Before cows, the plains were covered in bison. As the original pioneer settlers of the area found out, the high plains are subject to wild extremes of weather, and visiting during the full six-month climbing season (November to April) teaches you to roll with the conditions. Read More:Finding perspective in northeast New Mexico, home to some of the best bird-watching in the nation. Get access to more than 30 brands, premium video, exclusive content, events, mapping, and more. He had Googled the name on the crashpads, figured out the origins of the chalk, and was just holding onto the pads for safekeeping. Before climbers arrived in the area around Roy, this was, and still is, ranchland. The bumpy drive into Mills Canyon descends through the colorful strata of the 800-foot gorge, cutting through 160 million years of sandstone deposits, and takes you to the Canadian River, where Melvin Mills attempted an enormous agricultural operation in the late 1800s. Takahashi, a Yosemite-based boulderer, first came to Roy in spring 2015. Massive Rockslide Destroys Classic Boulders in Rocky Mountain National Park, The Mont-Rebei Gorge: Underdeveloped Big Walls and a Drought-Shrunken River. The tallest, Hokusais Wave (V12), is one of the boldest hard problems this side of the Buttermilks, a 30-foot wave of sidepulls and pockets with a compression crux at its crest. Photo: Eric Bissell. Above here are numerous hillside zones, including the impressive Tiger Stripe Wall area, which boasts a quintet of highball boulders, all lined up in a row in a stand of Ponderosa pines. Reserve Deputy Sheriff Flowers, a local who lives at the entrance to the Kiowa Grasslands, was called in and found Penner and Elliss chalk at the base of the cliff. And second was Roy, nestled in the cattle-ranching high plains of northeastern New Mexico near the eponymous farming village (pop. We were definitely exploring and discovering it for ourselves without any kind of guidance. Around 2010, word was getting out about Roy, and the next wave of climbers arrived, mainly Colorado boulderers. When everyone else is tired, he keeps trying, somehow managing to pull off impressive ascents above his pay grade on a last-gasp effort. For a California climber, it was incomparable. The land surrounding Roy, it turns out, boasts exceptional, accessible sandstone boulders. Roy has all of that. An affable and generous climber, he focuses on bouldering and developing. These lines, like most Roy problems at the time, were established in only a session or two, as Ellis and Penner would rarely return to the same zonethey were always being lured away by what lurked around the next bend of the streambed, as Penner puts it. I checked my phone again for a signal, toaccess a map. The 2006 trip sold Ellis on Roy. Weve pledged 1% of sales to the preservation and restoration of the natural environment. And in 1932, a road crew unearthed spear points within the matted masses of wooly mammoth bones. After a decade working as a climbing ranger in Yosemite National Park, Eric Bissell now works at the intersection of public lands and recreation through media and climbing. The waitress asked us whether wed been camping and climbing. Penner and Ellis originally envisioned Roy as a word-of-mouth area, which it remained for years. Climbing a new problem is like picking out a familiar face in a crowd of strangerseverything is abstract, and then a piece of the chaos comes into focus. Since they became public lands, the canyons and river have attracted a slow, steady trickle of picnickers, campers, and hunters after wild turkey and the occasional pronghorn. There was none. Bring ample water, food, sun protection, layers, and a first-aid kit. But the way I describe it cant be separated from the few years that I was able to go there with only a few friends, experience the empty canyons and climb rocks with no chalk except our own. Jane Jackson on a V6 near the campground. Theres no running water in Mills Canyon, and town, where you can buy bottled water, is 20 minutes away. When it was published, in 2016, the area became accessible to an entirely different group of climbers. Development in Roy wouldnt really kick off until 2006. Now amidst the porcelain lollipop holders and American flag paraphernalia, Ma Sally sells climbing chalk and tape. Snow takes advantage of the cold morning to cover the rolling brown. Thats when I was first introduced to the canyons outside the town of Roy, two-and-a-half hours northeast of Santa Fe. Both Penner and Summerscales say they rarely run