All Locations > New Mexico > Albuquerque Area > Sandia Mountains > Cañon Del Agua

The Kingdom Rock Climbing

Climbing Area Map

Routes in The Kingdom

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Crown Jewel, The T 5.10- 6a 18 VI+ 18 E1 5a

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Elevation:	9,319 ft	2,840 m
GPS:	35.24525, -106.4563 Google Map · Climbing Area Map
Page Views:	343 total · 23/month
Shared By:	Hunter Corliss on Oct 8, 2023
Admins:	Jason Halladay, Mike Hoskins, Anna Brown Page Updates (admin only)

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Description

Towering over the south fork of Del Agua Canyon, standing proud in the northern frontier of the Sandia range the Kingdom wall stays tucked out of view from Albuquerque guarded by the impressive Shield. However, it'll surely have caught your eye if you've ever ventured up the Knife Edge and peered off to the North. While not as tall as the Shield, the Kingdom has fantastic potential for new-routing and exploration for the determined Sandia climber looking to expand the realm. At its eastern-most flank, Del Agua Spire is clearly visible from an overlook around the intersection of the Survey Tail and North Crest Trail. At the center of the wall is a surreal looking 400 foot tall arrowhead-shaped spire jutting out from the wall and just begging to be climbed. And on its north-western flank sits an immaculate 70 meter long slab called the Crown Jewel (5.10-) in a prominent open book feature.

Referenced in the Hill guide as well are three named features on the ridge northwest of the Kingdom that separates the north and south forks of Del Agua Canyon. These three summits are called the Three Pigs and supposedly have several low 5th class routes on them. This area offers a remote feel, stunning views of the north face of the Shield, and maybe even some encounters with wildlife– I saw two bears and a mountain lion... The Kingdom awaits!

Getting There

Two approaches exist for this area, the best approach will vary based on your climbing objective. For top access, choose the crest approach and park at the pullout for Muralla Grande routes. Start by crossing the road and heading immediately downhill over the guardrail and down under power lines until you reach the Survey trail. From here follow the Survey Trail west until it intersects with the North Crest Trail, at which point you will head north on North Crest for roughly a half mile. There is not exactly a trail from here, just a path of least resistance if you follow the GPX track you should be able to find a nice enough herd path trail to follow and avoid much bushwhacking. The GPX track also steps down through the best crossings for the limestone bands encountered, I left a hand line in place for the most prominent one. This GPX track will lead you to the top of the Crown Jewel which you could descend to get to the base with a single 70m rope. With some practice, this approach can be done in about an hour from the car to the top of the cliff.

To access the base of the cliff without rappelling, approach as for Del Agua Spire at an earlier cutoff that starts from the intersection of Survey Trail and the North Crest trail. There is a posted GPX track for this one also. Continuing walking past Del Agua Spire to the base of the desired area of the wall you wish to access. Definitely some bushwhacking, so be prepared for that.

The other option is to hike up Piedra Lisa as for the Knife Edge but continue north on Piedra Lisa after its intersection with Rincon Spur, eventually breaking off the trail and heading east up the first major drainage (south fork of Del Agua Canyon). It is unlikely that this approach will take you less than 3-4 hours to reach the base of the cliff.