Some rocks in this area are on private property. Property owner requests signed waiver. MORE INFO >>>
The remainder are on US Forest Service land. A map detailing the public areas can be obtained from the ranger station en route to the rocks from the village of Tres Piedras. According to Jan Studebaker: "The property line runs from approximately the current east corner by the access gate in a straight line over the top of South Rock to the top middle of the Chicken Heads/Mosaic Wall mount, and from there west down the mount slope to the meadow just south of the Alley climbs. Some of the most popular routes are completely on private property. There are survey markers on the top of South rock (the mysterious aluminum stake stuck in the rock) and on top of the Mosaic rock (most of the time buried in water in a pot hole.)"
A new online Tres Piedras Route Guide from LA Mountaineers has been updated with the latest access information, and should be read by all Tres Piedras climbers. Group climb leaders, and Climbing Directors (future or past) should take particular note. From the guide:
Access Notes: Tres Piedras climbers should sign the waiver found on this page because the popular South Rock is mostly on private land, as is some of the access to the area. The landowner, requests a waiver, NO fires, no chalk and "please close any gates".
In order to nurture greater landowner acceptance of climbers, participants of group climbs are requested to organize quick clean up activities before leaving the area; this should include the climbing area as well as the access roads (trip leaders could supply plastic grocery bags). Small parties should practice "leave no trace" principles.
On August 19, 2009 the landowner stated: "Yes I still own the property, and yes I'd still like to have waivers on hand - even or perhaps especially from your organization. Only once in awhile do I have problems with climbers, mostly not picking up after themselves. My biggest gripe is that despite repeated requests, the climbers don't remove protection (edit: colored webbing, shiny hardware) from the climbing routes, which is both lazy and unattractive. Your organization could do me a big favor by doing a group climb and removing the crap that others have left on the various routes so that it is both a pristine part of the landscape, and so that each climber must figure out his own route without relying on the handiwork of others."
BETA PHOTO: View of South Rock from the parking area.
Description
Tres Piedras offers a selection of traditional routes (some with bolts) on quality granite slabs, cracks, and steep faces. Spanish for "Three Rocks" Tres Piedras (obviously) consists of six major rock formations, with climbing on enough aspects to seek out sun or shade as necessary. This is the perhaps the best granite cragging in the state, with about 60 climbs on pristine granite.
TP has an undeserved reputation for being scary. Most climbs are well-protected at the cruxes but one should be prepared to run it out on easier low-angle sections of the harder climbs. Although some climbs have closely spaced bolts, it's not a "sport area"; so work your way up, starting with lower grades than you're used to, and if a climb looks like it's going to be runout, don't climb it if you're not comfortable with it.
First Ascentionist Bruce Holthouse on his Clean Green Dream
Image courtesy of andrewburr.com. All rights reserved. Submitted By: Mike Howard on Sep 11, 2009
Bruce Holthouse climbing Clean Green Dream on the the 30th anniversary of the FA.
In addition to the taller routes, the bouldering is excellent here and it is not uncommon to see as many crashpads as ropes.
An aging incomplete guide by Bill Johnson, John Joline, Cayce Weber and Lee Sheftel from the 70s is posted on the LA Mountaineers website here The 2 guidebooks ('Taos Rock' and 'Rock Climbing: New Mexico') are both excellent and virtually identical as far as the route descriptions and photos; 'Taos Rock' (unlike RC:NM) also documents some of the bouldering.
Getting There
The small village of Tres Piedras is at the junction of US 285 and US 64. From the intersection, go west on US 64 for 0.7 miles (past the ranger station) to an unmarked dirt road on the right. Follow this for 0.5 miles to the parking area (left at the "T", left at the "Y").
Holthouse to Hell is probably the easiest route up the intimidating wall right of Serpentine Crack with the Holthouse climbs, and is the best climb I've done so far at Tres Piedras at this grade or easier, at least, as far as I can recall.The Direct Start is recommended, and isn't any harder than the upper section of the route in my opinion. Begin just right of Serpentine Crack, face climb past 2 bolts, and reach an easy runout. (You co...[more]Browse More Classics in NM
Historical Query: In the old-school guide that is linked here, does anyone know what the capitalized letters in the route descriptions stood for? Such as: BLACK LICHEN (5.6 I, 1 pitch, B.P. ) CRACK N' FRICTION (5.5, I, 1 pitch, E. ) QUEEN CRACK (5.8, II, 1 pitch , E.D. )
What do the "B.P." "E." and "E.D." stand for? These are the only three acronyms that are used, appearing repeatedly throughout the document. Are they descriptions of the protection? Maybe, because "E.D." appears to correlate with climbs that were not free leads.
does anyone know what the capitalized letters in the route descriptions stood for? What do the "B.P." "E." and "E.D." stand for?
Chris, you may have already gotten this information but for the edification of others, I just recently posed this question to long-time local climber Norbert E. and his response was:
Norbert E. wrote:
But I think I remember that they refer to the protection on the route. B.P. is Bomb Proof, E. I don't remember, and E.D. is Extremely Dangerous. I think you will see that these designations are appropriate for the climbs listed.
Thanks for that info Jason. Dennis Jackson's books mention that a "classic unbound, self-published guidebook by Cayce Weber and Ed Jaramillo has been circulating since 1981."
But the .pdf that's on the LAM site is apparently not that guide. I've been told by a guidebook author that the .pdf is an even earlier version that was put together by Bill Johnson, John Joline, Cayce Weber and Lee Sheftel. (How old does that make it?). So, it'd be cool to actually see Weber and Jaramillo's 1981 guide too.
