Potato Canyon Rock Climbing

Potato Canyon, in the Withington Wilderness of the San Mateo Mountains of west central New Mexico, is named for the rounded rock formations on the ridge northwest of the canyon. The biggest of these formations is called the Great Potato. A handful of smaller spires, the spuds, surround the Great Potato (a.k.a. Mount Ore Ida.)
The Great Potato and the Spuds are exotic pillars composed of reddish-brown, relatively crystal-rich ash-flow tuff erupted from the Mt. Withington cauldron. This tuff is densely welded and commonly contains numerous lithic inclusions; breccia containing andesite boulders present locally. For climbers this means relatively chossy rock with very few cracks or other opportunities for natural protection. But it does climb. The summit of the Great Potato is an intricate, super cool series of small bowls and has only been visited by a couple climbers ever.