into other climbers while theyre out, because they head to side canyons, doing the work theyve always loved to do and leaving the established areas for the newcomers. Youll find over 100 problems here of most difficulties and styles. As you climb on the smaller problems, these bigger lines loom overhead waiting for the right day. I assured him that we had a propane heater in our drafty VW van. I told him we should go down to the streambed, which was right there, and lo and beholdit was full of huge, incredible boulder problems on great stone! Penner just rolls his eyeshes heard this one before. He brought his mobile coffee shop, Carabiner Coffee, and served fresh French roast to climbers visiting on the weekends. Soon, along with Penner and Ellis, a tight-knit group of developers formed, including Masumi Shibata, Grady Ball, Aaron Chavez, and J.C. Cochran. Now the campground at the rim, nearest to the climbing, reliably fills when the weather is favorable (usually between October and April, when temperatures are cool). Stay up-to-date with what's happening in New Mexico. But, for us, the freedom and liberation from the climbing scene that Roy offered were what we wanted more than anything else.. We left the Mills Canyon Rim Campground, where wed been living for three cold January weeks, just before dawn on our last morning in New Mexico. On this trip, I watched a college outdoor club spread out in the overflow camping on their first trip to the grasslands and wondered what their reference point will be for this place. 230). Stop at Lonitas Cafe on your way through town for homestyle cooking and a cozy atmosphere (275 Richelieu St., 575-485-0191). The World Wide Wall also drew another surprising type of attentionfrom local law enforcement. Start by exploring the Jumbles, a condensed zone of boulders in a dry riverbed. Weve gone the wrong way, I said. Many of Penner and Elliss classic problems were being renamed by people who thought they were doing first ascents. This essay was featured in the 2019 Patagonia September Catalog. There were no secrets, but locations and boulders werent revealed until you could be there in person with them. Why Dont You Know About It? The orchard was destroyed in the early 1900s by a massive flood and never recovered. Maybe we should camp here and figure it out in the morning? my girlfriend, Jamie, suggested. Read More:The sprawling grasslands of Harding County anchor those who believe in community, a positive outlook, craft beer, and Lonitas classic pies. Photo: Eric Bissell. This North Face ensemble will keep you toasty and dry, with sweat-wicking fabrics and a next-to-skin fit. John Kuphal, a Gunks climber and good friend of Elliss based in New Paltz, New York, demonstrated possibly the highest level of dedication. In 2007, the Forest Service built one campground by the river and another at the rim of Mills Canyon to encourage and support more recreation. It was empty and wild, the canyons were elaborate, varied and massive. On one eventful weekend in 2009, he established Giant Prostitutes in Space (V8, and possibly the best-named boulder problem ever), a 25-foot highball with a sloping mantel finish over an ugly tiered landing. Social media muddied the waters of the word-of-mouth concept, and, worst of all, the duo faced accusations of being secretive and protective. (Miraculously, the rental company failed to notice the partially melted carpet.). Word eventually spread and Roy is now a known spot among climbers around the country. Eventually, Summerscales says, Roy will have moreand betterbouldering than the rest of the sites in the state combined. Although Penner and Elliss group had established quality climbing in most of the dozen or so canyons accessible in Roy, one area has notably stood out: the five-mile drainage of Mesteo Canyon. Start on the arte and traverse across solid juggy holds to a top-out that offers big views of the canyon. Ken Holder high on Beautiful Pig (V6), Middle Mesteo. Not only does each canyon have a unique vibe, but the shapeshifting stone varies enormously. He returned a year later with this line as his sole objective. Above:ClimbersMatthew Stephens; Tom Ellis and William Penner. The following six years were a blur of constant discovery and excitement. Our friends rolled in from Santa Fe, Albuquerque and Los Alamos on the weekend. Developer William Penner on Ergonomicon (V7), Upper Mesteo. We spent nearly every weekend during the climbing season exploring, breaking in trails, and sending new lines, eventually putting up nearly 