All Locations > New Mexico > Santa Fe Area > Diablo Canyon > Early Wall

Observatory Wall (Upper Tier) Rock Climbing

Climbing Area Map Wrong Location?

This is our best guess at this area's location.

Routes in Observatory Wall (Upper Tier)

L › R R › L A › Z

	Airbus T 5.11 6c+ 23 VIII- 23 E4 5c PG13
	Goodnight Moon T 5.11 6c+ 23 VIII- 23 E4 5c
	La Naris S 5.11 6c+ 23 VIII- 23 E4 5c
	Lichening The Serpent S 5.11c 6c+ 24 VIII- 24 E4 6a
	Luna Lumina T 5.11- 6c 22 VIII+ 22 E3 5c PG13
	Solar Eclipse T 5.10c 6b 20 VII 20 E2 5b
	You're Scaring the Horses S 5.12b 7b 26 VIII+ 26 E5 6b

Order Wrong? Sort Routes

Elevation:	5,500 ft
GPS:	35.805, -106.142 Google Map · Climbing Area Map
Page Views:	4,173 total · 28/month
Shared By:	Aaron Miller on Jun 7, 2006 with updates from George Perkins
Admins:	Shirtless Mike, Jason Halladay, Anthony Stout, LeeAB Brinckerhoff, Marta Reece, Stephen Chojnowski

Access Issue: June 1, 2018 - The entire Santa Fe National Forest closed to access due Stage III Fire Restrictions Details

Many crags in the Santa Fe area are closed to access due to Stage III fire restrictions. See the closure order at fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DO… for details. Climbing areas around Santa Fe that are on BLM land are open to access. Open areas are the Winter Wall, Solar Cave and The Shack.
See this MP forum post mountainproject.com/forum/t… for more timely updates.

Description [Suggest Change]

The Observatory Wall is the tier of rock above the Runway, on Early Wall. North-facing and shaded (good in summer). Reach these climbs by climbing the Runway (Lower Tier) routes below them, usually continuing past the anchors through a blocky section to a higher belay at the base of the Observatory Wall routes. Due to loose rocks, you can't easily/safely traverse very far along the base of the upper tier.

To descend, some climbs may require a 70m rope, 2nd rope, or shenanigans, or walk off to the left. Check the route descriptions to see the best approach pitches, and to see if you'll want a 2nd rope.

It's worth it, the rock quality and views are great.

Getting There [Suggest Change]

Follow the approach for The Grotto (a.k.a. The Notch) but head left (east) before entering the Grotto proper. Climb a route on the Runway (Lower Tier) to reach the upper tier, the Observatory Wall.