Welcome to the New Mexico section of Mountain Project!
The contributions that are made to this site are greatly appreciated; this site is made up of an awesome community of users that make the site what it is.
Although there is very little information regarding “rules” for submitting climbing areas and routes to this site, the New Mexico Administers all agree that the following guidelines may be helpful to truly make this site go “Beyond the Guidebook”.
1) Don’t be a jerk (this one states the obvious). 2) Route and area submissions should truly be helpful to those out climbing. Before posting, you should have some first hand experience actually climbing the route. This always results in a much more useful description. 3) Please, please, please… Don’t copy route descriptions directly out of guidebooks, online publications, etc. This is plagiarism! Remember, BEYOND the guidebook! 4) Please use the spell check and make an effort to use correct grammar.
Again, the Mountainproject community truly appreciates the efforts taken to make good route descriptions. If you feel that a route or area description is not up to standard, a brief email to one of the area admins for suggestions on improvement will be greatly appreciated.
Thank you for taking the time to make the New Mexico section of Mountain Project quality! We look forward to seeing you out there!
Jason and Patrick at Mentmore
Description
A fair to good (I’m describing both the quality of the sandstone and the routes here) sandstone crag with numerous single-pitch, well protected sport routes (from about 15-20 meters in length) ranging from 5.8 to 5.12a. Climbing here is year around, and even on winter days warmth can be had when climbing in the sun. During the rainy season (July/August), you may want to check when the last storm occurred before making the trip from anywhere but local. When this sandstone becomes wet, it is quite fragile. This means destroying climbs when they are wet. Local climbers ask that you wait about 48 hours following a heavy rainstorm before climbing.
Because of its distance from highly populated areas, when climbing here you will typically only find locals. And in Gallup, the local climbers can be counted on one hand (well, depending on the season, sometimes you need two hands), so don’t expect crowds!
Resources: Currenly, there is a new guidbook to this area being written by Scott Halliday that should soon be locally available.
- Travel west on Route 66 (Hwy 118) .5 mile from Interstate 40 exit 16 in Gallup. - Turn right (north) onto County Road 1 for about one mile, the road makes a sharp turn to the left (west) and becomes Mentmore Road. - Take Mentmore Road about 1.5 miles up and over the hill. At the bottom of the hill the road turns sharply to the right. At this turn go straight through the open gate to the Mentmore Rock Climbing Area Parking Lot.
Another Mentmore classic 5.10 route! Though it appears that the rock will fall apart, it hasn't! Fun moves nearly all the way to the top. Start to the right an overhang, moving left to the vertical wall, and climb the flakes. ...[more]
I recently traveled from Colorado to Arizona and stopped at Mentmore to climb. I found the area fun with a variety of routes. Two remarks. Local climbers should get together and host a "clean up" day at the new area. I felt like I was in a rural ghetto with all of the trash. The bullet holes in the rock made me think twice about climbing for fear of becoming a target. Secondly, I found the ratings to be off a tad for what I am used to. 8s seemed 7 ish, the 11c/d felt hard ten, etc. allen
By Anthony Stout Administrator From: Albuquerque, NM Mar 19, 2007
"Local climbers should get together and host a "clean up" day at the new area. I felt like I was in a rural ghetto with all of the trash. The bullet holes in the rock made me think twice about climbing for fear of becoming a target."
It's Gallup, and that is all I can say about that. The local climbers have done MANY, many clean-ups, nearly yearly. The area used to be a dump, and the city paid to have truck loads of stuff removed. When I lived there we also removed truckloads of stuff. It's futile, junk is removed, junk returns. There have been two gates stolen from the road that leads into the "new" side. It's a frustrating battle for local climbers, of which there are too few to keep up with those who believe the area is still a dump (the same people who believe that every other piece of land is a dump as well).
Funny you mention the grades of the routes as being soft. Not sure which routes you did but Compared to many other New Mexico areas (Datil, El Rito, Diablo, etc), and even compared to Jacks Canyon (which can be very inconsistent to quite soft), I would say the grades are more stiff. Never heard anyone note the grades as soft, but I have not really climbed much in Colorado either.
I can appreciate the diligence of past climbers cleaning the area only to have it trashed again, and i sympathize. My meaning was that I thought this was a cool looking ( save the trash), fun area with easy access. A great place to streach the muscles and get my climbing fix while motoring across the vast expanse of N. M. . And you are correct, it is Gallup, but all the same I was there alone with my wife waiting for the gun fight to begin.
Lets see, I climbed, on top rope Sink or swim 11c/d and Not suitable for pregnant women,11a. I was able to get every move on both climbs with some resting on the rope between moves. I usually cannot get all of the moves on an 11c/d in several days of climbing and 11a's take more than two to three tries for me. So I felt these grades from what I am used to should have been lla for the c/d route and hard 5.10 for the 11a. I lead a 5.8, Purchase agreement that seemed 7ish too And the 5.9 just left seemed easier than the 9's Im used to in Vedewoo Wy and Colorado.
All that being said, I like that they seemed easier to me, made me feel like a better climber.
Finally, who ever added the topo pic's......Very Nice addition to this site. Allen
My wife and I climbed here a few months ago on our way to Cali. We thought the climbing was quite fun and the ratings pretty accurate to Jacks. The trash is quite an issue. Like a big turd on the bench in the parking area. uugh!!! I have to admit we were a bit afraid of someone breaking into our vehicle while we were climbing.
This place is truly a great area to stop and get a bit of climbing in. Well bolted with lots of moderates and an easy 200 yard approach.
Mentmore (Gallup)
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