Tres
Piedras, Spanish for "Three Rocks", offers a very fine selection of
trad and bolted friction routes on quality granite cracks, faces,
and slabs. No route requires more than 2 pitches to attain the
top. The clustered formations at Tres Piedras have created nine
separate areas that provide for a variety of climbing styles and
difficulties (see the topo
below for the area layout).
Getting There: From
the junction of US 285 and US 64, go west on US 64 for 0.7 miles
(past the ranger station) to an unmarked dirt road on the right.
Follow this dirt road for 0.5 miles to the parking area (left at the
"T", left at the "Y"). Click
here for a map and satellite view.
Slideshow: The 2007 LAM
Climbing School closed with the graduation climb being held on the
fabulous granite of Tres Piedras. Great weather, excited
climbers and lots of fun! Visit Jason Halladay's excellent
slideshow of this event by clicking
here.
Alan Stagg and Rick
Light after summiting the "Serpentine Crack" (5.8).
Thanks go to Jason Halladay for the great photo.
Guidebooks: Jackson's
Rock Climbing New Mexico and Jay Foley's
Taos Rock are both excellent. The 'Taos Rock' guide also
shows some of the bouldering, and can be purchased through
Sangre de Cristo Mountain Works. The original route guide
(from the 70s) by Bill Johnson, John Joline, Cayce Weber and Lee
Sheftel may be downloaded
here.
Bolts, Ethics, and Access Discussion:
MoutainProject has an ongoing discussion of these important and
controversial subjects as they relate to Tres Piedras. It makes for a good read, and all are
encouraged to respectively add
to the discourse.
Access Notes: Tres
Piedras climbers should sign this
waiver because many
excellent routes on South Rock
and Mosaic Rock are on
private land, as is
primary access to the area. The
landowner requests a waiver(As of 2019, no waiver is required), NO fires, no chalk, and "please close
any gates".
In
order to nurture greater landowner acceptance of climbers,
participants of group climbs are requested to organize quick clean
up activities before leaving the area; this should include the
climbing area as well as the access roads (trip leaders could supply
plastic grocery bags). Small parties should practice "leave no
trace" principles.
On August 19, 2009 the landowner stated to
me: "Jan: Yes I still own the property, and yes
I'd still like to have waivers on hand - even or perhaps especially
from your organization. Only once in awhile do I have problems
with climbers, mostly not picking up after themselves. My
biggest gripe is that despite repeated requests, the climbers don't
remove protection from the climbing routes, which is both lazy and
unattractive. Your organization could do me a big favor by
doing a group climb and removing the crap that others have left on
the various routes so that it is both a pristine part of the
landscape, and so that each climber must figure out his own route
without relying on the handiwork of others. Gus Foster"
Printable Tres Piedras Route Guides by
Location
Thanks to
MountainProject and local climbers!
Overview of Tres
Piedras, showing major features.
Classics Include:
Thank You: Our heart felt thanks go out to the local climbers
who have written the web based route guides referenced on this page.
A very special thank you goes to MountainProject for collecting this
information and making it available for all climbers. LAM
supports MP's efforts by requesting that local climbers contribute
directly to MP's
site when new information becomes available on area climbs.
