Climbing Near Cloudcroft, New Mexico

The Upper Band is located directly above Shady Side. Area offers the same type of limestone as Shady and Sunny side although the top part of the band is slightly different. The best conditions are before noon. To get to The Upper Band, take the trail on the left of the Shady Side, go through the wooden board and turn right to the creek bed above Rebecca. Scramble up the creek bed and turn left to the next band of rock. Hike from the Shady Side takes approximately 10 minutes.

The Tunnel provides high-grade sport climbing on generally mediocre limestone, in a beautiful desert setting. This crag has been popular among Alamogordo locals for decades, but has only recently caught the attention of the general populace. Grades range from 5.7 to 5.14d, however, don't expect to enjoy the climbing unless you climb at least 5.11c. The crag really excels in the 5.12+ - 5.13 grades. With more than 15 routes 5.13 and harder, the Tunnel offers the highest concentration of hard climbing in the state. Like many NM crags, the Tunnel is an acquired taste. Cliffs become covered in dust and grime after summer rains, and the lack of traffic ensures that almost all of the routes provide a "First Ascent" vibe each time you visit. It's common for projecting climbers to clean their objectives from rappel prior to attempting. Others complain of the repetitive nature of the crags slopey crimps, the ubiquitous cliff-base graffiti, or the noise pollution common to such road-side crags. However, if you can disregard these drawbacks, the Tunnel has a lot to offer. The Tunnel is located entirely on Lincoln National Forest. Occasionally the forest closes due to fire danger, as in the late Spring/Summer of 2006. Additionally, as with any road-side crag, be extremely cautious not to knock rocks and debris onto the highway. Note on Star-Ratings: For my own purposes, I've decided that 3 stars is the limit for this crag, due to the stank rock. So if I give a route here 3 stars, that's as good as it gets! The Tunnel is approximately 10 miles NE of Alamogordo on Highway 82. Begin just North of Alamogordo at the junction of highway 54 and 82. Head East on 82 for 7 miles. The road winds up into the mountains towards Cloudcroft, passing several small limestone cliffbands. About 5.5 miles up the road, a dirt road appears on the right (south) side of the road. There is ultra-ghetto free camping down this road. At about 7 miles a signed pullout appears on the left (N) side of the road, about 200 yards before the road enters a tunnel. There is only one tunnel on this road, so its pretty hard to get confused. Please park only in the official pullout on the north side of the highway. The "Sunny Side" crags are located to the North of the highway, and the "Shady Side" crags are on the South side of the highway.

Located to the North of the parking lot, the Sunny Side faces South and is 'sunny' pretty much all the time. This crag offers the best stone and longest routes at the Tunnel. Routes here tend to be more technical, less steep, and more sustained than routes on the Shady Side. Cool temperatures are required to enjoy this crag when its in the full sun. As a rule of thumb, conditions on the Sunny Side are usually good if the forecast in Alamgordo is for 60F or below. Higher temps can be tolerated if there are strong winds. Additionally, despite the name, this wall does get a good bit of shade. When the sun is high in the sky (late April thru August) the right half of the wall gets shade until ~noon, and the left side gets shade from ~1pm to sunset. When the sun is lower in the sky, shade is rare, but even in mid-winter each half of the crag sees a few hours of shade. The Sunny Side is located NE of the Parking Lot. The crag is visible from the viewpoint, so locate it before you head down. The approach is not well-marked, but it is a good trail. If you find yourself thrashing through cactus, go-back! Losing the trail could certainly ruin your trip! Once dialed, approach takes ~10 minutes. From the Parking Lot, hike E along the N side of the highway towards the tunnel. About 50 yds before the road goes through the tunnel, cross the guard rail (on the N side of the road) and pickup a faint trail that parallels the road. This trail does NOT head down the enormous talus slope. Instead, contour steadily downward along a large ledge, just below a 20-30 foot high limestone cliffband. If you're thinking to yourself, 'that's not a limestone cliffband, its vertically stacked dirt' turn-around, head back to your car, and continue E along the highway to Sitting Bull Falls. Anyway, descend along the ledge all the way to the creek at the base of Fresnal Canyon. Once at the creek, walk upstream 10-20 yds, and cross the stream by hopping rocks. Once on the N side of the stream, head upstream another 20 yds, then scramble up 5 feet to the first limestone ledge, then head back downstream about 10 yds, and locate the easiest spot to climb up another 5 feet to the next ledge. Once on this ledge, head back up stream to the obvious 15-foot waterfall. About 10 feet downstream from the waterfall, scramble 15 feet up some cool flowstone, that unfortunately bears no resemblance to the rock you will ultimately be roping up for. Once above the waterfall, pickup another good trail. This trail undulates up, down, left, right, but ultimately continues upstream in the canyon bottom. DO NOT head straight up the hillside once you surmount the waterfall! It sucks, and it erodes the hillside. Anyway, continue upstream for about 50 yds, passing under a few large trees. Once you are directly below "Heatstroke" (on the right end of the Sunny Side Cliff), the trail begins to switch back up the canyon. Continue up for 2-3 minutes. The trail ends below "Melanoma"