U-Mound

As noted above, there has been an "official" online site for the U-mound for years ( http://www.cs.unm.edu/~moret/u-mound.html ), and it's been the only source of info available for those curious about the area. However, the maps and descriptions are sketchy, grades are inaccurate and often do not reflect first-hand experience, and many of the best problems are left out. The info available here should provide a good, and hopefully more reliable, supplement to that guide.
I'm only submitting problems I've done, and trying to include photo illustrations wherever possible. Please add problems! Photos, too. If you don't have a camera, I'll try to get out and snap a pic of the rock for illustrative purposes.
While this section is by no means complete as an area description, it should at least get you through a very enjoyable day at the boulders. I've included many of the best moderates, particularly those which are relatively skin-friendly, and a few harder problems. I'll add more as I get the time - or be my guest and add some yourself. There are plenty of problems not included here, on both ends of the difficulty spectrum, so go out and explore. But beware - there are a lot of sharp holds just waiting to tear your flesh!
Also beware that as the weather heats up, the rock gets slick, especially in the full sun. Feet and fingertips can pop off without warning, and the dark, smooth blobs that sometimes seem to offer a good way off the ground can become treacherous (knee bangers). Also, bugs can be bad in the warmer months, especially in the evening when temps are more tolerable. Better to head up to Big Block or pack the car (cooler, family, dog, etc.) for a trip to one of the many good bouldering areas further north in that case.
I've tried to give fair ratings here, and when possible I defer to consensus of the local boulderering community. So please write in with comments if you think grades are off. My intent was not to give exact ratings for every problem, particularly given the unusual nature of the climbing for many folks in this area, but rather to try to give a consistent, ballpark sense of difficulty. While many of the grades have been softened in comparison with those on the "official" U-mound bouldering web site, they may still seem stiff if you're not used to granite crimping and pebble-pulling (gym rats take note), particularly at the low end of the spectrum.

FYI these boulders were popular w/Alb.locals during the 70's.Mainly Gerry Feis and Bob Stauch.

Thanks for adding routes and correcting names, Lee. I'll try to keep up with changes on the topos, etc.
By the way (anybody), there are a few areas that could use some route descriptions - eg, the north side of the Lower Mound and the cluster of boulders south of the warmup (Jack & Jill) boulders - I think they're called "slabs" and the "Andy's 'Mom likes it' boulder."

Just a quick note. The warm up boulder is actually Brett and Jill. Back in the day someone spray painted it across the traverse. It made the left side really slick. I also made the map (110+ problems) for the Shredfest bouldering comp which my friend John Marino and I started 6 years ago. I have copies at REI if anyone is interested.

Dave and friends,

Thanks for the tour of the area and adding these pics and descriptions. This place needs to get some publicity, there are some really good problems here. Definitely worth a stop if your in Albuquerque.
S.

Glad to hear props from the discerning CO community, sesser125. Let me know if you're headed down again, and we'll give you a more extensive tour. Hope you don't mind having your photos posted.
Interesting to hear your opinion that the area could use publicity; I tend to agree. If this area were in CO or a more populated part of CA, I'd want to keep it secret, but here in ABQ, I've yet to experience problems with crowds. Or run into obnoxious climbers that make the experience unpleasant.