The Altar, Monastery, CO. this rock may be 1.7+ billion years old It is a pegmatite and could have occurred during deep burial and heating so that lighter minerals actually melted and intruded rox about the same original age....OR..the permatites might be from a later magma that intruded the older base rock of CO. I only have an M.S. The minerals are feldspar and quartz and biotite. There is also a lot of tourmaline.

lin murphy > some climbs

The Altar, Monastery, CO. this rock may be 1.7+ billion years old It is a pegmatite and could have occurred during deep burial and heating so that lighter minerals actually melted and intruded rox about the same original age....OR..the permatites might be from a later magma that intruded the older base rock of CO. I only have an M.S. The minerals are feldspar and quartz and biotite. There is also a lot of tourmaline.

ID 106344268 ·

Flag This Photo

· Copyright Violation?

Lost Arrow Spire Tyrolean Traverse, Yosemite.<br>
Glacier Point is near foreground; Starr King in distance.

Verdon, France

Rate Photo

5.0 from 1 vote

lin murphy

Jan 24, 2009

“The Altar, Monastery, CO. this rock may be 1.7+ billion years old It is a pegmatite and could have occurred during deep burial and heating so that lighter minerals actually melted and intruded rox about the same original age....OR..the permatites might be from a later magma that intruded the older base rock of CO. I only have an M.S. The minerals are feldspar and quartz and biotite. There is also a lot of tourmaline.”

1 Comment

Nearby Photos

Denali. West Buttress. Mt Foraker in the background. This was Ray Genet's last trip up Denali.

Devil's Tower, WY

Lost Arrow Spire Tyrolean Traverse, Yosemite.<br>
Glacier Point is near foreground; Starr King in distance.

The Altar, Monastery, CO. this rock may be 1.7+ billion years old It is a pegmatite and could have occurred during deep burial and heating so that lighter minerals actually melted and intruded rox about the same original age....OR..the permatites might be from a later magma that intruded the older base rock of CO. I only have an M.S. The minerals are feldspar and quartz and biotite. There is also a lot of tourmaline.

Verdon, France

Arapiles, Australia

East Buttress, El Cap. Yosemite. This is the easy pitch after the horrible ant tree.<br>
Cathedral rocks in background.

El Cap. Free Blast. Yosemite

El Cap. The Nose, approaching the Great roof. Yosemite

Mt Whitney. East Face. CA

Smith Rock, OR. Dihedrals

Ogawayama, Japan. This is granite, but has sharp quartz crystals. Lots of camping and even some huts to rent.

Ironstone in Blue Mountains, Australia.<br>
Sandstone impregnated with iron bearing fluids. Great holds.

Indian Rock, Berkeley, CA. My research on this rock is at: http://www.ncgeolsoc.org/past-field-trips/northbrae-rhyolite-field-trip; Murphy, L., Fleck, R.J., and Wooden, J.L., 2002, Northb /https://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2002AM/finalprogram/abstract_41514.htm

Torghatten, Norway

Elephant's Perch, Idaho

Moonbeam Slab, Sweetwater Rocks, Granite Mts, Wyoming. Archean granite

Ant's Line, Gunks, NY

Red radiolarian chert--Akaiwa Seigankyo, Hokkaido. Such chert is part of the subduction melange. See also red chert north end of Golden Gate Bridge. Chert is basically 100% quartz.

Lofoton, Norway. Paradiset at Kalle

How to attach resident strings to personal top rope---Oahu

NOT ice climbing. Minoan Serpent goddess. Knossos, Crete.

Rivendale Wall. Mt Lemmon. Tucson, AZ. WARM & SUNNY in the winter. I love this wall.

NW Cuba limestone

Squamish, British Columbia

New River Gorge, WVA, Angel's Landing

Wanda Rutkiewicz and Denise: El Cap lie-back, Yosemite. Background is Middle Cathedral Pillar of Frenzy.

Tenaya Lake and Peak, Stately Pleasure Dome. Yosemite. I know this is blurry, but that is how we felt at this point. We skied up the Snow Creek Trail from the Valley, breaking thru 2 feet of snow.

Unicorn Peak, Yosemite

Questa Dome, N.M. Question of Balance. Tertiary granitic rock, near the molybdenum mine at Questa.

Blue Mounds, MN. We are climbing on Sioux quartzite with glacier super-polished surface.

Ste Victoire, Provence France
<br>
Many routes
<br>
Too hot to climb mid-summer

Salathe in bad weather. El Cap. Yosemite

Death by Chocolate, San Rafael Swell, Utah

Matthes Crest, Yosemite. Cathedral Range in background. This is unglaciated high-country granite, which should be compared with the rounded, polished domes of Tuoluome Meadows and Yosemite Valley. This rough rock was too high to be smoothed by the glaciers that swept over Fairview Dome, Basket and Half Domes.

City of Rocks, Idaho. Scream Cheese. These granitic rocks have a crust known as "case hardening," which breaks off producing chicken heads, plates, and other edges. See also, my Heuco Tanks photo in the geology album.

Birthday Girl, Mt Lemmon, AZ. I always have a hard time on this route. Beautiful rock near Windy Point.

Haute Route, near Zermatt, Switzerland

Capo S. Vito, northwestern Sicily. December 23, with my great friend, Gianni Battemelli

El Cap. Lower pitch of The Nose. Yosemite

Oahu, Hawaii. Strings allow one to pull top rope thru anchors

possible new routes in CO. West of Buena Vista. I have a Bosch. Hoping to find someone with time and medium sense of adventure.

Blue Mountains, Australia. Phil leads on ironstone wall

Cliff with no climbs yet Front Range, CO.

Kalymous, Grande Grotto. Better than a barking dog

Aguglia di Goloritze, Sardinia

Kalymnos, Greece. Going there mid-Oct is probably too late.

Avalanche. Pamirs, USSR

City of rocks, Idaho. Delay of Game.

Pucon volcano. Chile

penguins rock climbing, Antarctica

Sheepshead, Cochise Stronghold, AZ

Welcome

Join the Community! It's FREE

Already have an account? Login to close this notice.

Get Started

onX products are built by adventurers, for adventurers. We believe that every adventurer needs to know where to go, to know where they stand, and to be able to share their experiences.
About onX
Careers

iOS App Store

Android App Store

© 2026 onX Maps, Inc. Terms·Privacy