Ladron Peak, Socorro Co., NM

Here's some information about potential climbing in the area of Ladron Peak, Socorro Co., NM.

Terminology: Ladron Peak is not "always" the tallest of the two summits. The western summit is taller by roughly 70 feet and is unnamed on the 1985 USGS printed 1:24K topo map (Ladron Peak, New Mexico). However on the 2010 USGS electronic (pdf) 1:24K topo map (Ladron Peak, NM) "Ladron Peak" has been shifted to the taller, western summit and the eastern summit is unnamed. The online USGS Geographical Names Information System (GNIS) retains the eastern summit as Ladron Peak as of 3 July 2013. I'll use Ladron Peak to refer to the eastern summit.

The mountain itself is labeled "Ladrones" on the 1985 topo map, but the 2010 digital topo map leaves the mountain unnamed (other than applying Ladron Peak to the western summit as mentioned above). "Sierra Ladrones" is a small range of hills 6 miles southeast and about 3,000 feet lower than Ladron Peak (this is consistent within the various sources mentioned above) within the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge. Ironically, while Ladron Peak, the western summit, and the terrain of interest to climbers are all within the BLM's "Sierra Ladrones Wilderness Study Area" the actual "Sierra Ladrones" lie 5 to 6 miles outside the WSA boundaries. I'll use Ladrones to refer to the complete mountain.

Land Management Agencies: Most of the Ladrones are public lands managed by the BLM. The SE portion are closed public lands managed by the Fish and Wildlife Service (Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge), but little of that terrain is interesting to climbers. There are several inholdings of private land within the Ladrones which can complicate some access routes, but all of the large formations are on BLM land and within the Sierra Ladrones WSA.

BLM Policies for Permanent Fixed Anchors Within the Sierra Ladrones WSA: I have spoken with BLM's Socorro Field Office regarding bolts within the Sierra Ladrone WSA. They suggest that the current BLM manual for managing WSAs would be the guide for a permanent fixed anchor policy. That manual is "BLM Manual 6330—Management of BLM Wilderness Study Areas" and it's current revision date appears to be 7/13/2012. It is available here . That document specifically addresses permanent fixed anchors (bolts listed as a specific example), stating their placement is generally not allowed (there may be exceptions for rescue work - take a look at the actual document if you're interested). I found it interesting that the restrictions placed on the local BLM authority regarding permanent fixed anchors appear more stringent in Wilderness Study Areas than in Designated Wilderness Areas (BLM Manual 6340 - Management of BLM Wilderness Areas). Regardless, I'd say that if you're interested in climbing within the Ladrones you ought to plan on doing so without placing bolts.

Rock Characteristics: From my simple viewpoint (I'm not a geologist, but a geologic map is available here) there are three basic types of rock in the Ladrones.
1. A light colored granite (sort of like Joshua Tree or the eastern Sierra Juarez of Baja California) predominates east of Ladron Peak. Features are usually rounded, the surface is "sugary", many sections act like decomposing granite, and there aren't a lot of opportunities for protection, and the soles of your shoes wear out quickly! A fair amount of loose lichen grows on this stuff on the north facing sections. Called "Ladron quartz monzonite" if ya gotta know...
2. A harder, denser, orange colored rock ("Granophyre," again - if ya gotta know) caps Ladron Peak and runs south. This stuff can be solid in small chunks but likes to break off. Fewer opportunities for protection than the granite like stuff, but the surface is hard and smooth – no “sugar” here.
3. A looser, flakier brown/purple/black rock (metavolcanic rock on the map) covers the west summit and the north western side of the Ladrones. If you’ve ever hiked to the west summit via the normal “trail” this is the stuff that makes up the top of the NW ridge and fills most of the west facing chutes. Not inspiring for climbing, flakes easily and provides the least opportunity for protection.
Basically, the routes we’ve done have all been predominately on the “monzonite” though crossing the “granophyre” is tolerable to reach the summit of Ladron Peak. We’ve kept off the metavolcanic stuff.

Formations With Climbing Potential: Ladron Peak and its ridges have the largest formations. It’s a complex geography but if you have the USGS Ladron Peak 1:24k topo in hand you’ll see a large ridge running NW between Ladron Peak and Monte Negro. That ridge starts at about 6,000’ and ends at about 8,080’ on an unnamed summit NW of “peak” 8044. The N and W faces of that unnamed peak (I’ll call it 8080 from here on) look interesting from a distance, but I’ve not been on that side of 8080 so I’m not sure what the rock is like. I’d access that area from a BLM resource access parking lot off Socorro County Road #72 by climbing up and over Monte Negro. Private land prevents more direct access from Socorro County Road #70.

