Climbing the Mark of Zorro

The Tres Piedras crags (tres piedras is Spanish for "three rocks"), rears above a sloping plain west of Taos and the abrupt Rio Grande Gorge. This lonely granite climbing area offers superb climbing in a pristine mountain area. The compact granite offers lots of face holds as well as vertical cracks. Tres Piedras, called TP by locals, has long had a strong traditional ethic, although there are many well-bolted sport routes alongside the older trad lines. The area's best climbing is found on the high south face of Mosaic Rock, the south wall of Middle Rock, and on the slabby Sundeck Wall above Aspen Alley, a groove filled with quaking aspen trees.