1,500 documented problems, says Penner. But now the town is fading. Jane Jackson tops out an unmanned V2 overlooking the year-round Canadian River. Another friend told a story about getting a jump from a state trooper near Wagon Mound when their Tacoma shorted on the highway after multiple stream crossings searching for new boulders. A lone building leans away from a century of wind near the historic town of Mills, New Mexico. After a day of try-hard in the twisting canyons, the arid emptiness of the windswept flatlands hits you on the hike out. Suspecting drugs, he sent a sample to the crime lab (maybe he should have sent it to Friction Labs?). On one side of a boulder, you could find smooth, sloping handholds on pristine sandstone; on the opposite, a glossy patina on stone worn with age, presenting a different challenge. Bouldering is a type of climbing that involves scaling shorter routes, typically on freestanding boulders. Montana Has Granite The Size Of Half Dome. The problem starts with a gritstone-style slab then steepens to vertical. Id been in Roy for a month, climbing and taking photos with my partner, Jane Jackson. The turnoff to Mills Canyon is located on NM-39, 10 miles north of Roy, 35 miles southeast of Springer. AS YOU HEAD EAST OUT OF SANTA FE, veering north toward Las Vegas and then beyond, the mountains flatten out into vast high plains below a sweeping sky. Research chemist Owen Summerscales is the author of New Mexico Bouldering and a forthcoming companion guidebook for sport climbing. Hike further downstream of the Jumbles and you will find four or five similar zones, so much rock that it can be a challenge to scramble through this tangled confusion of water-polished boulders piled atop bedrock panels. All that remains of his town Mills are a couple of farmhouses on the highway, yet it used to be home to more than 3,000 people. Arguably, this is the most meaningful component of the Roy experience, a punctuation mark on a day well spent. The relationship drifted apart, but during that time I discovered a tiny, adventurous, laid-back climbing community and that rock is everywhere in the state. The shorter cliffbands on the canyon rims lend themselves to pumpy highballs and undercut roofs, frequently indented with solution pockets and jugs; calcified, conglomerate, banded, and cross-bedded rock add further interest. Streambed rock, meanwhile, sports a deep, uniform water polish that creates stellar sloper and compression climbingeven better when a Merlot boulder receives river weathering. Unsure about the reach, I measured the distance with a stick and compared it to my max ability. Getting to know them has revealed an impressive history, a remarkable story of how a small group of friends had this future bouldering destination virtually to themselves for nearly a decade. His workwhich expanded into many other bouldering areas in the state, including the Ortega Mountains, near El Rito, and the many popular sites between Socorro and Datilwould eventually become New Mexico Bouldering, the most comprehensive guidebook to date, and the first to include information about Roy. 2022 New Mexico Magazine.All Rights Reserved. Colorado license plates abound, and climbers no longer need to have a personal connection within the small New Mexico bouldering community to find their way to some of the best climbs. Late fall is ideal, after the first freeze has dispatched the mosquitoes and put the rattlers to sleep. But the associations of a place create meaningful experiences. Then its a climbing area. Its just them, the rock, and their climbing shoes. But the main areas have more cars at the trailhead, and the chalk is now too thick to fully wash from the holds between seasons. The rock was amazing. Ellis, 46, works flat-out for five months of the year in Alaska paving roads to have winters off in New Mexico. The place felt different than when I first started coming here in 2013, after moving temporarily to New Mexico for a relationship. They feared the worst, but it turned out that Mr. While the Wild West feeling of freedom at Roy draws many, I keep coming for the sheer variety. Follow Leave No Trace ethics. The prevailing view at the time in New Mexico was that the state was tapped out for bouldering potential, and you were better off driving to Hueco. Buy used, trade in and fix your gear through Worn Wear. That early crew, which included New Mexico climbers Tom Ellis, Masumi Shibata, Grady Ball, Aaron Chavez, and J.C. Cochran, had the place to themselves for years. The first time