La Cueva Canyon, Upper

BETA PHOTO: Overview Map of Upper LaCueva and Chimney Canyons.

Description 

The La Luz trail, running from the foothills of the Sandias to the Sandia Crest, runs directly through this canyon. There is a high concentration of stellar routes on the rock within Upper LaCueva Canyon. Also, in comparison to many other routes within the Sandias, the approaches can be shorter and easier.

Getting There 

Though the routes within this canyon can be accessed from the lower part of the canyon (Juan Tabo Picnic Area in the foothills of Albuquerque), it is much easier to access them from the Sandia Crest. The La Luz trail begins on the South end of the Sandia Crest parking lot.

The Classics

Featured Route For La Cueva Canyon, Upper

Mexican Breakfast Crack 5.9+  NM : Sandia Mountains : ... : Mexican Breakfast Formation

Mexican Breakfast Crack is a high quality and clean crack with a wild crux traverse under a big roof, although much of the climb is somewhat widish, as with parts of English Breakfast Crack in Yosemite. Certainly, trad climbers in both NM and California eat cracks like this for breakfast!Pitch 1: Follow the clean left-facing corner under the right side of the big roof as it widens from big-hands to fist to offwidth. Sustained 5.8 to this point, bu...[more]   Browse More Classics in NM

Photos of La Cueva Canyon, Upper Slideshow

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BETA PHOTO: Overview of some of the features on the south side...

Panorama of Upper La Cueva Canyon with The Thumb t...