Route 14

With fun climbing and good gear, Route 14 is a great "first 5.9" for the aspiring leader. Not as tough as many of the 5.9 leads at the Playground, for instance.

Begin with moderate moves up a low angle dihedral, aiming for the featured and steep headwall above. This airy headwall presents the crux, but is easier than it looks due to an abundance of positive pockets and edges. Continue up similar, but slightly easier, terrain to the top.

Route #14 in the

Pajarito Gorge main cliff. Crappy photo from before the era of digital cameras... .

To find Route #14, it's perhaps easiest to locate Route #16 ("Gorgonzola"). Spot the shiny bolts on Gorgonzola, then the thin crack just to its left (the thin crack is Route #15). Route #14 climbs the first obvious line left of the thin crack, starting in a blocky dihedral and finishing on a well featured face. If you spot a low bolt on a slab, leading to a flaring fingercrack, this is for Route #13, and you've gone too far.

Well protected. A single set of nuts and cams to a #3 camalot is sufficient. You will need to build a gear anchor.