Routes as trad in New Mexico

Generally top roped as gear is marginal. Area classic, apparently.

Plus 2 bolts

Also known as Route 1

Up 5.4 open book to overhang (Or you may do fun face climbing 2 or 3 feet to right. Belay from under overhang bypassing it to right, with many great variations above.

Starts with a crack, ends with some stemming. Fun climb.

Finger and hand crack.

Blocky corner climbing for the most part. Set top ropes up above if you don't have any trad gear. Rock is basalt, but is of a kind which takes gear well.

Go straight up at the rock toe, to same chains as Cold Day in Hell.

Trad climb up series of cracks and small bulges

Right slanting crack right next to offwidth.

Classic finger crack

The start is located about 35' left of Digital Dilemma. Starts as an open book which may be entered from the left. The open book has a crack in the corner. The crux is an overhung bulge at the top of the open book. Continue around the right side of the bulge, surmount it and friction climb to chains at top. The chains were not designed for this climb, so if you subsequently top rope it, insert an eight foot long sling between the chains and the top rope to avoid rope drag. Carry small to medium cams for pro.

Start on the left side of the overhang utilized by Woof Toof Noof Roof, and climb to open book with crack in corner. Ascend left wall of open book, then traverse right to under overhang, then around left side of overhang to top. Top parts are offwidth.

Cabezon is a volcanic plug. Start south side of Cabezon about 40' west of end of barbed wire fence. Ascend small sized fluted rock finally going over a few ledges, or ascend about 20' on fluted face next to wall on right. The next to last ledge is full of Cacti. Belay at ledge above it. You will have about 1 foot of rope left over on a 60 meter rope (first pitch 5.5). Climb upward until you come to steeper cliffs and continue to the left over blocky boulders and ledges to a ledge on the skyline buttress (second pitch 5,6). You may want to break the second pitch into two to avoid rope drag. In front of you is a very wide (8' or so) chimney. Climb the textured bottom of the chimney, exiting to the right about halfway up and continue straight upward among the mushroom shaped blocks. Set belay in an alcoved ledge. Only tricams hold well here in odd shaped pockets. Continue up and leftward for an easy partial pitch to the top (more aesthetically pleasing route 5.5) It's three and a quarter pitches. Alternatively you may follow the textured rock to the top (easier, but not as cool.) Use standard rack to #2 or #3 Camalots. Carry up to #2 or #2.5 tricams for belay site protection on the aesthetic variation. Descend on 3rd class+ trail on opposite side of the volcanic plug, being careful not to get off route.

Route starts between sub-rectangular dark crag a short uphill climb from the dirt road and a pillar in front of it. The lower portion is a chimney with a crack up the face for protection. The top part is a continuation of the crack on the crag face and contains the crux.

The East Sentinal is directly east of the Sentinal. Climb up into an alcove 30ft up. From the bottom of the alcove climb up and left under an overhang then left onto the face and finger crack/flake that leads directly to the top.

Starts about 6 feet to the right of Chuckwalla.

Most of First lead is same as Miss Piggy. Ascends straight above small pine tree on wall with lichens. Stay left of arete but on right side of wall. Near top ascend arete, and swing around corner to finish

Starts about 5 feet right of Belly Flop

On the right side of the south facing nose. P1 goes up a messy gully to a large ledge. P2 step accross into a crack system that leads up to the south ridge of the Sentinal

Shares start with Upper Kors Crack then goes right when you come to twin cracks.

Up ramp with rollover short wall on right which forms an open book. Pick the ramp with the best handholds in the corner. Ascend between block in front and wall on right, then continue on easier blocky route bearing left and around edge on right to chains.

Straight up line left of yucca to chains. Start just left of nose. Go up fluting to just under hexagonal overhang, pass right of overhang and continue upward. Two medium sized loose slabs near top (don't do lay backs here).

Just left of Refritos, straight up to the anchor bolts above the Guillotine Cave. Crack that carves left towards Refritos and then back is probably 5.5, straight up is probably 5.6. Rock and pro is good. Finished on second pitch of Guillotine.

Up crack on face, which soon becomes a flare, and finally an offwidth crack in a dihedral. Climb on face just in front of Alcove proper.

Goes up the center of the face to a bolt. Not much around the bolt to stand on, but can clip in a 'biner for A0. Otherwise 5.11a. Continues to top

Climb similar to Elysian Fields, but straight up to a separate set of anchors further over to the right on the same face.

Between Baby Cakes and Benvenidos. Go straight up to chains. Start on face with small side ramp for feet, then rounded flake grab with right hand. Up on face, then work left onto recessed face with small handholds above and right foothold on rounded edge. The move up from this is the crux. Face then starts rolling off. Ascend fun off width with little bushy tree at bottom. Climb rolls off again, then 5.8 to 5.9 face which soon rolls off, hence to chains.

Follow the crack to the right of Zorro and then right up the arete to the Zorro anchors. The gear placements in the upper half of the crack are difficult until you start ascending the arete.

This route climbs the most prominent crack system south of the Honeycomb Gully on the east face of Shiprock. It follows that crack for 7 pitches (about 1000 feet) then scrambled up easy ground to join the Upper Honeycomb Gully. At the top of the Gully it joins the Regular Route and continues up the Lizard, etc., to the top. We placed only 18 bolts on the entire route, all of them for anchors at the tops of pitches. No upward bolts were placed.

Ascend first 60' to belay ledge then go up slightly to the left instead of moving right then up.

Between Digital Dilemma and Gila Monster. Route goes up next to crack 2' in from right edge, utilizing crack, slips right around warty bulge on right side of face and continues across face to Digital Dilemma chains. We top roped it; protection could be sparse.

This route climbs the chimney on the north side of the tower (about 5.6) to a spacious ledge on the west face. Then it climbs a 5.9 face pitch past two bolts to the summit. (When I led the FA of this route the two bolts weren’t there; Bob Rosebrough added them later). Note to admins: this route lies on “checkerboard” land——half administered by the BLM, half administered by the Navajo.