Mother's Buttress

Mothers Buttress are up to 500 to 650 feet high and contain the highest concentration of routes in Unaweep Canyon, both crack and face. 
It was also one of the first crags developed in the canyon. 

Getting There

Mother's Buttress is accessed from a small pull-off on the side of the road, 3 miles west of the Divide Road turnoff on Highway 141.There is a small parking lot - about 4-5 cars only, but you can also park on the shoulder of the road. The parking lot has an informative post and Access Fund sign. A small trail splits through the barbed wire and heads northeast towards the cliffs. Approach time approximately 10 minutes. You can see the cliffs of all Mother's Buttress right from the parking lot and Highway 141.

Approach to Mother's Buttress

Getting started on Mint Jam (5.8+)

Welcoming Party (5.7+)

No Name Route (5.9+)

Checking out routes

Climbing Overview

Along with the Sunday Wall, Mother's Buttress is one of the most popular climbing spots in Unaweep Canyon. There are a number of reasons for that. First of all, Lower Mother's offers a wide selection of moderate routes (5.7+ to 5.9) a grade which is somewhat under-represented in Unaweep. Secondly, Middle and Upper Mother's have some of the best climbs at the 5.10 to 5.12 grade in the canyon and also offer two of the best multi-pitch routes in Unaweep (Questions and Answers, 3 pitches, 5.10, Grade III; and Doppleganger, 3 pitches, 5.11, Grade II). And thirdly, it seems that the cracks of Mother's Buttress are perhaps straighter and more continuous than other walls in the canyon, so the climbs are all of excellent quality and make good use of natural pro and crack climbing skills.

An overview of Mother's Buttress

A map of the main routes on Mother's Buttress

Route	Difficulty	Pitches	Location
Flight Without Wings	5.12	1 pitch	Upper Mother's Buttress
Questions and Answers	5.10	3 pitches, Grade III	Upper Mother's Buttress
Titus Groan	5.10	3 pitches, Grade III	Upper Mother's Buttress
Doppleganger	5.11	3 pitches, Grade II	Upper Mother's Buttress
Centurion	5.11	1 Pitch	Middle Mother's Buttress
Days of Wine and Roses	5.11	1 Pitch	Middle Mother's Buttress
Dirty Harry	5.11a	1 pitch	Middle Mother's Buttress
Flora Dora	5.11b	3 pitches, Grade III	Middle Mother's Buttress
Free Falling	5.11	2 pitches, Grade II	Middle Mother's Buttress
Jagged Edge	5.11-	1 pitch	Middle Mother's Buttress
On Golden Pond	5.10a	1 pitch	Middle Mother's Buttress
Rise of the Phoenix	5.10a	1 pitch	Middle Mother's Buttress
Alex's Tower	5.8	1 pitch	Lower Mother's Buttress
Cow-a-Bunga	5.8	1 pitch	Lower Mother's Buttress
A Fine Line	5.8+	1 Pitch	Lower Mother's Buttress
Guide's Route	5.9	6 pitches, Grade III	Lower Mother's Buttress
Lord of Wisdom	5.10+	1 pitch	Lower Mother's Buttress
Mint Jam	5.8+	1 pitch	Lower Mother's Buttress
No Name Route	5.9	1 pitch	Lower Mother's Buttress
Welcoming Party	5.7+	1 pitch	Lower Mother's Buttress

***NOTE: These ratings come mostly from Baum's climbing guide. I've heard more than one person complain that some of the climbs in this book are underrated. I felt the same way my first few times climbing here. What I decided later, however, is that it was the really more the style of the Unaweep rock that I had to get used to. Many of the routes require very different techniques than the sandstone splitters and limestone face climbs I was used to. Still, I sometimes have difficulty on some Unaweep climbs that are the same grade as climbs I can comfortably climb in other places.

Red Tape

The Unaweep Canyon area has long been plagued by private property/access issues. Because of this, many great walls here have yet to be fully explored. The Access Fund has opened much of Unaweep to climbing, but be very respectful of private property and carry out ALL types of waste you might produce.

External Links

Mountain Project's Mother's Buttress page

Climbing weather information - the best forecaster for climbers:)