To Bolt on Lead or Not to Bolt (TBOL)
5.11+ YDS 7a French 24 Ewbanks VIII UIAA 24 ZA E4 6a British PG13
Avg: 3.3 from 8 votes
Type: | Trad, 70 ft (21 m) |
FA: | Doug Couleur, Lee Sheftel |
Page Views: | 1,489 total · 11/month |
Shared By: | George Perkins on Nov 24, 2012 |
Admins: | Mike Howard, Jason Halladay, Mike Hoskins, Anna Brown |
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Access Issue: Some rocks in this area are on private property. Seasonal Raptor Nesting.
Details
The remainder are on US Forest Service land. A map detailing the public areas can be obtained from the ranger station en route to the rocks from the village of Tres Piedras.
According to Jan Studebaker: "The property line mountainproject.com/v/new_m… runs from approximately the current east corner by the access gate in a straight line over the top of South Rock to the top middle of the Chicken Heads/Mosaic Wall mount, and from there west down the mount slope to the meadow just south of the Alley climbs. Some of the most popular routes are completely on private property. There are survey markers on the top of South rock (the mysterious aluminum stake stuck in the rock) and on top of the Mosaic rock (most of the time buried in water in a pot hole.)"
An online Tres Piedras Route Guide lamountaineers.org/Tres_Pie… from LA Mountaineers has been updated with the latest access information, and should be read by all Tres Piedras climbers. Group climb leaders, and Climbing Directors (future or past) should take particular note.
The landowner requests NO fires, no trash, no chalk and "please close any gates". Basically, be a good steward of the land.
In order to nurture greater landowner acceptance of climbers, participants of group climbs are requested to organize quick clean up activities before leaving the area; this should include the climbing area as well as the access roads (trip leaders could supply plastic grocery bags). Small parties should practice "leave no trace" principles.
Seasonal Raptor Nesting:
This climbing area is shared with raptors that nest on the cliffs. Help us maintain access and please avoid climbing near active nests/ledges that raptors are using. If a raptor is disturbed during nesting season it may exhibit aggressive defensive behaviors like vocalizing or dive-bombing. If you witness this behavior, retreat from your climb immediately and find a location on a different formation or a different part of the wall far enough away from the raptors that they are no longer noticeably agitated. If they remain agitated, then please leave the area immediately.
Raptor awareness is especially important during nesting season from mid-February to late May but needs to be considered through the end of August. Please report disturbed and/or nesting raptors to the Carson National Forest the appropriate district office (see below) and share relevant information here on MP. Human-raptor encounters can have negative impacts for the birds and climbers in the area. The Cason NF wants to maintain climbing access while protecting raptor reproduction and relies on climbers to recreate responsibly and share information in order to avoid the need for formal raptor closures.
Questa Ranger District
(575) 586-0520
Camino Real (Comales Canyon) Ranger District
(575) 587-2255
Tres Piedras Ranger District
(575) 758-8678
El Rito Ranger District
(575) 581-4554
According to Jan Studebaker: "The property line mountainproject.com/v/new_m… runs from approximately the current east corner by the access gate in a straight line over the top of South Rock to the top middle of the Chicken Heads/Mosaic Wall mount, and from there west down the mount slope to the meadow just south of the Alley climbs. Some of the most popular routes are completely on private property. There are survey markers on the top of South rock (the mysterious aluminum stake stuck in the rock) and on top of the Mosaic rock (most of the time buried in water in a pot hole.)"
An online Tres Piedras Route Guide lamountaineers.org/Tres_Pie… from LA Mountaineers has been updated with the latest access information, and should be read by all Tres Piedras climbers. Group climb leaders, and Climbing Directors (future or past) should take particular note.
The landowner requests NO fires, no trash, no chalk and "please close any gates". Basically, be a good steward of the land.
In order to nurture greater landowner acceptance of climbers, participants of group climbs are requested to organize quick clean up activities before leaving the area; this should include the climbing area as well as the access roads (trip leaders could supply plastic grocery bags). Small parties should practice "leave no trace" principles.
Seasonal Raptor Nesting:
This climbing area is shared with raptors that nest on the cliffs. Help us maintain access and please avoid climbing near active nests/ledges that raptors are using. If a raptor is disturbed during nesting season it may exhibit aggressive defensive behaviors like vocalizing or dive-bombing. If you witness this behavior, retreat from your climb immediately and find a location on a different formation or a different part of the wall far enough away from the raptors that they are no longer noticeably agitated. If they remain agitated, then please leave the area immediately.
Raptor awareness is especially important during nesting season from mid-February to late May but needs to be considered through the end of August. Please report disturbed and/or nesting raptors to the Carson National Forest the appropriate district office (see below) and share relevant information here on MP. Human-raptor encounters can have negative impacts for the birds and climbers in the area. The Cason NF wants to maintain climbing access while protecting raptor reproduction and relies on climbers to recreate responsibly and share information in order to avoid the need for formal raptor closures.
Questa Ranger District
(575) 586-0520
Camino Real (Comales Canyon) Ranger District
(575) 587-2255
Tres Piedras Ranger District
(575) 758-8678
El Rito Ranger District
(575) 581-4554
Description
If you can ignore the ethical ideology in your face, this is a very cool line up the best wall at Tres Piedras. (I'm joking a little bit, and respect that this type of thing was a big deal when this climb was put up. As for myself, I'm much more concerned about climbing than I am about bolt ethics. Search the forums for the answers to that.) It is nearly as good as Techtonics and Techweenie to its right, climbs in a similar style to those routes, and maintains an independent line. Although it's given an "R" for protection in the guidebooks, I think its similar to Techtonics as far as headiness (you have to be willing to climb a bit more than usual above your last gear), and confident 5.11 leaders should give'r a go.
Go up thin edges and plates to a high 1st bolt. A hard move after the 2nd bolt gains an obvious flake. I wasn't so sure about gear in, or behind this flake, but you can get some pieces in a crack above it. At about the 3rd bolt, it looks like a blank face, going left, then up, then back right, is the way; don't get tempted to join Techtonics. The difficulty eases soon after the 4th bolt. While you're looking at the 4th and 2nd bolts, old buttonheads, and deciding whether to punch it to the next crack, remember that Couleur put those in on lead from hooks, as he on-sighted, which must have been pretty fun.
I traversed right to the anchor for Techtonics, but it might have been slightly easier to clean the route if I'd gone to the anchor for the new climb to the left.
Go up thin edges and plates to a high 1st bolt. A hard move after the 2nd bolt gains an obvious flake. I wasn't so sure about gear in, or behind this flake, but you can get some pieces in a crack above it. At about the 3rd bolt, it looks like a blank face, going left, then up, then back right, is the way; don't get tempted to join Techtonics. The difficulty eases soon after the 4th bolt. While you're looking at the 4th and 2nd bolts, old buttonheads, and deciding whether to punch it to the next crack, remember that Couleur put those in on lead from hooks, as he on-sighted, which must have been pretty fun.
I traversed right to the anchor for Techtonics, but it might have been slightly easier to clean the route if I'd gone to the anchor for the new climb to the left.
Location
The left-most of the "Mosaic" climbs. Scramble up the gully as for the start of Dirty Diagonal, and choose the left-most line on the steep, beautiful face above. A key feature is the left-facing, really big, flake, after the first 2 bolts.
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