Tufa Climbing in the States?

Hey all,

I was on Supertopo scouring trip reports on a cold, rainy morning in the northeast and ended up reading a trip report about tufa climbing in mexico:

supertopo.com/tr/Cumbia-Cav…

It looked pretty amazing (and I'd actually done some amazing canyoneering near this area) so I checked out some links.. That led me to a a pretty awesome video (that apparently you can't watch here...annoying):

vimeo.com/105616007

While I may entertain the notion at some point of travelling to Mexico or Thailand to climb tufas, I was wondering if there is any decent tufa climbing to be had in the US...

Anyone know of any?

Sean (tommy)

St. George, UT is ground zero for diverse rock. There is a cool area named Sprocket Rocks north of St. George and west of Cedar City. The climbing formations are consolidated volcanic ash ejected from vents during volcanic eruptions. My wife and I have climbed most of the established routes there and the rock is strange and different.

Crystalline welded tuff and tufa (carbonated deposited limestone) are often confused as the same because they have parallel etymological origins but they are quite different. Although I am not much of a sport climber, I have been on both and they do offer similar strange climbing experiences.

Sprocket Rocks is a very cool area to check out along with Parowan Gap, northwest of Cedar City....which offers up conglomerate cliffs: welded Tuff covered in cobblestones. A bunch of sport routes there as well.

Tufa City

Thanks...I will keep those on the radar.

The Homestead

TommyWiggins wrote:Hey all, I was on Supertopo scouring trip reports on a cold, rainy morning in the northeast and ended up reading a trip report about tufa climbing in mexico: supertopo.com/tr/Cumbia-Cav… It looked pretty amazing (and I'd actually done some amazing canyoneering near this area) so I checked out some links.. That led me to a a pretty awesome video (that apparently you can't watch here...annoying): vimeo.com/105616007 While I may entertain the notion at some point of travelling to Mexico or Thailand to climb tufas, I was wondering if there is any decent tufa climbing to be had in the US... Anyone know of any? Sean (tommy)

Tufa Areas in the US:
The Homestead (as mentioned)
Reimers Ranch (Austin, TX)
Mormon Mountains (mesquite, NV)
Other areas around Austin TX also have some Tufa, but unfortunately, there's not a whole lot of tufa in the US

Well, it's not the U.S. but neither are Thailand and Mexico. Direct flights from JFK-GCM, then a short hop to the Brac, this week $485.

www.climbcaymanbrac.com

Check out Dixon's Wall at the end of the guide. Every route on the wall goes through the Tufa Zone. Some routes are almost all tufas.

Also at mountainproject.com/v/dixon…

Tufas don't do well in places that freeze. There's not much in the Mormon Mountains, though there are some on the southern-facing walls. St George has very little tufa climbing. Yes, it does have a huge variation of rock types, even just in the variation of limestone, but it is nothing like what you're describing/looking for at all.

Even the southern places, like Tufa City/The Homestead, which is a rad place to climb, isn't really similar to what you'll find further south. Reimer's is in places, but those are very short. For a true tufa experience, it's worth the extra hassle to get yourself somewhere more tropical.

steve edwards wrote: For a true tufa experience, it's worth the extra hassle to get yourself somewhere more tropical...

...like Canada.

...like Canada.

I have missed this crag. Heard rumors of some garden spot on a western island with iffy access. Even saw some old pics. Didn't notice tufas in them but I think they were purposefully obscure, like Bigfoot photos.

Come on down to Southern Arizona. Homestead is just opening up. It has some beautiful Limestone throughout and Tufas at Tufa City.

Sean Phillips wrote:Come on down to Southern Arizona. Homestead is just opening up. It has some beautiful Limestone throughout and Tufas at Tufa City.

Homestead road There might not be a lot of driving into the Homestead this year.

David Stephens wrote: Homestead road There might not be a lot of driving into the Homestead this year.

Oh yes, I've heard the road got beat up this monsoon season. Doesn't mean you can't hike in and camp for the weekend. ;) Its not that awful of a hike, just long.

Only one but fun: mountainproject.com/v/whamo…

Although not as popular or extensive as Homestead, The Dry (west of Cochise Stronghold) also has a few tufa climbs.

The approach is a bit easier, as well, with only one high-clearance crossing at a drop into a dry creek-bed.

I've climbed in the Homestead and el Chonta/Hoyanco in Mexico. Homestead doesn't even come close.

There are some large caves with tufas on the horizon in Monterey, Mx. A new area is opening up to development: El Diente. Cumbia cave and these new areas will give you tons of tufas in the near future.

Just By the Way...

... where there are limestone tufas and stalactites, there will also be rapid Stress Corrosion Cracking (SCC) of stainless steel bolts.

El Chonta had a bolt failure a few years ago on one of the first popular routes in the cave. It was near the bottom of the cave where it is wet and probably weak.

The main cause was the use of a wedge bolt instead of an expansion or glue-in. The Mexican climbing community replaced suspect bolts with glue-ins. A better alternative.

The Petzl Roc Trip spent a few days there a few years ago. Even on the older routes none of them failed after some whippers. Good advice to keep an eye on bolts in wet limestone.

manuel rangel wrote:El Chonta had a bolt failure a few years ago on one of the first popular routes in the cave. It was near the bottom of the cave where it is wet and probably weak. The main cause was the use of a wedge bolt instead of an expansion or glue-in. The Mexican climbing community replaced suspect bolts with glue-ins. A better alternative. The Petzl Roc Trip spent a few days there a few years ago. Even on the older routes none of them failed after some whippers. Good advice to keep an eye on bolts in wet limestone.

Why do you say "The main cause was the use of a wedge bolt"?

Wedge bolts are used in hard rock; limestone is relatively soft. There are many sites you can find out the difference in recommended uses. Basically there is a greater amount of metal holding the bolt in place in an expansion bolt.

The bolt pulled out when a climber fell; the bolt was intact but the rock deformed when the bolt failed. Now there are glue-in bolts instead.

manuel rangel wrote:expansion bolt....

You keep using that word... I do not think it means what you think it means.

A wedge bolt is a type of expansion bolt. By expansion bolt what you really mean is sleeve bolt which probably wouldn't have lasted much longer than the wedge if the rock was soft enough for a wedge bolt to pull out of.