La Madre Area Rock Climbing

The La Madre area roughly describes the limestone cliffs immediately west of town. La Madre Mountain is one of the major limestone peaks along the Keystone Thrust and this area includes all of the limestone peaks and foothills surrounding La Madre Mountain. These cliffs are close to town and lower elevation than Mount Charleston, making them a popular choice cooler months, especially when Red Rocks is wet. The rock quality varies from chossy to solid and tends to be on the sharper side, though not always.

The best time of year to climb in the area is from late fall to late spring, as the summer can be unbearably hot. In the warmer months, there may be decent conditions in the early morning or late evening so long as the climbing is in the shade.

There is a lot of ongoing construction and expansion from new housing developments pushing into the foothills of this mountain range. Caution should be taken to avoid trespassing.

This area was originally covered in the guidebook Islands in the Sky. The latest book, Mojave Limestone, covers these cliffs in more detail. Development has continued and some routes are undocumented or only in Mountain Project at this point.