Welcome to the New Mexico section of Mountain Project!
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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.
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Thank you for taking the time to make the New Mexico section of Mountain Project quality! We look forward to seeing you out there!
Some rocks in this area are on private property. MORE INFO >>>
...the remainder are on US Forest Service land. A map detailing the public areas can be obtained from the ranger station en route to the rocks from the village of Tres Piedras.
Description
A slab testpiece --J.Foley, in Taos Rock Jay is right. Excellent climbing on this one. Bolts close together at the crux make this a good one to taste 5.11 slab for the first time, but it does take climbing a section of 5.9+/5.10 with gear farther apart to get there.
p1) Clip the low bolt and make an awkward move (5.10) onto an easy ramp (this 5.10 section can be avoided by starting farther right, but if you want to avoid this move, you'll probably be better off avoiding the rest of the climb too). A directional above this move is beneficial for the follower. Ascend the ramp up and left 5.6 to a ledge below a slab identified by the fixed pins in the slab (pro available in finger size cracks along the way and before starting the 5.9 slab). Build an anchor, unless you have reason to do the climb in a single 60m pitch.
p2) Start up the slab, Clip the first piton, work left and up on thin slab to the 2nd pin (5.9+/5.10, rather heady between the pitons). A few more moves gain a diagonal crack (more pro, 1"- 3" cam ok). An intimidating but easy move puts you within reach of the first bolt on the final slab headwall. The well-protected face gets blanker and blanker with the hardest "surface tension" moves passing the final bolt (crux)
An intermediate belay at the ledge below the pitons and/or the final headwall is recommended to reduce rope drag, although I found it tolerable to climb the whole route in a single 58m pitch- a good idea if you have 3 people.
Location
Start below a single bolt about 10' uphill and left of Yikes Dikes on the west side of the north face of South Rock.
Protection
1 bolt down low, then 2 fixed pins, then 3 bolts, to a 2-bolt anchor, with some of your own trad gear in between..
1 60m rope works to descend the North side in a single rap. Find the center.
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