you go to Roy, its pretty shocking, says William Penner, an Albuquerque climber who began exploring the area in 2000. Its still possible to get lost in a new canyon each day. In those early years we chased bread crumbs left by William Penner and Tom Ellis, the climbers who first dedicated themselves to Roy. With the approval of the developers, he meticulously cataloged climbs, mapped them, tracked down first ascents, grades, and names like Mamma Jamma and Beautiful Pig, and wrote descriptions. The people complaining about the secret being spilled just arent in on the other secrets, he says. Communities like the Acoma Pueblo or Taos Pueblo have existed in the same location for centuries. Midwinter brings the occasional brutal storm, but tough camping conditions can pay off with sending temps in the low-angle sun. Learn more about our environmental and social responsibility program. If you love the movement of climbing, the bigger the problem the more climbing you get to do. Two free Forest Service campgrounds at Mills Canyon with picnic tables and toilets (no water), and dispersed camping near climbing trailheads. This group of friends had explored many of the canyons (not all of them), but we left the car at the campground and revisited what could be walked to. Of course, there is desert choss, some of which cleans up and some of which does not. The highball, more than anything else, defines Roy climbing. Middle of nowhere? On rainy days, young kids park here on their laptops and research climbs. On the public land, a dozen or so side-drainages feed Mills Canyon; 30 miles of cliffband ring Mills and its tributaries, sheltering erratically distributed caches of boulders in the depths of winding streambeds. Having spent years scrambling through serpentine canyon streambeds, thrashing across overgrown hillsides, and consulting Penner and Elliss three books worth of enigmatic, hand-written notes while writing a guidebook, I can safely say, Holy crap, did they do a lot of work!. Mills was named after Melvin Mills, who established an audacious orchard along the Canadian River. Long Ass: This V1 warm-up is located in the Jumbles, a popular section of Middle Mesteo Canyon with a high concentration of climbs. If you are using a screen reader and having difficulty please call us at 1-800-638-6464. The desert air gets cold (1015 F) in winter, so you want a good puffy. Its plains and plains and plains, and then its totally different., On his way home from a work trip to a distant ranch, Penner, an archaeologist, was driving through the remote region when something caught his eye. This do-or-die attitude gave Roy some of its early classic hard problems such as Carpet Bombers (V10) and No Tiempo Moss (V10/11), often by headlamp. This rigid 7-gallon container with storable spigot is just the ticket for camping. Well give you trade-in credit and make sure your gear is in goodhands. It doesnt feel that way to me anymore. For a second, nothing but the toe remained on the wall until my fingers just grabbed the top. But otherwise, the place was totally off the radar for climbers until Penner clued in a few friends. I headed out there with my now wife, and it really felt like we were going to the middle of nowhere. Ellis, a highly energetic early-riser, often scopes new potential before youve even had breakfast. Nothing is open (but you can still fill up your gas tank. We had been driving for what felt like hours, following a whisper ofa two-track in the dark. I first came out to this middle of nowhere to see if the rumors of good bouldering were true. This shaded, streamed problem glows with lichen. The big lines anchor Roys climbing. Above:Camping at the Mills Canyon Rim Campground. The main draws for climbers are a locally owned grocery store, and a bar in which wearing a cowboy hat and chaps will help you blend in. Mills Canyon is a huge draw for both out-of-state tourists and New Mexicans, Navas says, which is all the more reason we need to invest in this area to protect the incredible natural resources and buoy the rural economies of Roy and Mosquero.. Thats where we got the greatest enjoyment. Boulderers simply pack in crash padslarge cushions that they set up below the problem, or climb, that theyre working onand spot each other. From tiptoes I could grab the top. Lost, in a cow field, in eastern New Mexico, and not a rock in sightcould this really be the Land of Enchantments best bouldering? A complex trolley system brought produce from the canyon bottom to the surface of the plains where it was then