Mountain Project: Climbing Organ Mountains

This group of rock formations is the some of the closest climbing for the Las Cruces climber. The majority of climbs here are trad climbs but a handful of sport routes can be found. Rock quality is often quite poor, as are some of the old fixed anchors.

Cueva Rock is a historical site and climbers should be respectful of this fact. A hermit once lived in a cave under this formation, and should you visit this cave, your eyes will be drawn to the piton infested crack system that soars above the cave. This route is off-limits to climbing, due to its proximity to the historic cave, and to the tourist traffic that goes under the route. Climbing is not allowed in or around this area.

There is a $3/day parking fee, or you can get a years pass for $20.

Getting There

From Las Cruces, turn east onto University Ave which turns into Dripping Springs Rd. Follow this rd into the recreation area and turn left into La Cueva Picnic area. Check the park for hours.

The Classics

Mountain Project's determination of some of the classic, most popular, highest rated routes for La Cueva:

Flea Protein V1 PG13 Boulder, 15 feet Shady Side

The Bulge 5.7 Sport, 60 feet Sunny Side

Bolted Chimney 5.7 Trad, Sport, 75 feet Shady Side

Back-Scratcher 5.7 Trad, 60 feet Shady Side

Lichen Fun Slide - Right 5.8+ Trad, 130 feet Shady Side

Depth Charge 5.9 Trad, 40 feet Shady Side

Banana Splits 5.9+ Trad, TR, 1 pitch, 90 feet Shady Side

Stem-celled 5.9+ Trad, 30 feet Sunny Side

This is not a test 5.10 Trad, 80 feet Shady Side

Black Streak 5.10 Sport, 90 feet Sunny Side

Rotten Reality 5.10+ Trad, 1 pitch, 100 feet Shady Side

Monoculture 5.11 TR, 50 feet Shady Side

Featured Route For La Cueva

<a href='/v/monoculture/105798210'>Monoculture</a> alcove showing <a href='/v/torpedo/105953307'>Torpedo</a>, <a href='/v/uncle-wriggly/105953294'>Uncle Wriggly</a>, <a href='/v/depth-charge/105953299'>Depth Charge</a>

Monoculture 5.11 NM : Organ Mountains : ... : Shady Side

This top-rope climb is located on the shady north side of Cueva, near the eastern end of the formation. It climbs up a broad black water-streak.The 2-bolt anchor is located on a broad ledge which can be reached by climbing up one of the crack systems just to the right, or by scrambling up the low-angle slab further to the east to gain the ledge system. The climb consists of thin face climbing on crimpers and tiny finger pockets. The crux is located 15ft off the ground, but the entire climb is pr...[more] Browse More Classics in NM

Comments on La Cueva

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By Aaron Hobson
Administrator
From: Las Cruces, NM
Jan 19, 2006

I'm posting information about La Cueva in the hopes of gathering more information about this area. The climbing record in the Las Cruces area seems to be rather difficult to come by. I have been climbing at La Cueva without knowing any information about any beta. I have dubbed routes with my own names for simplification. Otherwise, every route would be called, "Route #4 north face" or something like that.

If you have any issues with my posts, feel free to set me straight.

By Aaron Hobson
Administrator
From: Las Cruces, NM
May 24, 2006

I've reorganized La Cueva into sunny and shady sides. This should also allow for expansion of the bouldering potential, and the eastern satelite formations.

By cuclimbing
From: Las Cruces
Mar 25, 2008

Some of the other formations east of La Cueva have a few routes. I've seen a few old pitons and bolts there. I'll try to get some pics and routes up soon.

By Karl Kiser
Apr 2, 2008

Cuevas has seen a lot of climbing over the years, probably at least since the late 1960s. I expect several of the newer bolted lines were older TRs.

The harder cracks were done on aid and many were freed later. Some of the strange old bolts in the area were used for rescue and belay practice. I will try to determine some of the older names.

By cuclimbing
From: Las Cruces
Mar 7, 2010

Hey Everyone. Made a photosynth of the Sunny Side of La Cueva. check it out. There's a very detailed crack above the hermits cave if you click there, also some close ups on anchors. Enjoy!! photosynth.net/view.aspx?cid=80be9083-4048-4acd-9129-f4d61aa>>>

By Kirk Hutchinson
Sep 24, 2012

Made the trip to Las Cruces from Tucson, AZ over the weekend. Loved the climb we did on Sugarloaf (The North Face route) and saw LOTS of long routes I'll be back to climb. However, we went to the shady side of La Cueva for some cragging on Sunday and was thoroughly disappointed. The rock quality was very poor and placing gear in this choss was less than confidence inspiring.. Also, most of the bolts that were there were chopped at some point, including upper anchors. Not recommended.

By Ian Harris
From: Las Cruces NM
Sep 27, 2012

Next time try Rough and Ready Hills for a good sport crag experience. Southern Comfort Wall in the Organs has a lot of good trad routes and will offer a "crag-like" experience... except for the 1 to 1.5 hour approach.

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La Cueva

Description

Getting There

The Classics