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!
BETA PHOTO: Photo of the large arete with green colored lichen...
Description
This nice formation is home of some of the cleanest rock in the Sandias, standing directly across (east) from The Thumb. The two classics on this formation are Mountain Mamma (5.10C) and Voodoo Child (5.12a).
Getting There
To approach this climb, begin at the south end of the Sandia Crest parking area and start down the Crest Spur trail to the first switchback. From there you will see a faint trail heading north through the forest, and after around 100 or so yards begin looking for a 4th class decent through the limestone band. There are actually several ways to get down. If you begin heading down right at the point of a dead tree right against the drop of the cliff, the decent is more difficult but it takes you directly to the trail that you want to follow. If you continue on the trail there is an easier way down but you will want to head slightly left (south) to get to where you want to go. Once below the cliff band, head downhill (west), staying on a ridge line, but still going downhill. Going down you are pretty much going through trees as there is not much of a trail. Eventually you will come across a tumbled log structure. The east side of the Torreon is west of here. This is also the best place to leave a pack if you brought one, and rack up. From the log structure go north on a faint trail to a gully. If you look down the gully you will see a beautiful appearing arete covered with bright green lichen. Don't drop into the canyon too soon, wait until you see the arete. If you head down too soon the decent is a bit more difficult. Hike down the gully, and at the base begin working your way to the left (South) to the base of the Torreon.
A more direct approach (possibly easier, but longer) might be to head down the La Luz trail, and when the formation is visible, hike up to it.
Claimed to be one of the best 5.10 routes in the Sandias. Most of the climb is on clean rock, with a few loose sections, as goes the Sandias. See attached topo for more detailed climbing beta.Pitch 1 (5.10a): Climb up to a ledge to the right of the dihedral. From atop the ledge, clip the bolt, and move left into the dihedral. Follow the dihedral up, eventually following a protectable crack to the left. Follow to a hanging belay.Pitch 2 (5.10a): S...[more]
Print a Mini-Guide - Includes Routes!
RSS Feed
