BETA PHOTO: Looking up at The Big Enchilada roof. The ropes t...
Description
This is the east-facing cliff of The Big Enchilada. It faces the Rio, and with an azimuth of about 120 degrees, it sees sun until about midday. It is often less windy here than on the south side of The Big Enchilada. About a dozen routes are found here, including the only two bolted routes at The Big Enchilada. An obvious 8-foot roof about 50 feet up is The Big Enchilada Roof, the source of the name for the entire crag.
Getting There
Go down the standard descent gully, and take a left turn (north); from the bottom of the gully it's about 50 feet to The Big Enchilada Roof area. A few more routes are a little farther north, before the cliff deteriorates into broken rock.
Routes
Because some of the climbs are "unnamed," this concordance list hopfully links the route descriptions and topos from the published guides: 1.) the online guide by Chen and Wehner, 2.) Beverly (2006), and 3.) Jackson (2006), as well as 4.) Wa3lt's unpublished notes (which he graciously posted here). It appears that some routes are included in some guides but are not in others, some ratings differ, and they list them in different order. (Note, I have TR'd or led very few of these routes, so am mainly working from the published resources for now).
Historical priority of route numbers is given to Wa3lt's list in this case, so the photos Wa3lt posted here will match the route descriptions.
From left to right (south to north, the same way they are approached from the walk-down), the reported lines on the east side of The Big Enchilada are:
Dihedrals- 5.8; not in Chen/Wehner, Beverly, or Jackson Cheese Enchilada - 5.8; not Chen/Wehner; not in Beverly; Jackson #7 (sort of). Start as for 'Big Enchilada' but escape up left 15' before reaching the roof and then either stay left or traverse back right above the roof. Jackson's description and topo for his route #7 seems to combine and confuse this route with the 'Big Enchilada.' His topo is approximately correct to keep it at 5.8, and he shows where to go left to avoid the roof, but he doesn't show an easier start to the left, and his exit is different than described here. It can be easily toproped from the same setup as the 'Big E, Left' although there's a little pendulum risk. The Big Enchilada, Left Crack - Chen/Wehner #1 (5.9+/10a); Beverly #1 (5.9+/10a); Jackson #7 (5.9+/10a) The Big Enchilada - not in Chen/Wehner; Beverly #2 (5.11a); not in Jackson. Can be toproped from the same setup as Huevos Verdes. Huevos Verdes - Chen/Wehner #2 (5.12b); Beverly #3 (5.11c); Jackson #6 (5.12b). Chimney - Chen/Wehner #3 (5.9); Beverly #4 (5.10); Jackson #5 (5.9) Big Jalapena - Chen/Wehner #4 (5.11c); Beverly #5 (5.11b/c); Jackson #4 (5.11c). Route 5 - Chen/Wehner #5 (5.10b/c); Beverly #6 (5.10b/c); Jackson #3 (5.10b/c) Route 6 - Chen/Wehner #6 (5.10d/11a); Beverly #7 (5.10d/11a); Jackson #2 (5.10d/11a) Route 7 - Chen/Wehner #7 (5.11b); Beverly #8 (5.11b); Jackson #1 (5.11b). Unnamed - 5.8; not in Chen/Wehner, Beverly, or Jackson. Find the easiest path up to the juniper tree anchor. Unnamed - 5.8; not in Chen/Wehner, Beverly, or Jackson. Another possible line up broken rock right of the good part of the cliff.
If anyone knows of actual route names, even informal names, let us know, because that would be better than a numbered list.
Side Notes
When throwing down a toprope for the routes north of the Big Enchilada roof, watch out for several big rope-stabbing cholla at the base!
The Classics
Mountain Project's determination of some of the classic, most popular, highest rated routes for East Side, Big Enchilada:
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