This is a pair of crags with a number of crack climbs.  You can drive right up to these crags, and most of the climbs are strenous, wide, sandy, or all of the above.  The climbs are all 5.9 or 5.10;...They are loosely listed in Eric's desert Rock Guide.  They have names like Dream of Dead Horses (5.10c), Dark Horse (5.9), Dark Horse Revenge (5.9), Zen and the Art of Dead Horse Maintenance (5.9), Mr. Ed is Dead (5.10b), Winnie The Pooh (5.9), They Shoot Horse, Don't They? (5.8), Cosmic Carcas (5.9), Troll Meets Mr. Ed (5.10a), Where Dead Horses Dare (5.9+), and other unnammed routes too.  A cool place to scar up your hands on some steep, short, sandy, slippery, strenous cracks in a quiet beautiful setting with no approach. The name of the crags comes from the obvious;  a dead horse, and a dead cow.

Dead Horse/Cow  Crags

Chinle Spire (N. Face)

Elephant Butte (Elephant Head Route)

Pratilus Spire (E. Face)

The Pope  (Primal Yawn )

Smith Spire West Face

Dead Horse Spire

King Louie Spire (Monkey Face)

Bentwood Spire (NE Face)

Rock Point Spire, N. Face

Los Gigantos II  (W.Face)

Standing Rock (Rock Point)

Round Rock (S E Side)

Many Farms Pinnacle  (So. Face)

Rattlesnake Arch (Buzzworm)

Los Gigantos Butte  III (Fiend without a Face)

Tsaile Peak (So. Face)

Edna Mode (Dead Horse Spire)

Pope (Supreme Being)

The Whale, NE Arete

Lucky Strike Spire

Window Rock III (Crag)

Start out with some A2 aid climbing, then to 5.9 hands, then cross over right to another crack system and more A2 (1-1 1/2 inch) to the top.  Rap from a sling around the summit.

This is a very cool and skinny spire in a very wonderful place.  The climbing is a bit dicey.  Pitch one;....climb up a slanting ramp with a crack . (5.9)  Pitch 2;  Climb 5.6 face and hop on a bolt ladder of various "things" bounded into drilled holes;...in the holes are bolts, pitons, and various hardware devices;....a hodgepodge of metal.There is a short crack section in this pitch;...then back to the bolts.  Pitch 3;  a whole pitch of  (You guessed it...) more bolts.  Pitch 4 starts with a 5.8 crack, which soon is A1, then a couple of bolts, then a section of really dicey soft/rotten rock ;  this be the A4 section, I believe.  The rappell from the summit was from a 6 mm cord rapped around the summit, backed up by a piton hammered into a hole......(Best bring some extra rope or a really really long sling to back this up.   Rap from top to 3....three to 1, and one to ground.

Climb (5.9) up to a hand section, cut right (hands again), and go around a corner (5.10a) to an O Wth (5.9) and the belay below and to the right of the elephant's trunk. Climb up a 5.5 low angle chimney to the elephants trunk, and cut left to the left side of the trunk (5.7) and up to a belay.  Pitch 3;  5.5 easy rotten rock to the summit.

This is a spire located in a beautiful, out of the way spot.  Pitch one;  go up a crack (5.7/5.8) to a reach (5.9), followed by a 5.10b finger section, a bit of aid, then 5.8 hands to a stance.  Pitch two, Continue up the crack(5.9) through a couple of bulges, ending on a 5.10b ramp which cuts to the right.  This area rarely gets visited by humans.

This is a very beautiful spire in a very isolated quiet spot.  The route climbs the SW part of the spire.  Pitch 1;  start out with a A1 crack to mixed free/aid, to a 5.10- slot;...traverse left and belay.  Pitch 2;  A3+, then an A2 crack to a roof (A2), then up a clean A1 crack just right of the arete.  Pitch 3 climbs an A2 corner ( on the left) to a cave .  Pitch 4;  This is the double overhang pitch;  Climb an A2 crack to an overhang that ascends over 2 roofs....after that , it slabs out a bit, to some A3+ placements;  step right and climb up the slot to a belay on the left.  Pitch 5;  scramble (4th class) to the summit.

