El Rito is one of New Mexico’s premier sports venues, and unique in the State being composed of conglomerate. Regular Rockaroundtheworld readers will know we have a fondness for a bit of “pouding” as the French might call it, or “patatas” according to the Spanish, but the Americans have their own nickname: Cobbles!

These particular Cobbles come in a great variety of rock types: quartzite, granite, schist and metavolcanic (apparently); big and small; all bonded in a sandstone matrix. Perhaps the characteristic that most sets El Rito apart from other conglomerate venues is the high proportion of holds which are pockets (either the absence of a cobble, or a void between them). In any event, it makes for really entertaining climbing.

That’s enough of the micro-scale. The crags are also really interesting at a macro level, being huge monolithic boulders set in a fairly random clump, with climbing on all sides (and angles!) and connected by a maze of well-maintained paths, some of which crawl through tunnels between the boulders.

Here’s the view from the approach track, with the south facing “Super Slab” being the most obvious feature, and most of the west-facing walls still in shadow.

The 3.7 miles of dirt track from the village are bone-jarring but easily navigable, and lead to a decent sized parking area with a selection of wild camping spots in the vicinity. With an elevation of 7,000ft and quite a wind blowing, Super Slab was an attractive spot to start our exploration. We bumped into a couple of Taos locals on the excellent Boltaneer, 10a…

Over the course of a couple of days we did this and all but one of the routes on this superb 100ft wall: Clast Act, 5.9, Full Sail, 11a, and Super Arete, 5.8…

Like most of the sectors, the routes certainly aren’t over-bolted (and a clip-stick is often handy for the first bolt) but they are generally intelligently bolted – big gaps usually align with easier territory, and most clips can be made from a decent hold. Once you’ve established that trust then it feels okay to try quite hard. Once the sun chased off the morning chill, we were left with superb climbing conditions.

The other significant south-facing sector is Schoolhouse Slab, and Helen ticked the whole of the wall, including School Daze, 5.7/8

Around the corner from Super Slab you’ll find Pirate’s Wall, a similar length but tilted over at quite an angle. The Buzz, 11c (slightly scary bee hive near the top!), and Booty, 11b/c were both superb, and Scurvy Dog, 5.9, is a fine intro.

In terms of steepness, Rad Wall takes things to the next level, with Bolting Barbie, 11d (or even 12a if you select your source carefully!) covering some wild ground!

Also worth a Big shout is Big Pine Wall with Cobble Sutra, 10a; Cobble Wobble, 10d; and Squeeze My Cobbles, 11b all being highly recommended.

The camping options around the parking area are a bit limited, and if you can bear the dirt road, a far nicer option is the free dispersed camping in the El Rito Campground a few miles north of the village. A bubbling stream, verdant grass, and the ubiquitous fire pit and picnic table (not to mention toilet and trash bin) and all for the princely sum of zero dollars (again!) Remarkably we had the whole place to ourselves.

We gorged ourselves on the 3+ starred uber classics over the course of a couple of days, before tearing ourselves away. Pretty much every route we did was excellent, and there’s plenty more to come back for.