El Malpais

The El Malpais climbing area extends for twelve miles along Hwy 117 on the easern edge of the lower Grants lava flow from which the name was taken. The climbing is on soft sandstone and is comparable in quality to the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs. The area was first explored, starting in the Fall of 1975, by David Dahrling and David Baltz who had established thirteen moderate trad routes by December of 1976. Further action in the late '70s by Paul Horak, Mark Dalen, Charlie Ware led to additional routes, as well as visits by such out-of-state luminaries as Andrew Embick, and Earl Wiggins. Because of the intimidating nature of many of the lines, the area has seen very limited development since, in spite of the enormous potential. The vast majority of the established routes are crack climbs, entirely unlike the uniform cracks of the Indian Creek variety, but of a more varied and technical nature. Due to the soft rock, bolts and other fixed protection are rarely encountered, but nuts and cams work well. There is also excellent bouldering, the approaches are short--at most fifteen minutes from the car--and the climbing season runs from February through November.

One note about local ethics: The Malpais has traditionally been a 'ground up' area. What few bolts and fixed pins that exist were placed on the lead. Due to the soft nature of the rock, the wilderness area partially covering the major walls, and Acoma reservation, sport routes are strongly discouraged.