Sandias, Mountain Momma and The Sorcerer

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skykilo
olikyks
from Santa Fe
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Sandias, Mountain Momma and The Sorcerer

Post by skykilo »

Mountain Momma is arguably the most classic multipitch 5.10 in New Mexico. Micah and I hopped on it today. It was a spectacular September day with clouds and cool temps high in the Sandias.

Micah follows pitch 1, 5.10a face climbing following a shallow dihedral with intermittent cracks for pro.
mt-momma-sorcerer, micahp1

Pitch 2 starts up these flakes.
mt-momma-sorcerer, p2start

Then there is a fun dihedral with finger locks and hand jams.
mt-momma-sorcerer, morep2

Micah follows the crux pitch, just below the second 5.10c crux. The first is a mantle-like move through a bulge below him, not visible.
mt-momma-sorcerer, mmcrux

I was satisfied to lead the whole 600 ft climb clean today, but a big part of the reason for our climb was to revisit The Sorcerer, a four pitch 5.12b next to it. We did almost all of it three weeks ago.

Micah follows the first pitch, 50 m or so of 5.10b face climbing that follows a thin crack system for pro.
mt-momma-sorcerer, sorcererp1

The second pitch is a clean, thin 5.11a dihedral.
mt-momma-sorcerer, sorcererp2

By that time we were baking in the sun. The third pitch starts with some face moves above the belay to awkward 5.11 past two bolts. Then it gets interesting.
mt-momma-sorcerer, sorcererp3
I was fairly cooked after an epic session on the third pitch of The Sorcerer. We hadn't started early and we hadn't climbed quickly.

Some nice light above the Rio Grande.
mt-momma-sorcerer, grande

The fourth pitch of The Sorcerer started with a 5.11+ roof directly above the belay with a piton below it for protection. When I saw how far the bolt was after committing and pulling the roof, I spent a moment wishing for a stick clip. I managed to get to that bolt, and the next, then I was taking whippers trying to reach the third bolt. The pitch requires subtle, precise footwork and it wasn't happening in the fading light. Micah lowered me and I led a chossy bail pitch by braille. It rained on us as we reached the summit in the dark, but at least the lightning and thunder stayed to the north.

Today I retrieved my biner and sent the moves on top rope after Mountain Momma.
mt-momma-sorcerer, sorcererbiner

It's crazy thin but doable. Another trip up there might be in the cards with some fall sending temps....

teleross
TeleRoss
from on the beach
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Re: Sandias, Mountain Momma and The Sorcerer

Post by teleross »

Looks fun!

E_$
imminent whippage

Re: Sandias, Mountain Momma and The Sorcerer

Post by E_$ »

"fun" for sure! looks and sounds sporting; I like the adventure quality in yer hood.

naomig
naomig

Re: Sandias, Mountain Momma and The Sorcerer

Post by naomig »

Nice clean lead on Mountain Momma. Guess I don't remember any of that climb. That's a bonus for me since if I ever get to climb it again it'll be a new climb according to my memory. New onsight potential?

The last pitch looks delicate. I can't see many features.

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