You can access the top rope anchors from Rotten Reality or you can free climb a 4th class Lichen face around the north corner and descend a shaky 15 feet to the crack. The bolts and hangers are old and rusty, I use them but don't trust them....Bad combo. I would back it up with some pro. Hopefully, this summer I can get some good bolts in for everyone. There is quite a bit of rope drag from the top rope, especially when you get close to the overhang. starting the route and the overhang are the 2 crux in the climb. with a 60m rope the climber and belayer have to get a boost to be roped in. Awesome route with some nice hand and finger jams. Get's mellow towards the end, nice way to in the climb and a fun free rappel back down!

Banana Splits

B - Route

Lichen Fun Slide - Left

Back-Scratcher

Proving Ground

A - Route

Nothing to prove

Peregrine

Battle of the Bulges

Rotten Reality

Flea Protein

Kestrel

Torpedo

This is Not a Test

Pebble Steps

Bolted Chimney

Monoculture

Uncle Wriggly

Width of Reason

Swainson

Depth Charge

Garp Tarp

Meanderthon

Lichen Fun Slide - Right

This steep diagonal crack provides lots of interesting climbing; Off-width technique, finger-to-fist size jams, big face holds and awkward rest stances make it an interesting and committing lead. Midway up is a bolt, which is where most people end the climb. The upper section is "grunty".

Low-angles face climbing following a thin crack-seam for protection. At the top of the seam, the route squeezes through a small chimney-like section to gain the summit ridge. 

  Holds are mostly solid, but there is a lot of lichen on the route. 

  Variation: Using the 3/8" bolts as a top-rope anchor, climb directly up to the anchor. ~5.7.

The left side of the feature dubbed "Lichen Fun Slide", is a nice corner system. The rock on the main face is pretty solid, but the wall on the left side of the corner is suspect. About 20m high escape left onto a ledge with anchors. This last move adds some fun exposure. 

  Continuing up the left side of the "Lichen Fun Slide" is a daunting prospect. The upper headwall appears crumbly, steep, and poorly protected. Good luck (but perhaps bad judgement) to those who dare. If a longer climb is desired one can continue up Meanderthon or traverse over to "Lichen Fun Slide-right".

This large chimney is clean climbing with two distinct cruxes. Both cruxes are at bulges and are followed by a widening of the chimney where protection is scarce without crawling deep into the chimney. Throughout most of the climb there are good face holds, but above the last bulge, the face holds get scarce and chimney technique is the best way to go.

This left-sloping crack system is harder than it looks without being strenuous for the beginner. The crack is gained by face-climbing up 10 ft. Some lichen is on this start, especially if you are further left. The rock is also weaker to the left. Once the crack is gained, gear can be placed from a good rest-stance. The rest of the climbing is gentle stepping up the ramp, relying on the wide crack for protection, and keeping your balance against the head-wall which seems to threaten to push you out. the route tops out at low break in the summit ridge. 

  A variation finish can be had by climbing an airy face on the right, just 10 ft below the regular top-out. This gains an additional 20 ft of climbing over the featured face. However, there is not good protection on this finish variation. It does lead to a nice little summit though.

Suspect rock quality, but overall low angle combine to make a reasonable lead. The crack provides just enough options for protection to provide comfort. The first 15 ft is very low angle.

Mostly face climbing up this left-slanting crack/ramp. The start is made more difficult and tenuous by the lichen and a few rotten holds. These can be avoided by stuffing yourself into the crack, but where's the grace in that?

This vertical seam offers some interesting climbing for all of 30 feet. It climbs a thin seam, starting with lay-back moves, transitioning to stemming on rotten rock, and finally a few sharp finger jams to finish.

This route is the left-tending crack system just to the west of Bolted Chimney. Don't be scared off by the chossy-looking appearnace of this climb, it's better than it looks. Each of the three bulges present slightly different challenges. With some more traffic, the route would clean up nicely.

A couple of face moves get you into a slopey lieback.  Crux is the top out 15" up!

A short climb on a right-leaning crack through two large pods. The hardest moves are right at the start. The rock is generally good, with sturdy face holds and deep pockets between the pods.

This route climbs a short clean dihedral with very minimal protection. The crux is pulling off the ground, which involves slightly pumpy moves on decent holds to gain a stance about 6 ft off the ground. Continue up the faint seam to gain a low-angle slab to the top. The climbing moves are good, but the route is short and the protection is also kind of dubious. It provides a quick route to reach the treed ledge above where you can explore setting up top-ropes on the chimney climbs, or look for a possible second pitch to the top.

This climb is located 100' east of the Bolted Chimney route. It climbs a discontinuous crack system up a steep face. The crux is encountered quickly and finding the hidden face holds helps greatly.

This route is just right (west) of Width of Reason and follows the low angled slab up to a boulder filled gap in the summit. Some loose rock near the top of the route.

Located on western end of the Shady North side of La Cueva, this climb is a wide chimney with three bolts in the upper section. Fairly straightforward and excellent climbing on solid rock.

This top-rope climb is located on the shady north side of Cueva, near the eastern end of the formation. It climbs up a broad black water-streak. 

  The 2-bolt anchor is located on a broad ledge which can be reached by climbing up one of the crack systems just to the right, or by scrambling up the low-angle slab further to the east to gain the ledge system.  