I'm still hoping someday to figure out the locations of some of those older climbs that aren't in the modern guidebooks (like where Puddin' really goes, or where Summer Dreams should be (I think it differs from Jackson's description), and comparing Bats in the Belfry versus Crowbait, etc).
Just spent three awesome days in TP! Great climbing and some great locals. Thanks for the beta, and the little pick me up. Can't wait to come back!
By George Perkins Administrator From: Los Alamos, NM Jul 20, 2009
It's tough to feel good when climbing at your limit over 30+ year old rusty 1/4" bolts.
Also, it's important to remember that: On most climbs at TP, and nearly all of those 5.10 or under, the fixed gear and bolts are in great condition and trustworthy, despite the reputation this area has unfortunately gained over the years. First time visitors, and climbers staying on 5.10 or easier climbs, should not be discouraged from coming here, and should not worry about bolts.
Here's my take on the known and suspect hardware to help people avoid (or seek out?), or upgrade these routes. The majority of climbs at TP appear OK. Don't hesitate to let me know if you see any scary fixed gear that I haven't found yet, so I can update this list: Lookout Shelf- From Here to There- 1 bolt- haven't climbed it or looked at it S Rock- Airy Scary- 2 bolts- 1st bolt is 1/4" but 5.10 climbers won't fall there; 2nd bolt ok; 1st pin ok; 2nd pin = junk Mosaic Rock- Summer Dreams- bolted anchors are ok, could use chains or rappel setup Mosaic Rock- Raise the Titanic- 1 bolt is ok(?); comment on MP says (2) pins should be checked Mosaic Rock- Clean Green Dream- possibly 1/4" first bolt - REPLACED 11/10/09 SS FIXE 3/8x2 3/4 Bolts with Fixe Hanger (all holes over-drilled 2 cm deeper) Mosaic Rock- Holthouse in a Haulsack- has pins and old bolts; the midway pin anchor could be improved Mosaic Rock- In Step- some modern bolts, some old buttonhead bolts, 1st bolt has no hanger- REPLACED missing Hanger on first bolt Mosaic Rock- Bolts to Nowhere- at least 2 old buttonhead bolts Mosaic Rock- Holthouse to Hell- all 6(?) bolts are 1/4"- REPLACED 11/09/09 Hilti Quick Bolt 3 with plated Fixe hanger. Thanks to Jay and Mountain Skills for the hardware Mosaic Rock- Direct Start- bolts are old buttonheads, but they held when I fell on them- REPLACED 11/10/09 with SS FIXE 3/8 and Fixe Hangers Mosaic Rock- climb left of Holthouse to Hell- old buttonheads Mosaic Rock- Serpent Face- all bolts are ok (may have been replaced at some point ~10 yrs ago?) Mosaic Rock- Better Red Than Dead- first 2 bolts are 1/4"- REPLACED 11/10/09 SS FIXE 3/8x2 3/4 Bolts with painted Fixe Hanger Mosaic Rock- Chicken Heads- the recently installed bolted anchor was chopped (might have been for a line left of this?) Mosaic Rock- 5 Years After - bolted anchor was chopped, but reinstalled -REMOVED SMASHED BUTTONHEAD, PATCHED HOLES, CLEANED SPRAY PAINT 11/10/09 Mosaic Rock-Dirty Diagonal- CLEANED SPRAY PAINT 11/10/09 Mosaic Rock- Tech-no-star- bolts are modern, rapping off the tree is lame, just go to Techweenie anchor instead Mosaic Rock- Seaman Girl- 1 buttonhead with SMC hanger Independence Gully- all bolts & anchors are ok Beastie Alley- Unnatural Attraction- only one bolt at the top of the steep section, there may have been a 2-bolt anchor here previously Beastie Alley- forgotten mixed line left of 41 with 2 old 1/4" bolts could be replaced Beastie Alley- mixed line right of Inner Sanctum- 1 1/4" bolt on this, but you could maybe get to the new bolts of I.Sanctum. Mosaic North- Jaws- one of the newer climbs, probably is good, but I haven't looked at it Middle Rock- Cowgirl Pump- haven't climbed or looked at it; Taos Rock says "old bolt" Middle Rock- Dragons Lair- 3 bolts, put in '90, probably is good, but I haven't looked at it Middle Rock- Grandmas Cancer- 5 bolts, haven't climbed or looked at it Middle Rock- Raging Chicken- 4 bolts, put in '90, probably is good, but I haven't looked at it West Rock- Alien- anchor was upgraded with chains in '08 West Rock- Geez Louise- haven't climbed it; RC:NM says bolt is 1/4" Aspen Alley- all bolts and anchors are ok North Rock- I haven't been out here. Supposedly some of these were chopped; and/or are 1/4" bolts.
Edit: made a few more edits to above list after another day at tp 8/09, and 9/09, and 10/09.
I agree with George--90% of the best routes at TP have good to excellent natural and fixed gear. The remaining 10% with gear in possibly poor condition are mostly harder routes or less interesting obscurities.
Kevin Riley, the director of the Anchor Replacement Initiative (ARI) sponsored by North Face and CLIMBING (thanks Matt), sent me this email after I requested assistance for the hardware.
Nov 9, 2009 Mike, We’re interested in organizing an ARI day where we’d provide ARI hardware, additional help and possibly TNF athletes to help with the effort. It would be best for us to have this take place over a weekend. Maybe in December? Would you be interested in making this an ARI Crag Day? Best, Kevin
Please pass the word and let's pick a weekend to give this crag some love.
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