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!
Looking North into the "great Bowl" on the norther...
Description
An expansive slab of clean granite hides just around the corner from Sugar Loaf. It offers climbing similar to the lower pitches of North Face: super clean low-angled granite, chicken heads and quartz dikes, and a few choice dihedrals and overlaps to mix things up. It sees a lot less traffic than Sugar Loaf but is well worth the extra approach distance, especially if you like mellow slabs on beautiful rock.
Routes tend to be run-out over the 5.4-5.6 slab sections and it is not unusual for entire pitches to lack protection. Due to the curving angle of the slabs, the upper pitches are not visible from the base of the cliff, nor are they visible from the approach. The slabs extend to the south for over 1/4 mile.
Getting There
While this slab is clearly visible from Hwy 70 and White Sands Missile Range, it is quickly hidden from view while hiking the approach to Sugar Loaf along the Indian Hollow trail. Approach almost all the way to Sugar Loaf but before you get to the "camping spot" on the trail, start heading left and towards a saddle to the north of Sugar Loaf. Scramble over slabs and through oak thickets to gain the saddle where you'll find a huge boulder with a bivouac cave under it. This cave makes a perfect base-camp for spending a weekend on the East Slabs, just don't forget to bring plenty of water.
From the bivuac, scramble south trying to keep your elevation over a series of slabs. Keep going until you reach the north end of the East Slabs in a "great Bowl".
Approach time is 30-60 minutes longer than for Sugar Loaf.
Aaron, thanks for introducing the East Slabs. Most of these routes were put up prior to EBs. The result is more difficult climbing although the routes are moderate.
I want to emphasize that most of the 1/4" bolts (about 35 years old) have not been replaced. I would take a hand drill and a few replacement bolts for especially the anchors. I have been told that Misty has been retro bolted with no additional bolts.
A favorite mix of several routes, about 5.8, is: the two pitches of Ape crack, the third and fourth pitches of Great Bowl, and the finish pitches of Ingraham's dihedral (the anchor at the top of the dihedral is bolted and there definitely needs to be a new 3/8" bolt if one has not been placed).
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