  The climb consists of thin face climbing on crimpers and tiny finger pockets. The crux is located 15ft off the ground, but the entire climb is pretty sustained.

Mostly a chimney climb, the crux is the first 15 ft where you stem up on good face holds before squeezing yourself into a narrow constriction. Wriggle your way through the constriction to a rest ledge. from here, the chimney opens up and contains more face holds, making it a bit easier to climb. The back of the crack is slightly dirty, especially after a rain as this is one of the run-off routes for the large ledge above.

A large chimney near the middle of the north side of Cueva. A single large chockstone rests about 15m up the chimney. Once the top of the chimney is reached, gain the summit by face climbing on the right-hand wall, up a short crack. The descent can be found by scrambling off or finding rap-bolts over This is Not a Test.

This short top-rope is a good quick climb to finish off your afternoon at Cueva. The anchors are easily accessible and it has a great view over the Rio Grande Valley. That said, it's not a spectacular climb. At first glance, one notices many signs that holds have broken off. In actuality, the holds are all solid and I don't think more rock will be torn off unless you start to meander from the route. 

  The climb takes a vertical line up a short face, utilizing a few hidden,deep, and narrow pockets.

Charge into the depths of the squeeze chimney. Not as hard as it looks, although I find it difficult to rate squeeze chimneys. The crux is getting off the ground and into the squeeze. Some parts of the squeeze are smooth and dirty, others are gritty. there are a few great face holds in the squeeze but for the most part you will be inching your way upwards and trying to decide where you will least likely get stuck. There are two possible exits from the squeeze: 1) if you're small enough squeeze you're way under the giant chockstone at the top. 2) At the narrowest constriction about 5 ft below the giant chockstone, inch your way to the outside of the chimney. As the chimney widens, there are more foot holds.

I've soloed this a few times previously, carrying a rope along to rap down, but having made an earnest effort to lead and protect it today, I guess it's a route now. In any case, it is a nice way to get up high on an exposed false summit just northeast of the true summit of La Cueva (go over there to extend the route), and the view is great in all directions. The origin of the route name is lost to antiquity.P1 (70ft): The route starts near the northeast corner of La Cueva just left of an oak tree growing close to the rock. Pick your path up mostly unprotectable but surprisingly solid rock, trending right to stay on the path of least resistence. The rock is variably pocketed, which is great in terms of occasional jugs, but bad in terms of protection. About 30ft up and to the right you can put place a pink tricam passively in a small pocket by inserting and twisting counter-clockwise. Continue up another 30ft on easy but unprotectable rock and arrive at a nice ledge with a modern bolt+quicklink. FOr an anchor, you can back up the bolt with a Camalot #3 in a pocket above.P2 (130ft): Head up more unprotectable rock until a horizontal "crack" (that's a stretch) is reached. This crack will accept a good pink tricam placement, but there are also marginal options to the right for tiny cams or ball nuts. Climb up trending generally left toward a col. Consider placing big cams passively in large huecos but don't waste much time trying. Once you head into the right-trending corner/crack system above, you will be greeted with a yellow Camalot placement followed by a modern bolt 15ft thereafter that protects the crux move, which entails stepping to the right on slightly steeper rock (5.5). From there head up trending generally left with maybe one more small cam or nut placement. Arrive at a modern 2-bolt anchor plus chain just below the exposed false summit. Great place to have a beer and watch the sunset, though they'll ticket you if you do the latter.I did not put the 4 bolts on this route and I don't know who did. Let me know if this is a known/named route.

Don't be fooled by the bolts on this long slabby climb, it is not a sport climb. It is a long, mentally challenging climb around lichen covered bulges while dodging flaky sections of rock. Moving left after the second bolt is on the scariest rock and takes the most concentration. The rest feels pretty solid, but the distance between protection points will keep you focused. A more direct vartiation is to go up and left after the first bolt, and then follow the ramps up to the third bolt. A few marginal tri-cam placements could break-up this run-out, but a cool head is best.

The right-side corner system of the "Lichen Fun Slide" which continues all the way to the top in one glorious pitch. The start is on a tricky finger-crack, which peters out quickly to become 10m of face climbing on good licheny holds, passing an attractive bulge on the right. By-passing the bulge entirely, continue up into a clean corner gaining a spacious ledge. Stick to the right side of the ledge and continue up, surmounting the final headwall with awkward moves on good, clean rock. After these awkward moves you will be on a nice shadowy ledge, where the side-walls narrow down to form a tunnel-like chute. Chimney up and climb left to reach the anchors of Meanderthon, or follow the tunnel to reach the summit ridge. 

  Most of the climbing on this route is on clean rock due to it being the natural drain path. the section with the most lichen also happens to be the easiest. a good variety of moves, and exposure  make this a worthwhile and exciting climb. At the very top where the walls restrict to a chimney, there is an incredible stance where you can stand with one foot on either side and look nearly straight down the entire route. With a little engineering, you can even belay your second from this stance.

The bottom half of this route has great moves, and a nice vertical face. The upper half has abundant loose flakes on lower-angled rock. try not to pull anything down on your belayer's head.

The shady side (North facing) of La Cueva offers many challenging trad leads and is the best place to be during hot days, which is most of the time down here. Fortunately, the shady side has more routes than the sunny side.

Description

Location

Protection

Routes in Shady Side