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!
Cliff band at Tunnel Springs
Description
This area currently features five 40' climbs on moderate quality limestone. All routes have bolted anchors, but all require gear placement. The routes are short but sustained. The rock is sharp.
The best season for this northwest facing cliff is on summer mornings (shade) or spring and fall afternoons (sun). This area is best considered as a convenient opportunity for climbers around Placitas/Bernalillo or the north side of Albuquerque to grab a couple hours of climbing. Basically, this is an "after work" crag if you want to do some trad leads instead of boulder.
The view from the crag is beautiful, especially sunsets. You will generally see very few people, mostly a few local residents walking their dogs.
The minimum equipment for this area is a 90' gym rope, 8-10 draws, and a half rack (single set cams and nuts). Gear is generally medium to small, and sometimes tricky.
This crag is in the wilderness boundary. All bolts were hand drilled. Please observe a wilderness ethic if establishing new routes.
Getting There
Take the exit from I-25 and head east to Placitas. 4.8 miles from the Interstate you will see Tunnel Springs road on the right (look for the cluster of mailboxes). Turn south on Tunnel Springs road (FR 231) and drive through the development to the trailhead. (This takes ~twenty minutes from north Albuquerque.)
The approach to the cliffs is a pleasant ten minute hike along the North Crest Trail which heads east from the main parking lot. When the cliff band comes closest to the trail, hike uphill 100 yards to the routes.
Tunnel Springs
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