Welcome to the New Mexico section of Mountain Project!
The contributions that are made to this site are greatly appreciated; this site is made up of an awesome community of users that make the site what it is.
Although there is very little information regarding “rules” for submitting climbing areas and routes to this site, the New Mexico Administers all agree that the following guidelines may be helpful to truly make this site go “Beyond the Guidebook”.
1) Don’t be a jerk (this one states the obvious). 2) Route and area submissions should truly be helpful to those out climbing. Before posting, you should have some first hand experience actually climbing the route. This always results in a much more useful description. 3) Please, please, please… Don’t copy route descriptions directly out of guidebooks, online publications, etc. This is plagiarism! Remember, BEYOND the guidebook! 4) Please use the spell check and make an effort to use correct grammar.
Again, the Mountainproject community truly appreciates the efforts taken to make good route descriptions. If you feel that a route or area description is not up to standard, a brief email to one of the area admins for suggestions on improvement will be greatly appreciated.
Thank you for taking the time to make the New Mexico section of Mountain Project quality! We look forward to seeing you out there!
Photo of the Tower itself.
Description
Beautiful sport climbing on amazing clastic flow (or welded tuff, I am not sure, see the below comment!). In my opinion, this is the best sport climbing in New Mexico. Note that the guidebook that exists for this area is certainly worth the purchase, it has great topos and directions to the climbs and areas.
Getting There
NOTE: Access to Enchanted Tower via the dirt road off HW 60 is granted by the ranch manager and can be revoked! Please be courteous: travel no more than 15 mph on the dirt road into Enchanted Tower and do not go in and out after dark. Thanks!!
If going from Albuquerque, head South on I-25 to Socorro, NM. From there go west on Highway 60, in about 1 hour you will pass through the town of Datil. Continue 5.3 miles past the town (and 0.9 miles past mile marker 73), and turn right past the guardrail.
Go on a dirt road, through a gate that may look like it is locked. It is not. Please close the gate if it is open.
Continue down the dirt road towards the ranch house, and turn left at the metal gate just before the ranch house. Sign in there. Note that the gate may or may not be locked. There are a few ways to get that combination:
1) Contact Stone Age Gym for the gate key number: stoneagegym@earthlink.net or call 520-326-1449 before 10 p.m. (it would be wise to do this BEFORE you make the trip).
2) A riddle to assist you in getting the combination (see comments below by user and 2003 guidebook author Eric Rhicard: 1] The first number is the same as the first number of US climbing ratings. 2)Add 1 to the first number and you have the second number. 3)Multiply the first number by two and that double figure gives you the 3rd and 4th numbers.
or
Another puzzle: This company makes C4 Rubber? You now have the first third and fourth numbers. To get the second number add 1 to the first number.
Crags
East to West, or right to left as you see them from the road.
- Frog Prince: Many good routes from 5.10b to 5.HARD
- Rapunzel Wall: Nice beginners wall. This and Mother Goose wall are great for beginning leaders. Bolts can be a bit high and the cruxes are at the start.
- The Enchanted Tower: The namesake of the place; beautiful. Routes from 5.11b to 5.13a.
- Mother Goose Wall: Largest selection of beginner routes at the tower. Again, a good wall for the aspiring leader.
- Renaissance Wall: Projects and 5.hard, this wall looks holdless from a distance.
- The Land Beyond: Continue driving down the road to this one. About 1.5 miles west, past the main tower area. A few 10s but a great selection of .11 and .12 routes.
A super enduro-fest with a high crux. There's two ways to go about it- the short person version and the long person version. Taller people head right to the hold on Straight On Til Morning and shorter people generally go straight up. ...[more]
In a conversation with Adam Read (Tower first acensionist and geologist at NM Tech) Adam stated that The Tower is actually a clastic flow and not welded tuff. I write this just for info and not to argue anything. Maybe if Adam ever reads this he can comment further.
Here are a few questions and directions that will give you the combination to the sometimes locked gate. 1] The first number is the same as the first number of US climbing ratings. 2)Add 1 to the first number and you have the second number. 3)Multiply the first number by two and that double figure gives you the 3rd and 4th numbers.
Okay, here is another puzzle that will unlock the gate. This company makes C4 Rubber? You now have the first third and fourth numbers. To get the second number add 1 to the first number.
Enchanted Tower
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