A tricky start leads to fun moves onto sloping ledge, then up a pocketed slab.

Miner League

Diamond in the Rough

Chest of Drawers

Tin Cup

Reclamation

Blood Diamond

Miner's Crack

Dirty Low Down

Angle of Repose

Contributing to the Delinquency of a Miner

Tailings Pile

Butterscotch TR

Project (J&Joel)

Diamond Toprope

Crack of Five

Claimjumper?

Miner's Lung

Major Miner

Unknown (26)

Vein

Black Diamond

Barney Rubble

Gold Flake Arete

Core Sample

Butterscotch Corner

Gold Pan

Strike It Rich!

Lode

Hippie Crack

Project/Toprope

Deep Purple

Ah-Ah Arete

Jawbone

Miner Threat

Fools Gold

Amalgamation

Clean Slate

Miner Delay

Mr. Slate

Hippie Joe's Face

Mother

Use Your Words

The first half of this route climbs up mediocre 5.11 edges. Some hollow rock in the middle gives up a rest and gets you to the headwall.  The headwall section has big pumpy moves with some big holds on steep bullet rock.  Pumpy dynamic and FUN! For full grade value traverse left to second anchor slightly higher and left.

Start in powerful layback or step in from the left. Tricky pro low, nice easy finish.

Hand crack in dark rock. Loose block at top.

Thin crack and edge climbing lead you to a pull over a large chalk stone.  Finish in a left facing corner. 

Thor Husted climbing Reclamation for the first ascent.

Nice finger crack. Please do not climb on or touch rock art

Starts in poor quality rock up to better rock and crack in right facing corner. Crux at top. Shares anchor with Core Sample.

Start off stacked blocks and pull a V0 boulder problem to gain this easier trad lead. A bit of loose rock gives way to better rock and pro above.

A bit of loose rock midway gives way to cleaner stone and nice cracks above.

A thin face climb with the crux near the top.

One bolt gets you started in a hollow sounding crack that leads up to the clean headwall and harder climbing above

A wide crack hidden in corner on good rock. Shares anchor with Gold Pan

Good rock and easy start then crimpy at crux and slopes to anchor shared with gold pan.

Climbs black face left of arete a bit crimpy and contrived but  great rock. The arete can be toproped at an easier grade.

Nice crimps to the fourth bolt. Then a funky ledge midway gets you to a clean steep headwall with some sustained crux climbing above.

A thin crack in a small left facing corner that diagonals left at the top to a chain anchor, or continue up to share Miner League anchor 5.8+.Good rock up top but a bit of loose stuff on the ledge midway.

Climbs thin crack and edges, then traverse right under roof to join Clean Slate finish.

Starts with wide hand jams up to a large hollow block. Climb carefully over this into a short splitter hand crack in a corner this crack eventually trends right as the angle decreases and the rock quality declines.In the face to the left you can find some small pockets that will accept small C3's or TCU's for pro stay low and traverse left to share the last 8 feet of Blood Diamond.

Steep and pumpy flat crimp tugging leads to longer moves on bigger holds. Still a bit friable up until the solid finish.

Easy climbing up to a tricky crux followed by a big crux move off a crimp to the jugs. A letter grade harder if you continue left and finish at Gold Pan anchor. 

Steve Laycock leading Gold Flake Arete 5.11.  Photo by Jay Foley

Technical, crimpy moves up to arete with better holds. Rest halfway. Pumpy finish.

Nice moves on good rock with a sloping mantel finish.

Fun climbing up good rock with a crux at the start and on top.

Long and pumpy. Very fingery with several cruxes. Middle loose section is 5.5ish with lots of bolts that need long runners. 5 two foot runners I think.  Stay off arete and right of bolts in loose middle. Over bolted due to pocketed rock and loose middle. Great 5.11 to work with good moves and sinker pockets.

Steep finger crack with a rest midway 

Thor Husted on Hippie Crack 5.10-

Face climbing left of and shares anchor with route #26.

Crux is halfway. Pull over hollow block roof.

Steep climbing up arete to a big move midway, then left onto a nice face. Finishes at ledge at base of overhanging headwall

Steep easy steming up orange rock riddled with edges finishes with a crux on smoother rock up a slitter corner crack.

Sustained steep climbing on perfect rock with flat edges and an exciting finish. Shares anchor with Jawbone 5.9-  

minor threat

Fun climbing up short hand crack on good rock

Finger crack layback to a traverse under roof

Some loose rock down low leads to a wide hand crack up a steep face.

Power and balance up small holds and arete slapping to a rest on the arete. Finish up steeper rock with long moves on good holds. Expect a crux in the beginning and end!

Steep climbing on small holds. Shares anchor with Hippie Crack.

Start on small edges and use these to reach a few sidepulls. Go up the bulge on bigger holds and gain the anchors at a good stance.

Good moves on big holds, crux at top.  Great sport warm up.

Secluded Sport and Trad crack climbing on the West Side of the Rio Grande Gorge North of John Dunn Bridge. This is a "funky" area, some people have raved about the climbing here, while others have walked away without climbing. The cliff although very solid is scary looking with many fractures and sits above a rough dusty base.The climbing is well featured with lots of flat edges,crimps and cracks on mostly vertical to slightly overhanging basalt. The routes tend to be close together and short. Although a few sport routes are now 30 meters. The sport routes are well equipped and climb steep faces and aretes on solid rock. The trad routes follow cracks in faces and corners. Although there is typically ample pro the cracks can be jagged and be hollow or have some small loose rocks in the cracks. Expect tricky gear placements!

Description

Location

Protection

Routes in Miner's Crag