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!
The Gilman Tunnels Area. The first Tunnel is visi...
Description
Boasting some of New Mexico's best granite sport climbing, this area is a sharp contrast to the red and brown color surrounding it. Short approaches, less than vertical to vertical rock, and mostly single pitch sport climbs. However, there are some trad lines here and a few multi-pitch climbs. The rock quality varies, and some can be quite loose. A helmet here is not a bad idea.
Because of the shape of the valley here, summertime temperatures can be hot! Mornings are nice on the west facing walls. During the afternoon one can jump in the river to cool off, then climb on the east facing walls later during the afternoon.
This area is relatively new and most climbs still have not seen many ascents. Gilman can be accessed throughout the year and has no restrictions for access.
Getting There
Follow the directions to the Jemez Valley Area, and from San Ysedro, drive 8.8 miles on highway 4. After the Jemez Valley School, and a big dip in the road followed by a gradual turn to the right, look for SR 485 to the left (AKA FR 379 after it turns to dirt). After taking this left turn follow the road past Canones, continuing up the road until the road disappears into tunnels through the rock. Drive through both tunnels and park anywhere there is a pull-out.
More excellent thin face climbing with small crimps and sidepulls on slightly less-than-vertical granite. Similar in character to Happy Feet, this line begins with difficult, strenuous face moves with a crux between the 1st and 3rd bolt. Higher, a relatively easy lip encounter leads to more 5.10 face climbing to the anchors....[more]
By George Perkins Administrator From: Los Alamos, NM Jul 27, 2007
Warning: the bolt counts listed in Jemez Rock and RC NM for many routes in this area are incorrect. Often you'll need more quickdraws. I haven't climbed here much (so this is not an exhaustive list), but in 2 days of climbing here, I've found discrepancies on the following climbs (numbers from Jemez Rock): #1,#2, #6, #7, #16, #17, #22, #23.
-A really cool newer climbing area! Thanks to those who developed this recently! That the developers are returning to correct and improve the climbs is the reason the bolt counts are off sometimes, I think
George, That's correct about the bolt count. The feedback was that the routes were "too run out" at some points, so we've gone back to help the distress level. A clip stick is always a good idea when sport climbing. Remember, it's just sport climbing.
Also, the grades of some of the climbs are "about grades" since there have not been other ascents. I think that the grades will level out after some cleaning up. Some will be harder (Two Stirrups...) and some will be easier (Judge Dread). The stars should go up though..we'll see.
Most of the bolts here have been painted after having some discussions with the Forest Service. Please establish routes here but use camouflaged hangers or or paint. There is a lot of potential for more routes here.
I told the Forest Service that climbers were good to have here since our presence helps keep the graffiti down and the riff-raff away. Also, pick up some trash if you can, there's always plenty.
Camping is now off-limits in the lower Guadalupe Canyon Area all the way up to Porter's Landing (the bridge 1/2 way up FR 376) You can still go up 376 past the closure gate and make the first left and go up the hill a ways to find some good camping options without having to drive to Porter's.