What’s at Stake Now
As of mid-2025, the fight to save Oak Flat is at a pivotal moment. The courts have yet to rule definitively on the religious freedom claims brought by Apache Stronghold. Meanwhile, Resolution Copper continues to lobby for the project, and without action from Congress, the land could still be transferred.
For the Apache, this is a struggle for cultural survival. For climbers, it is a test of what it means to be stewards of the land. And for all Americans, it is a referendum on whether sacred Indigenous landscapes can be sacrificed for short-term resource extraction to a foreign mining company.
There is still time to act. Public pressure, legal advocacy, and Congressional action can still stop the mine. But the window is closing. Oak Flat’s future depends on the decisions we make today.
How You Can Help
- Contact your representatives and urge them to support the Save Oak Flat Act.
- Support organizations like Apache Stronghold, the Access Fund, and the American Alpine Club.
- Educate yourself and others about the history and significance of Oak Flat.
- Use your voice and platform—whether in climbing gyms, classrooms, or social media—to advocate for its protection.
Oak Flat is not just a climbing area. It is not just a piece of land. It is a living, breathing cultural landscape that holds generations of stories, ceremonies, and spiritual meaning. Saving it is not only possible—it is necessary.
For more information on how to take action, visit https://www.accessfund.org/action-alerts/save-oak-flat.