shipped to towns around the Southwest. Someone else in the group once found a dinosaur bone by the Canadian River and held up a chalky hand to demonstrate the crooked claw. With sandstone, it takes some time to understand the climbs. On Main Street theres a barber shop, but pulling alongside the faade reveals grasses and vines that have overtaken the interior. To his left is an excellent V10 smartly named ROYGBIV. To find the rest, you have to know where to look. Still, there are days when its possible to have the place mostly to yourself. Even now, compared with other popular bouldering areas in the country, Roy is blissfully quiet. Penners climbing style reflects his sharp mind: Hes established numerous classic highballs in Roy ground-up, including the 20-foot runnel-striped Beautiful Pig (V6) in Middle Mesteo. At 14 pounds and with padded straps, it carries well for the approaches. East of the cows, the morning light shimmers in mirage, creating the illusion of a floating island of land. The wind howled and the pack of dogs barked at animals out of sight in the darkness. At that point, there were three cars anywhere in Roy that were climbers at any given time, Penner says. Here are three to tackle. Of discovery and bushwhacking, of climbing rocks without names. AFTER THAT FIRST ROADSIDE STOPin 2000, Penner returned three years later to do archaeological work at Melvin Millss historic Orchard Ranch, a major agricultural operation that flooded in the early 1900s. Still, he doesnt worry about crowds. Standard nylon toothbrushes can damage sandstone like that at Roy, especially post-rain. If Dust Bowl, a long V7 with more than 30 moves, is too much, try Emerging from the canyons onto the plains at the end of a day bouldering. Climbing here is as much about the rising song of rusty cattle gates being opened and closed as it is about tall, dark-red Dakota sandstone boulders. Jane worked out the beta on a dark lichen-painted face with perfect edges. Need it sooner? Not to say that Roy is better, Ellis explains. Get the latest climbing news, videos, tips, and more every Thursday. Track orders, save products, easy hassle-free returns & exchanges. Chasing The Worlds Most Beautiful Mountain. The stone features the kind of gorgeous, textured, bullet-hard slopers youd find farther east, like in Arkansass Ozark Mountains. His topout screams shattered the silent tension that had built all afternoon after his announcement that he was going to go for it that day. (Ellis jokingly says Cheney-Bush would be a better analogy.) Get full access to Outside Learn, our online education hub featuring in-depth fitness, nutrition, and adventure courses and more than 2,000 instructional videos when you sign up for Outside+ One day it belongs to the wind and a dusty history and youre the foreign object on the landscape. The rock there just demands being climbed, Penner says. However, increasing numbers of climbers were arriving and getting lost anyway. Create a free Patagonia account. The area attracts a trickle of tourists, plus a handful of hunters and rock crawlers. Campfires burned and whiskey spun around the circle while one friend told stories of growing up in the tiny mining town of Madrid, south of Santa Fe. The climbing opportunities there make the region one of the top outdoor recreation destinations in the stateeven in the country, says Axie Navas, director of New Mexicos Outdoor Recreation Division. (Incidentally, this historical site is what brought Penner out here to study back in 2003.) Calm Ethereal: Mills Canyon proper has ample climbing thats accessible with a shorter approach hike (and slightly less rugged driving), making it a great option for those with a little less time on their hands. Bison anchored an ecosystem of grassland that was the foundation to the previously nomadic lives of multiple tribes including Comanche, Apache and Kiowa. Climbers go places to climb. Springtime, meanwhile, can be notoriously windyeasily avoided by climbing in the sheltered canyons. But on any given weekend, an unexpected group of tourists drops in, so many that they sometimes double the areas population: rock climbers seeking the thrill of new challenges in bouldering. He was working off the recommendation of a friend who had tracked it down based on a few images on an obscure climbing blog, with just a few rough directions to get them to the right trailhead. High-elevation swells harbor green forests and snowy peaks. The lines are big, and theyre extremely beautiful. It was really hard for me to understand what