The Playground

Note: Route descriptions complements of Jason Chen and Walt Wehner.

Crag Description:

The Playground is a 60 foot south-facing basalt cliff with over 40 traditional routes and topropes.  This area is White Rock's most popular toproping area.  Numerous moderate to difficult crack and face climbs ascend the cliff.  In addition, the entire base of the cliff can be traversed as a boulder problem.  Many people come here just for the excellent bouldering.  Be warned, however, that this bouldering is very dissimilar from what most boulderers would enjoy, and has as much to do with memorizing moves as strength.  The Toproping is usually fairly easy, bring a rack and long slings to tie off trees.  Most toprope sets are on a shelf 10' below the rim.  Playground is a traditional area, and no bolting is permitted (you may notice the chopped bolts on Vulture Roof and First Strike). 

Getting There:

To get to the Playground from NM state road 4, turn south on Rover blvd.  After about 100 yards, take a left on Meadow lane.  Follow this street (it will slowly curve south) passing the turnoff for the "Overlook", and continue to 719 Meadow Lane.   Park near by, being careful not to block mailboxes or driveways (several residents have complained in the past).  Take the public access trail between 719 and 721 Meadow Lane.  From here, turn right and walk toward the rim of the canyon.  Follow the rim for 300 yards and locate an approach gully with a 30 foot basalt tower on it's left side.  At the bottom of this gully is the Playground.

Crag location map.
 

The Playground (routes: listed from left to right)

(QUALITY, ROUTE, NAME, GRADE, ROUTE, DESCRIPTION)

*** 1. ? 5.13+/14-? no bolts, anchor with gear The sickeningly overhung and thin face just left of Mononucleosis. At present, nobody has done this route - try your luck!

***  2. Mononucleosis 5.11d no bolts, anchor with gear The thin seam with pockets 5 feet left of Burnt Crack. Start slightly uphill from the Burnt Crack dihedral and fire directly up.

**   3. Burnt Crack 5.10d/11a no bolts, anchor with gear A blackened dihedral leading to a fingercrack with hidden pockets.

****4. Unrelenting 5.11b no bolts, anchor with gear Nines The obvious splitter fingercrack up an overhanging wall.

**  5. ? 5.12a no bolts, anchor with gear 5 feet right of Unrelenting Nines, a thin seam up an overhanging bulge. Starting in the dihedral on the right makes this a 5.10 climb.

**  6. ? 5.10b no bolts, anchor with gear Up a left-diagonalling flake to a giant hueco, then straight up the seam.

**  7. First Strike 5.12c no bolts, anchor with gear 10 feet left of the Original Horak Route. Straight up on thin crimps, past 3 chopped bolts.

*    8. Original Horak 5.9 up a short face section with a Route weird pocket, then up the right-diagonalling easy crack.

**   9. Just Let Go 5.12d/13a no bolts, anchor with gear Currently the hardest route at the Playground. Go straight up the face between Original Horak Route and Zander Zig Zag without using the crack or arete.

*    10. Zander Zig Zag 5.10d no bolts, anchor with gear Shares start with Texas, then breaks off left up a seam/face.

**   11. Texas 5.8 no bolts, anchor with gear Layback up the right side of the overhanging flake which bears some resemblance to the state of Texas.

*** 12. Flying A 5.11d/12a no bolts, anchor with gear Buttress Up the face/arete left of the Flying A crack. Many people do the bottom 10 feet as a boulder problem.

****13. Flying A 5.10d/11a no bolts, anchor with gear A classic. Chimney up to a thin fingercrack in a shallow dihedral.

*** 14. The 5.12c no bolts, anchor with gear Playgrounder 10 feet right of Flying A, climb straight up a face to an overhung seam.

**   15. ? 5.9+ no bolts, anchor with gear Right of the Playgrounder, go up the thin crack.

*    16. ? 5.11c no bolts, anchor with gear Up the thin crack to a weird layback move out the bulbous roof, then straight up the dirty cracks.

*     17. ? 5.10a no bolts, anchor with gear Up the right side of the roof right of #16, then left and up.

?    18. The Cheeks 5.11b/c? no bolts, anchor with gear

*** 19. ? 5.11c no bolts, anchor with gear 20 feet left of Vulture Roof.

**  20. Vulture Roof 5.11b/c no bolts, anchor with gear 20 feet of thin crack and face moves lead to a strenuous roof.

*** 21. Moment of 5.10c no bolts, anchor with gear Inertia Up the slick black dihedral 10 feet right of Vulture Roof. Long.

*** 22. Tree Climb 5.10d no bolts, anchor with gear Up the curving fingercrack to an overhung seam/face. 2 alternate starts: Up the chimney on the left (5.8+), up the seam in the middle (5.11).

**   23. Mr. Foster's 5.9+ no bolts, anchor with gear Lead Right of Tree Climb.

**  24. ? 5.10d no bolts, anchor with gear Up the same start as Black wall, then left up and over the slick bulge. Follow the left-diagonalling seam, then to the top. Straight up and over the bulge is a fun 5.11 variation.

**  25. Black Wall 5.10c no bolts, anchor with gear 20 feet left of Cactus Climb. A sustained crack climb in a corner.

**  26. ? 5.10d no bolts, anchor with gear 15 feet left of Cactus Climb. Up the difficult dihedral, then leftwards and up.

**  27. Cactus Climb 5.10b/c no bolts, anchor with gear Up the dihedral to a ledge with a small cactus, then up thin cracks to the top.

*   28. Face Variation 5.11b no bolts, anchor with gear Up the face in between Cactus Climb and Hand Jam. Use either route to do the first 15 feet, then climb the face.

****29. Beginner's Hand 5.9 no bolts, anchor with gear Jam Up the obvious handcrack to a ledge, then up narrowing cracks to the top.

**  30. Advanced Start 5.10d no bolts, anchor with gear Sharp and painful crack 10 feet right of Hand Jam that traverses left to rejoin it.

*** 31. Upper Left Roof 5.9 no bolts, anchor with gear Climb the leftmost line under the wide, high roof.

**  32. Fingertip 5.10d no bolts, anchor with gear Layback Up the thin crack to a small overhang, then rejoin Upper Left Roof.

**  33. Barlow's 5.9+ no bolts, anchor with gear Buttress Up the center line of thin cracks, pull the roof on the right.

**  34. Battle of the 5.11b/c no bolts, anchor with gear Bulge Rightmost line under the roof. A thin stemming problem leads to a crux over a bulge. The arete to the right at half-height is a fun 5.10 finish.

*** 35. ? 5.9+ no bolts, anchor with gear Up the obviously chipped flakes to a fun hand/finger crack in a dihedral.

*    36. ? 5.11a no bolts, anchor with gear Climb the dihedral 10 feet left of Blowhole, and traverse left to gain a dihedral.

*** 37. Blowhole 5.10d no bolts, anchor with gear Up the thin cracks to a huge pocket, then up easier ground to the top.

*** 38. ? 5.12d/13a no bolts, anchor with gear Up the microcrack, then leftwards and up the steep dihedral right of Blowhole.

*    39. ? 5.10b no bolts, anchor with gear Starts 6 feet right of #37, then straight up on face holds. Somewhat loose.