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Elevation: 5,800 ft
GPS: 34.0045, -106.989
Google Map · Climbing Area Map
Page Views: 499,802 total · 2,263/month
Shared By: Bob Broilo on Jan 27, 2006
Admins: Jason Halladay, Mike Hoskins, Anna Brown

Description Suggest change

This area has a series of cliffs and boulders of mixed-quality rhyolite. Nice area for winter climbing and bouldering on days with mild winter temperatures. Summer can be hot and buggy, but shade can be found and many sport climbing faces are very pleasant in the mornings. One can find a plethora of moderate sport routes in the 5.10- 5.11 range, most of which are bolted, though some are mixed and require the occasional gear placement.

Though initial impression of rock quality may be disappointing, much of the rock is actually quite solid (and it varies depending on the area you are climbing at). Some of the looser faces have some routes that have had holds reinforced with glue, and some were chipped.

Well the climbing is fun, the bouldering is spectacular, particularly up at Alf Rig.

The best camping here is south of the cattle guard, south of the parking for the southern areas. There is a pulloff to the left that is sheltered from the wind and gets good morning sun.

Box can be broken up into four major areas to ease navigation:

Northern Box areas are accessed from the first large parking area. This parking area has a toilet, trash container, and information kiosk. Areas served by this parking include Red Wall, Waterfall Wall, Streambed, Dirt Wall, and Wine Wall.

Southern Box areas are mostly accessed by following the road south through the wash and up and over the hill. There is a good trail serving Major Wall, Alcohol Wall, Pocket Change, etc. on the northern end of this parking. Another trail on the south end of the parking near the cattle guard heads to Unbeatable Boulder, Tres Hermanans, Harmonica Convention, etc. Please don't park in the turnaround spot and please use the trails as this is a delicate environment.

Spook parking is accessed by turning off US60 before The Box.

The western Box areas generally are more scattered and require a bit more hiking. These include Alf Rig, Inflatable Hitler Wall, Hidden Wall, Dog Ball Banana Wall, and Mesquite BBQ Wall. There is no general parking and the trails are faint or overgrown.

Rack: 10 draws, set of wires, and a single set of Camalots up to #3 should be fine. Though, just a set of quick draws will get you up a most of the routes.

Resources Suggest change

Online:
- The Socorro Bouldering Guide:
infohost.nmt.edu/~bob/bould…

- An seemingly abandoned but promising guide to both the boulders and the cliffs:
enchantedtower.com
enchantedtower.com/PrintDra…

Guidebooks:
"New Mexico Bouldering" by Owen Summerscales, 2016
newmexicobouldering.com/

“Rock Climbing New Mexico” by Dennis R. Jackson. Incomplete and inaccurate, but currently the only in-print guide to the sport climbing.

"The Enchanted Tower, Sport Climbing Socorro and Datil, New Mexico" by Salomon Maestas and Matthew A. Jones, 1993. (Out of print)

Getting There

Suggest change
Find Socorro on Interstate 25 (about 1 hour south of Albuquerque). From there head west on US highway 60, and drive about 7 miles. Keep your eyes peeled left as you cross a bridge (you are driving over the bridge that goes over the canyon), and you will see The Box to your left. Just after crossing that bridge turn left onto a dirt road. You will see a sign for The Box. Follow the road over and then down the hill about 0.25 miles, take a left, and you will find parking for the northern Box areas. The southern and western Box areas are about a mile further down the road to the south.

411 Total Climbs

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Classic Climbing Routes at The Box Climbing Areas

Mountain Project's determination of the classic, most popular, highest rated climbing routes in this area.
V1 5
 31
[Redacted]
Boulder
V2 5+
 59
Pressure Drop
Boulder
V4+ 6B+
 27
Sofa King
Boulder
V5 6C
 49
Rubber Walrus Protector
Boulder
V5 6C
 11
Heart-Shaped Box
Boulder
V6 7A
 13
Chewbacca
Boulder
V6 7A
 18
American Beauty
Boulder
V6 7A
 10
Left Roof
Boulder
V7 7A+
 13
Project Mayhem
Boulder
V8 7B
 6
Rubberband Fingers Stand/Meine G…
Boulder
V8 7B
 7
Gettin Fresh With Patty
Boulder
5.11c/d 7a 24 VIII 25 E4 6a
 36
Pocket Change
Sport
5.12a 7a+ 25 VIII+ 25 E5 6a
 35
Bat out of Hell
Sport
5.13a 7c+ 29 IX+ 29 E6 6c
 27
The Demon
Sport
5.13b 8a 29 IX+ 30 E7 6c
 12
Ride the Lightning
Sport
Route Name Location Star Rating Difficulty Date
[Redacted] Southern Box areas > Harmonica Convention…
 31
V1 5 Boulder
Pressure Drop Southern Box areas > Unbeatable Boulder
 59
V2 5+ Boulder
Sofa King Southern Box areas > Harmonica Convention…
 27
V4+ 6B+ Boulder
Rubber Walrus Protector Southern Box areas > Harmonica Convention…
 49
V5 6C Boulder
Heart-Shaped Box Southern Box areas > Las Hermanas
 11
V5 6C Boulder
Chewbacca Southern Box areas > Las Hermanas
 13
V6 7A Boulder
American Beauty Southern Box areas > Alf Rig
 18
V6 7A Boulder
Left Roof Northern Box areas > Streambed
 10
V6 7A Boulder
Project Mayhem Southern Box areas > Harmonica Convention…
 13
V7 7A+ Boulder
Rubberband Fingers Stand/Me… Spook Canyon > Spook Main Wall
 6
V8 7B Boulder
Gettin Fresh With Patty Northern Box areas > Cowshit Roof
 7
V8 7B Boulder
Pocket Change Southern Box areas > Pocket Change Wall
 36
5.11c/d 7a 24 VIII 25 E4 6a Sport
Bat out of Hell Southern Box areas > Major Wall
 35
5.12a 7a+ 25 VIII+ 25 E5 6a Sport
The Demon Southern Box areas > Major Wall
 27
5.13a 7c+ 29 IX+ 29 E6 6c Sport
Ride the Lightning Spook Canyon > Spook Main Wall
 12
5.13b 8a 29 IX+ 30 E7 6c Sport
More Classic Climbs in The Box Climbing Areas »

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