Gendarme

Pretty decent route with a short approach. Makes for a nice afternoon if you hike up from La Junta in the morning. 

Start at the top of some easy slabs wherever you feel like roping up. the line begins following some butt cracks that take you up the slabs to the left side of the tower.

Pitch 1: 5.9, 60m

cross an easy slab to the right to reach a dihedral system. Climb up through butt cracks and some slabby face climbing. pass an old piton and look right to find a 2 bolt anchor. depending on how low you choose to start, this pitch may be longer than 60 meters.

Pitch 2: 5.10a, 50m

follow the same system of cracks. looking on the right side for a bolted anchor on a ledge at the base of a long chimney/offwidth behind the left side of the gendarme.

Pitch 3: 5.9, 45m

climb parallel cracks with the occasional low angle chimney move. Pass an old fixed anchor until gaining a small, uncomfortable ledge at the base of an obvious offwidth. Gear anchor. can be linked with pitch 4 with a 70m rope.

Pitch 4: 5.10c, 25m

Use hand cracks, finger locks, and an array of chimney and offwidth techniques to climb this varied and occasionally awkward pitch. There is good gear when you need it in the small cracks in the back, save some smaller sizes for the end. Belay at a bolted anchor at the base of a left facing dihedral. Leave the second rope here, as the next pitch can be rappelled with a single 60m rope.

Pitch 5: 5.11a, 25m

Climb the obvious, cool corner with a mix of laybacking and stemming on a small seam to the right. Starts thin and a little flaring, gear can be tricky to place but it's all there. hardest moves are in the first half, once you gain the hand crack the business is over. summit the gendarme and belay from a bolted anchor. 

Descent: Rappel the route with two 60m ropes. After the first rappel from the summit, use both ropes to reach the bolted anchor on the face to the left of the anchor used at the top of the second pitch. Two more 50-60m rappels will return you to the slabs at the base of the route.

summits an obvious gendarme at the base of Trinidad Norte above where the trail meets the base of the wall.

Singles to #4, doubles 0.5-2 would be nice. rack of nuts. 2x 60m ropes