This is a very interesting climb on a very cool formation is an extremely isolated corner of the Navajo Reservation. This formation blends into the canyon walls behind it, and is hard to spot from the road.  When you finally find it, it is an awesome formation shaped like a lightbulb. the climb is only 2 pitches.  4th class up a ways to to pitch one   Pitch one; a short bit of aid, to a 4th class traverse, followed by 5.7 hands leads to the top of pitch one.  Pitch two goes up a thin section (A 2), then to an overhanging section (The underside of the "lightbulb".)....maybe A3/4......more thin nailing leads to the lower angle section  and finally the summit.(Big cam near the top )

One pitch of nailing with a short section of mandatory free. This spire is only 100ft tall, but it stands on a ridge that produces about 300ft of exposure.

This small spire is in a wonderful location.  It starts out with a rotten crack (5.8), to 5.10b fingers, to 5.9 hands, to a 5.10a roof, then cut to the right to the shoulder of the spire (easy).  75' rap (one rope).

This is a cool spire that is easily seen from the road between the towns of Rock Point, and Round Rock, Arizona.  The spire is located sort of in a sandy wash;...and it has a small , pointy summit. Pitch 1;  climb up on aid, traverse a bit right, more aid, then crawl a bit right , then more free and aid up to the top of a small pillar and a stance on the left.  There are some fixed pins to rap off of here on the way down.  Pitch 2 ;  climb up more and belay on the left (again).  Pitch 3;  This is the headwall pitch...climb up a straight-in crack ( 1 1/2 " to 2"), aid and free, then traverse a ways to the right to the shoulder of the formation.  Pitch 4.  Climb up to one bolt (funky homemade hanger) and do a face move past it, and climb to the tiny summit.  Rap from slings around summit.

This climb goes up the West Face of the Los Gigantos II, which is the middle of the three giant buttes which are east of the tiny town/settlement of Round Rock, Arizona.  I did this climb in April of 1994, and didn't draw a topo for it, but I sort of remember the pitches.  Pitch 1; This pitch went through the lumpy Cutler (I believe it is called) layer of sandstone;....5.10 A2...not the best pitch of the climb, but got the team up aways.  Pitch 2;.  This is the crux pitch...it went up and right , through some thin sections, and some sections of not so good rock.  Slow and challenging climbing.  5.9 A3+. We got a rope stuck on this pitch on the rappels down, and had to leave it! (So be careful)  The belay is cool....5 fixed KB's right in a row;....sort of dicey;...as they are all in the same crack system, and sort of close together.,,,.maybe a bolt added to this would be cool.   Pitch 3;  Traverses back to the left to a ledge at the base of a thin crack.  Pitch 4;  This is the coolest pitch of the climb; the "money" pitch;   about 120 ' of the same crack system....I believe it was a corner that took mostly all TCU's the whole way  (except one #4 friend placement.)...Lots, and lots of TCU's   (maybe 20-30?....we had them with us!)_This went to the summit.  I don't believe this climb has seen a 2nd ascent.  This climb isn't in any guide.

This route climbs a scrappy pile of rubble very close to the road 1 mile north of Rock Point, Ariz.  The formation is on the east side of the highway.  The rock is so soft and poor, that this climb probably never should have been climbed.  It is pathetic and a waste of time to even THINK about doing this climb.  Someone was VERY bored to have even considered climbing this heap.

Round Rock S E corner route does have "moki" steep carved into the rock;...for awys too;...but then it turns into loose chinmey and crack climbing;.....at about 5.8.  From Eric's description in Desert Rock, he says there are moki steps AND protection bolts added by climbers.  We saw the Moki steps, and , I believe , some belay anchors, but there was moderate 5th class climbing, and we were surprized;...(Them Anasazi were good climbers, no doubt.)

This Pinnacle is easily viewed from the paved road ;  It is a cool looking little spire.  The rock is soft.  Pitch one;  Pin placement down low on climb.  leads to 2-3 " crack to a ledge.  Pitch 2;  climb up past a bird's nest to a 2-3" crack ....Loose rock, and climb up a loose pillar at the end.