Back to the map – another ridge runs parallel to the ridge above, but about 0.4 miles south. This ridge reaches a saddle between 8044 and Ladron Peak and then turns W where it breaks up and reaches Ladron Peak. I'll call this the East Ridge. We’ve climbed several pitches on a couple of formations there – one down low (7,000 – 7,100’) and another up higher at about 8,100’. Both can be accessed from Socorro County Road #76 where it ends at the northern boundary of the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge. Walk up the canyon between the two ridges then directly up the slope for the lower formation (1 – 1.5 hours), up the saddle and N of 8044 to the higher formation (2.5 – 3 hours). Don’t go S of 8044 – you’ll be mired in brush and rock piles.





The biggest formations are on a set of three or four ridges that make up the N face of Ladron Peak. This area is hard to access and the approach hikes are long – plus the formations don’t show up until you get through some of the outlying foothills so it’s hard to tell if the hike will be worth it! A large inholding of private land at the end of Socorro County Road #70 prevents the shortest route (this is the same private land that prevents direct access to the N face of 8088). A small two-track eventually gets you to the north boundary of the Sierra Ladrones Wilderness Study Area and you hike cross county south from there for about 3 miles when you’ll reach the feet of Ladron Peak’s north ridges. Pick your face and scramble from there. The two track turns S from Socorro County Road #12 about 16 miles from I25 exit #175. A high clearance truck is best for the last 3 miles but don’t get stuck – there’s little cell phone coverage and you’re in the middle of nowhere.
Bill Lawry and I recently climbed the “central” north ridge after a reconnaissance with Gary Gilliland. We roped up at about 7,900’ after scrambling a large clean slab on the west side of the ridge. Our route generally stayed on the midline or slightly west on the midline for 5 to 6 pitches (three were full 60m, others a bit shorter) as we searched for protectable lines among the various faces, chutes, and ledges. After reaching the top of the “monzonite” (granite like rock) we scrambled up and around short faces and ledges of the orange “granophrye” to a broad coulior NW of the summit. We roped up for a last pitch to get by a 50’ vertical section and ran the rope out to a broad ledge just below the summit and scrambled to the top. There may have been a few 5.8 moves but most of the climbing was 5.7 trad or easier and most pitches involved sections of 4th class terrain. Protection was sparse so a lot of the climb was runout. We descended down the gulley between the central and east north ridges. First third of the descent is across large talus and then through scrub oak, aspens, Douglas firs and ponderosas near the bottom. While forested the latter 2/3's of the descent were pleasant.








This OW is on the central north ridge above the formation in the penultimate photo. As far as I know it hasn't been tried!

Have fun and let me know if you go climbing out there.

Howard L. Snell

Nice write up Howard. If you ever want to go check it out drop me a line. We never did get together to climb.

Did I read that correct a 3 hr approach to do a 200 foot off width? Man I hope the Sandia open back up so I will not talk myself into checking this out.

Did a recon of this area about 25-30 years ago with Bertran Gramont from Socorro. The aproach was very long, the rock quality so-so and we left it at that and went back to Box canyon and the Enchanted Tower. Both areas turned out OK.

Bill Matlin wrote:Did I read that correct a 3 hr approach to do a 200 foot off width? Man I hope the Sandia open back up so I will not talk myself into checking this out.

I can tell between the lines, Bill, that the hook has been set.

For me, the hike is/was one third of the appeal with a trip to the high sierra planned late this summer. And Howard is great company too except for his tendency to take inhumanly long strides. ;-) The last third of the appeal was the eye candy of which there was a lot to gawk at.

At the same time, climbing over sections of sugary rock and lots of lichen was daunting (similar to Stu's comment), especially given the occasional run-out. It is a pretty serious endeavor to get out there and climb.

Might be a few good lines though and will probably go back some time for an explore fix. The 5-7 pitch route we did would be pretty fun in general if there were fixed protection in a few places; and here it is worth repeating the info Howard found, that permanent fixed anchors for this purpose are not allowed.

Maybe Howard will post a picture of the ~50 foot chimney / slot we found mid-route: pretty unique!

I definitely wouldn't encourage anyone to head out there unless they sough solitude and adventure climbing! I'd also agree with Stu - the north face of Ladron Peak is pretty much the opposite of areas like the Box at Socorro and Enchanted Tower. That might repel or attract you - it all depends on what you're looking for.

I'll try to get a photo of the chimney section that Bill Lawry mentioned posted soon.

Howard

Between Jim Loughren and I we have double BD 5s & 6s. I think I can rustle up a few Big Bros as well.

Bill Matlin wrote:Between Jim Loughren and I we have double BD 5s & 6s. I think I can rustle up a few Big Bros as well.

A step ladder may be good as well. ;-)

Although we were maybe 30 yards away, the bottom 30 feet (?) looked like a huge chimney - 4 to 6 feet wide? That uber-wide section is behind a tree in Howard's photo.

We haven't planned a next time to go back. And for me, the coming 5 weeks or so are full. And I suspect the Sandias will be open again after that ...

Yep, long walk for scrittery rock.
More fun as a summit jaunt than as a climbing destination.

I'd heard though that Bertrand had gone back and done a few things up high that were decent.