"Climbers or others may not use power drills to place permanent fixed anchors". The BLM has the authority to manage climbing activities in Wilderness Areas. Although climbing generally does not require an authorization permit, BLM may require a permit for climbing and activities associated with climbing on public lands. As established by the Wilderness Act and the BLM’s regulations on management of designated Wilderness Areas found in 43 CFR 6302, climbers or others may not use power drills to place permanent fixed anchors in non-emergency situations. Climbers may use hand-powered drills to place permanent fixed anchors. Appendix 1 lists some of the relevant BLM authorities that apply to climbing in Wilderness Areas.
Questa Dome is a 600-ft tall south-facing granite dome in the secluded Latir Peaks Wilderness area in northern New Mexico. The climbs here range from 5.10 to 5.12, and have quality slab climbing in the same style as sections of the S. Platte and the Organs. There are still some 1/4" bolts to be wary of, but many have been upgraded.
There is excellent granite bouldering along the trail to the Dome.
Season May through October. Can be hot on hot summer days. Watch out for thunderstorms, especially in July and August. It can be warm enough in April, but the approach may still be snowy.
Guidebooks: A guidebook or at least a topo is recommended. 'Taos Rock' and 'Rock Climbing: New Mexico' are both excellent guides to the area, and both include the best climbs. 'Taos Rock' includes 2 or 3 more routes that aren't in RC:NM, and a section on the bouldering.
Getting There
From Taos: Take NM 522 north past the village of Questa. 6 miles past Questa take a right at a sign to El Rito. Go just under a mile to where the road turns (at a house) to dirt. Veer right and then climb up the steep road for just under a mile farther. High clearance is helpful. At the T-junction, go right, and continue for 0.2 miles a small parking and the trailhead on the left.
[Most recently that I've been up there (May 09), I'd say probably NOT passable without clearance, but the road is in good shape much farther up than it used to be; if you've got low clearance, add about 1 mile of walking the road]
The trailhead is an ok place to camp. Don't drink the water from the stream without treating it, livestock are upstream.
Approach: The trail climbs through the pine forest and soon meets a beautiful creek. In early season, the trail may be flooded by the creek in some places, but should not be a problem. As the trail gets steeper, the dome is obvious on the left. Stay on the trail until about level with the base, then traverse left to the base of the rock. This will take 45 minutes or so.
To get to "the Legs" formation, head up on a faint cairned trail at the first place the trail meets the boulderfield.
The Classics
Mountain Project's determination of some of the classic, most popular, highest rated routes for Questa Dome:
Pitch 1: Begin below a short, curving half-moon flake about 20 feet off the ground. Climb up to the flake and then veer a little left across a slab, up, then left again across another steep slab below a flake. Hand traverse back right across the flake and into a corner with a pin under a small roof. Pull over the roof (5.11-) to a thin hands crack then go straight up steep rock past a bolt to a chain anchor. There are a couple of harder variati...[more]Browse More Classics in NM
A new route (The Ancient Ones 5.10a) is located on the southeast face of questa dome. Route description and topo are available at Mudd-n-flood and Taos Mountain Outfitters in Taos.
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