I was looking at until I was shown.. Everything we make has an impact on people and the planet. Conversely, isolation and adventure are still preserved in the other 13 miles of public canyons, where the climbing is largely still free of chalk. We lay on crashpads to watch the lunar eclipse. In the evening we headed downstream and discovered a sweeping slab with a singular hole halfway up its 18-foot face. Orders are shipped within 1-2 business days and arrive within 3-10 business days. For other tips on lodgings, food, and special events, go to hardingcountymainstreet.org. On an early foray into one of the side drainages, he found the Bear Boulder, an enormous chunk of dark, iron-varnished stone with a perfect overhang cleaved to fifty degreeshome to the now-legendary Bear Toss (V11). Stay up-to-date with what's happening in New Mexico. The Mills Canyon Rim Campground is accessible with 2WD, but you may want a high-clearance vehicle with 4WD for some of the more rugged roads (nmmag.us/millscamp). Weve witnessed this element change as the guidebook has brought more climbers to select areas of Mills and Mesteo canyons: Trails and boulders alike have improved with traffic, but correspondingly, the days of absolute solitude at the Jumbles may be over. Photo: Eric Bissell. Its a move, says Takahashi, that were you to blow it would see you slingshotting far left, probably past all the pads. Witnessing the FA was terrifying, Ill admit, but Takahashis fiercely focused send was flawless. In general, the relationship with locals has been positive. One of the best parts of climbing here is that the jumbled streambeds and canyons hide more than can be experienced in one trip. The climbing out there is as big as you want it to bea scale commensurate with how much you desire to actually go out and explore it.. A few weeks later, Penner and Ellis called upon Flowersthey were surprised to learn that he was already clued-in, and had many suggestions for encouraging more climbers to visit. 2,630/month, There's also a gas station and an opening-soon bakery/cafe next to Ma Sally's, Beware, though, Sundays in Roy are dead. With the help of many local climbers over a two-year period, I put together the first bouldering guidebook for the state, including Roy and the Ortegas. The developers who establish climbing areasdefining and cleaning problems, clearing trails, creating safer landingsare after a combination of aesthetics, variety, and reliability when scouting new zones. In archaeology the idea is that the context, more than the artifact, is where the vast majority of understanding waits. Around 2005, they began spending as much time as they could exploring and developing the area. The following day yielded the crimper classic Flaming Liberty (V6), so-named after an accident that happened that trip when he put his gas lantern inside his rented Jeep during a windstorm and the car caught fire. The accent is unique, the architecture is almost all adobe, and the food, most of it slathered in red and green chiles, is unbelievably good. Finally, the Dave Graham Memorial Boulder project, close to Hokusais Wave, combines elements of all the above through an awe-inspiring overhung wall of washboard runnels. Is This Our Best Bouldering Area? Recalls Ellis, Hed been raving about this place for years, and when I finally came out, he took me to the Roadside Area in Mills CanyonI mean, it was fine, but just not that amazing. Its neighbor Quarter Life Crisis (V12), meanwhile, is a less heady but more powerful steep face on pockets. Your average, brownish, bland-looking Roy rock is also quite variable: angular with clean edges in dry environments, slopey with more sculpted features in wetter locales. Now, I can tell you, yes, but there is so much more. Its Hard To Argue Otherwise. That was early 2012, just after I had moved to Los Alamos for work. There used to be seven bars in Harding County. Your browser is not supported for this experience.We recommend using Chrome, Firefox, Edge, or Safari. The waterway meanders nearly 1,000 feet below its canyon rim, and stacks of sandstone cliffs punctuate the slopes. Summerscales recommends a good set of thermal underwear for wearing around camp and for morning climbing. Heads-up: You might have to scout libraries or used bookstores for a copy (or borrow it from a friend). Icarus (V7) ascends a slightly off-vertical Merlot face with big lockoffs between slanting ribs, while One-Eyed Clown (V10), lauded as the best of its grade in the state, climbs a beautiful, arching, pocketed arte.