This beautiful arch is located behind The Dead Horse Spire. (Which is on the high plateau behind the hospital in Chinle, Ariz.) Don't be fooled by the 5.7 rating;...this climb is serious, very soft, very loose, very dicey, potentially dangerous, and has a may-pop anchor to boot!  We loved it!  I got a few token pieces of protection in on the way up the side of the arch;...none probably would have held a fall;  my partner surfed a big slab of rock right off the arch following the pitch.  And when we rapped off the anchor (about 5-7 pitons), all of them moved and shifted with our body weight.  We had fun.  My partner (Cyndie Bransford) almost got bit by a rattlesnake on the hike over too.  Just a normal day out craggin' on the Res.  Alot of bang for the buck on this wild adventure.  (Got your curiousity up?) This climb is in no guidebook, and has probably never had a 2nd ascent.  I'm sure after reading this description, climbers will be tripping all over each other to get to this climb.......

This route climbs the East face of one of the Three big buttes east of the town of Round Rock.  This is the smaller one, and the one closest to the road.

Tsaile Peak is the large Volcanic Peak seen to the east of the settlement of Tsaile. Arizona.   Pitch one; 5.8 shelves to hand crack to belay ledge.  Pitch two;  traverse Right to chimney/chute (5.9) to hanging belay.  Chimney is hard to protect.  Pitch three;  Climb straight up steep rock (5.10) through some bushes to a belay ledge.  Pitch 4;  climb a flake on the left...tunnel through.  Pitch 5;    climb to top from left side of terrace, via a 5.7 chimney  The rock on this climb is loose.

North face of spire so it is shady most days. When the small TCU's started skating (a lot!), I drove in a pin and pendulumed right to a chimney. A repeat won't need pins (beakage) unless they want to tackle the direct finish. At the obvious ledge 10' below the summit I found a drilled angle (not TG's). Two older ropes still rap the summit. Aiding is awkward but not devious.

p1 starts on ramp and climbs chimney (5.8, 90'). p2 traverses 35' (5.5) and then up (A.0, 10') to ancient bird nest (with egg shells and mice bones). p3, 1" crack leads to twin "seams to 1 1/2" " to belay (A.1, 110'). p4 climbs 1" crack to roof (very awkward A.1+) then more A.1+ and mixed free loose chimney moves to summit. 

  One hole (angle) was drilled to direct summit raps to NW side. Other belays are clean w/ fixed pins.

Climb up the "backside" of the whale. We did this climb in 6 pitches.  Pitch one started out 3rd class, some 5.7, then into a 5.9 hand to a 5.10 fingers in a small roof to a sling belay.  Pitch 2 went up 5.10 cracks to a ledge.  Pitch 3;  up and left to a 5.10 hand section to a ledge.  Pitch 4;  Start with a shoulder stand, then 3rd class on the narrow ridge  (2nd be careful to not fall off ridge following).  5th pitch is third class up a big chasm/groove.  Pitch 6;  scramble  (3rd class ) to the summit.

This is a crag with various routes 5.7 to 5.10c.  They have names like West Face (5.10b), Diamond Route (5.9), South Edge (5.9+), North Ridge (5.7), Larry the Liar Gets a Friend  (5.9+), East Face Right (5.10c)....there may be more....but I doubt it.  They are loosely described in Eric's Desert Rock.  We climbed here because the climbs were short, the climbs were fun (for us......but they aint' all that......)...we climbed here after work, got together with friends, challenged ourselves, got some exercise, got cuts on our hands/legs/arms,...shreaded our novice climber friends, and all in a very quiet, secluded , beautiful place with NO approach.  I'm telling ya;... the climbing aint' too good, but the fun is good.  Steve Prakken made it up a few of these climbs;...he's a doctor, a non-climber, and a good sport who was game for anything;....He got top-roped up 5.9 and 5.10 desert cracks;...he got real bloody, and had a bloody good time as well.   We "discovered" this climbing area while scouting out rock formations from an airplane! There are dirt roads all over the place, some cool Anasazi cave ruins, arches, and windows, a few spires, ...all sorts of cool stuff to explore.  This area is hidden from the main road by a big dirt mesa;....but it's fairly easy to get to, once you figure it out.  Worth a visit;....if even just to satisfy a curiousity and check out a cool area.

These are the climbs and formations centered around Round Rock, Rock Point, Many Farms, Tsaile, and Chinle.

Description

Location

Protection

Routes in Central Reservation Climbs