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Alioth Rock Climbing
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| Elevation: | 9,750 ft |
| GPS: |
35.19896, -106.44254 Google Map · Climbing Area Map |
| Page Views: | 2,929 total · 18/month |
| Shared By: | George Perkins on Aug 7, 2010 |
| Admins: | Jason Halladay, Mike Hoskins, Anna Brown |
Description
Alioth is a summit on the north side of TWA Canyon. Its 700' southeast face is steep and one of the more compelling walls in the Sandias, but probably gets only 1 or 2 ascents each year. This wall is visible from the tram. Due to its aspect, this face sees sun from mid-morning to mid-afternoon. Because of its location and intricate descent, a day on the Alioth is sure to be a committing and rewarding adventure.
Getting There
From the Crest parking, down the La Luz spur 0.5 miles to the junction. Left at the junction (headed toward the tram terminal), passing over the top of Echo Canyon and Yucca Flower Tower. Just past Yucca Tower, the trail takes a sharp left, and contours across TWA Canyon.
Drop into TWA Canyon at its head, and thrash on down. There may be a faint trail, which picks up as you get farther. The trail is mostly along the south (tram) side. You'll first pass the nice-looking Trundle Wall on your right. The next cliff is Alioth- an unmistakable steep huge wall on the right side. Here the trail enters a small clearing and passes some downed trees just before the start of Aerial Boundaries on the SE Face.
Drop into TWA Canyon at its head, and thrash on down. There may be a faint trail, which picks up as you get farther. The trail is mostly along the south (tram) side. You'll first pass the nice-looking Trundle Wall on your right. The next cliff is Alioth- an unmistakable steep huge wall on the right side. Here the trail enters a small clearing and passes some downed trees just before the start of Aerial Boundaries on the SE Face.
Descent
If you reach the highest point on Alioth, prepare for the Sandia descent epic of legend. The guidebook says to make 2 rappels off trees on the back (NW) side, but we didn't see any rappel anchors, and we figured we missed the rest of the recommended descent (please post beta).
What we did is as follows, and was relatively efficient and avoids extra elevation gain/loss: From the summit, scramble down the right (NE) ridge a ways (mixed 3rd & 4th class). Rappel off a tree 50' into a bushy gully on the back (NW) side. [You can also go directly down the back to a small tree that has an old sling left there in 2019 and a 90' rap to the saddle.] Go to the Saddle in the gully on the back of Alioth. From the saddle, don't go down either gully, but traverse right on a small ledge, on the formation north of Alioth. Climb 15' of 4th or easy 5th class on an arête, then make an upward traverse to the right on a blocky ramp (3rd class), which gains a ridge crest on the back of the formation N of Alioth, between Echo Canyon and TWA Canyon. Drop into a small notch; climb out the opposite (NE) side up a 15' 4th class chimney. Regain the ridge crest, then hike just right of the ridge crest on game trails to the La Luz trail.
What we did is as follows, and was relatively efficient and avoids extra elevation gain/loss: From the summit, scramble down the right (NE) ridge a ways (mixed 3rd & 4th class). Rappel off a tree 50' into a bushy gully on the back (NW) side. [You can also go directly down the back to a small tree that has an old sling left there in 2019 and a 90' rap to the saddle.] Go to the Saddle in the gully on the back of Alioth. From the saddle, don't go down either gully, but traverse right on a small ledge, on the formation north of Alioth. Climb 15' of 4th or easy 5th class on an arête, then make an upward traverse to the right on a blocky ramp (3rd class), which gains a ridge crest on the back of the formation N of Alioth, between Echo Canyon and TWA Canyon. Drop into a small notch; climb out the opposite (NE) side up a 15' 4th class chimney. Regain the ridge crest, then hike just right of the ridge crest on game trails to the La Luz trail.
Classic Climbing Routes at Alioth
Mountain Project's determination of the classic, most popular, highest rated climbing routes in this area.
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