All Locations > New Mexico > Santa Fe Area > Diablo Canyon > Grotto

Grotto Left (East Side) Rock Climbing

Climbing Area Map

Routes in Grotto Left (East Side)

L › R R › L A › Z

	Affirmative Action S 5.11a 6c 22 VII+ 22 E3 5c
	Bedeviled S 5.11b 6c 23 VIII- 23 E3 5c
	Bergers Bakeshop S 5.10d 6b+ 21 VII+ 21 E3 5b
	Better Late than Never S 5.11d 7a 24 VIII 25 E5 6a
	Book of Souls, The S 5.12b 7b 26 VIII+ 26 E5 6b
	Bush in a Blender S 5.12a 7a+ 25 VIII+ 25 E5 6a
	Chopping Block S 5.11a 6c 22 VII+ 22 E3 5c
	Diabolical S 5.11c 6c+ 24 VIII- 24 E4 6a
	Evil S 5.10d 6b+ 21 VII+ 21 E3 5b
	Good S 5.10b 6a+ 19 VII- 19 E2 5b
	Ken's Shitty Route (K.S.R.) S 5.10d 6b+ 21 VII+ 21 E3 5b
	Loose Bottom T 5.10 6b 20 VII- 19 E2 5b
	Muscle Crow S 5.12c 7b+ 27 IX- 27 E6 6b
	Paradise City S 5.10c 6b 20 VII 20 E2 5b
	Snazz By Nazz (aka Access Crack, Guillotine Crack p1) T 5.8 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c
	Under Powered S 5.12- 7a+ 25 VIII+ 25 E5 6a
	Waiting to Procrastinate S 5.10b 6a+ 19 VII- 19 E2 5b
	Welcome to the Jungle S 5.11 6c+ 23 VIII- 23 E4 5c

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GPS:	35.805, -106.14337 Google Map · Climbing Area Map
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Access Issue: Access Issue for Areas in BLM Taos Field Office Lands Details

Per the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Taos Field Office's ( blm.gov/office/taos-field-o…) 2012 Taos Resource Management Plan (RMP) ( bit.ly/2Kab3HO), "Installation of new rock climbing routes or hardware will require pre-approval by the BLM." The RMP is the document that guides all the BLM management in a given field office. Climbers are asked to respect this guidance and not install new bolts or fixed hardware on Taos Field Office BLM land without pre-approval from the BLM. NM CRAG ( nmcrag.org/) is currently working with the BLM Taos Field Office to establish specific guidance for new route development in the district and they hope to have a formal process in the near future.

Diablo areas within the BLM Taos Field Office management area are: The Shack, Winter Wall, Solar Cave, Lake Street and Styx.

Description

This area encompasses the entire left wall of the Grotto. Most of the climbs are typical Diablo climbs similar to Early wall, and Winter wall utilizing sloping crimps on vertical walls. As you continue up the grotto beginning around Evil Paradise (~100 yards up canyon) the upper tier's less featured tan basalt connects with the canyon floor, resulting in a more technical and varied style of climbing.

The rock, while incredibly dense, can be extremely fractured, requiring precautions taken to prevent rock fall. Climb cautiously and consider helmets and belaying (and standing) out of the fall line of climbers. Be especially careful after the winter freeze / thaw cycle.

The wall is East Facing so it gets morning shade and afternoon sun. In the winter it gets more shade and gets more sun in the summer. In early April the wall stays shaded until ~3:00. A good tool for estimating Sun / Shade beta is is the online sunearthtool.com estimator tool

Getting There

After reaching the Grotto area, the Grotto Left is the left side of the Grotto. This area includes everything on the left wall, except the upper Tier climbs.

18 Total Climbs

Route Finder - Best Climbs for YOU!

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Classic Climbing Routes at Grotto Left (East Side)

Mountain Project's determination of the classic, most popular, highest rated climbing routes in this area.

5.11a 6c 22 VII+ 22 E3 5c 70 ● Affirmative Action Sport
5.11b 6c 23 VIII- 23 E3 5c 41 ● Bedeviled Sport
5.11d 7a 24 VIII 25 E5 6a 16 ● Better Late than Never Sport
5.12a 7a+ 25 VIII+ 25 E5 6a 39 ● Bush in a Blender Sport
5.12b 7b 26 VIII+ 26 E5 6b 15 ● The Book of Souls Sport
5.12c 7b+ 27 IX- 27 E6 6b 11 ● Muscle Crow Sport