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!
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
The name says it all. (Although it originally had no name!)
Start below a small triangular roof, pull up to a solid-looking 1/4" bolt. Face climb up to a roof (pro in crack) and traverse right on solid flakes, or take a more direct line with more funky pro, to a roof below a piton. Turn the roof which is suprisingly easy and protects well with a nut. From the piton to the next bolt up and right is the technical, but well-protected, crux with off-balance moves (AIRY!). Up from here past a 2nd piton leads to a series of knobs that lead to a deadend up and right, and the realization that what you need to do is leave the good knobs and take off on a slab traverse to the left with hands on a down-slanting "rail" about 10-15' above the pin (5.10R, SCARY!). My guess is you're looking at 25' fall if you came off on this section. Don't do that. Join the finish of Zig Zag Man through big plates/chickenheads to the top. Build a belay where convenient. Scramble right to get to the rappel anchors.
Excellent fun climbing, with intriguing moves at the cruxes and interesting route finding, but (in my opinion) a little bit scarier than most other climbs at the 5.11- grade at TP. I found it quite memorable. Nice climbin', Bruce!
Location
Airy Scary is near the left side of the south face of South Rock. You can pick out the first bolt... above a triangular roof near the ground. Descent: 1 rappel from the top down the south side, near Eagle's Nest, with a single 60m rope.
Protection
Cams to 2", nuts. You pass 2 bolts and 2 pitons on the way.
I bet Bruce thinks you're mad climbing above that old mank. Those 1/4"ers and pins were as good as they were ever going to be on that day he placed 'em around thirty years ago. You hang big sack long time.
"Airy Scary"...not his name for it he reminded me, he never named those routes. But he laughed hard and full when I read it to him..."that's good", he chortled. I could see the clarity of the first ascent in that pin sized pupil through his squinted eyes. I knew he meant that crux move was all that when he sent it more than thirty years ago. That is what this is all about. The unknown of a ground up first ascent and that sliver of success now, forever vanquished in the grade we read in advance in a guide. The moot-point. 11-, PG13. Risky, but do-able. No one knew then. The man's still got moxie at 60.
By George Perkins Administrator From: Los Alamos, NM May 27, 2008
Thanks, Mike... I really appreciate you sharing this story.. It's fun to hear of an oldtimer like Bruce who's happy when a (fitting) new name gets put on one of his climbs. This was among the best climbs I've done at TP... had me glowing for the next week.. Too bad I can't touch Bruce's harder routes! And Bruce-the-legend thinks WE're mad?
[I feel a little guilty for posting beta like this and reducing the next person's adventure.. but I figure people who want that don't visit websites designed to share beta. ONSIGHTERS STOP!]
Fixed gear description: 1st- 1/4" bolt. Looks in good shape about 20' up. Protects 5.10- climbing-- no harder than Better Red Than Dead... If you're falling here, it's best if you stop now instead of going higher...
2nd- angle piton in horizontal just below technical crux (11-). This is bomber as of May '08. I know, because I fell on it when my foothold broke (thus removing the last piece of loose rock on this climb). If you fall on this crux, it's not a big deal. It's about 8' to the next big bolt.
3rd- big bolt. Just after technical crux. This is probably not a 1970s original. To whoever replaced the original with this one, THANKS!
4th- crappy upward-driven knifeblade piton. "Protects" the psychological crux. You need to make 5.10+ slab moves about 10 or 15' above this, and I was not confident that it will hold a fall. I don't there there are any other options for gear on this section. You're looking at about 20 to 30' fall (if it holds), and 10-15' more if it doesn't.. but the bolt below it is big. I looked at this slab for a long time before going for it.
Both me and my partner (Mark S) fell once at the 5.11- crux, but got the slab at the top without coming off. For us, we usually fall on 5.11- at TP...
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