Bad Fun, 5.10b, 4 Pitches

Page Type Page Type: Route
Location Lat/Lon: 35.18927°N / 106.43288°W
Additional Information Route Type: Trad Climbing
Seasons Season: Spring, Summer, Fall
Additional Information Time Required: Half a day
Additional Information Rock Difficulty: 5.10b (YDS)
Additional Information Number of Pitches: 4
Sign the Climber's Log

Overview/Approach

Dow leading the 2nd Pitch
Dow leading the 2nd Pitch

Pino Wall is the furthest southern climbing destination of the broad west facing Sandia cliffs. The local guide (2021) has five routes listed for the wall and Mountain Project has seven as of 2021.  Bad Fun (1994) is the older moderate trad route of the group.  Typical of Sandia climbing, it features two decent pitches (2nd and 3rd) surrounded by two irrelevant pitches (1st and 4th).  The 2nd pitch is one of the better 5.10- trad leads in the Sandias.  It traverses via an undercling below a roof, pulls it and continues on via great crack climbing for a 130’ pitch.  I placed doubles from #.5 to #2 along with a single #3 and #4 which is a lot of gear for me on lead in the Sandias.  It is a good pitch.

As approaches go in the Sandias, this is a relatively easy one.  You can park below the crest at the Ellis Trailhead.  From there hike south up a road that passes under a ski lift or two.  Keep angling south until you merge onto the crest trail.  Rapping to the base of the route is the quickest approach.  Locate a climber’s trail that sneaks down the southwest facing cliff.  It would be hard to find this trail if not for two significant cement blocks that were used for footings of a tower and/or building in the past.  Locate the climbers trail down the southwest side of the crest just to skiers right of these cement blocks.  Although initially well-traveled, this trail peters out with a variety of cairns directing you skiers left down into a short gully where you can locate where several routes merge to finish together via a fixed rap. From here you take four raps down a route named License and a Visa.  The bolts and hangers are modern (2021) but not all the stations are set up for raps.  With a 70m rope, take a rap to another fixed rap skiers left (leaver biners 2021).  Then another rap down skiers left to a bolted anchor (2021).  Build your own rap station here and rap again to yet another set of bolts and hangers (full 70m single rope rappel).  Build another rap station and rap to the ground by a large tree.  The first two pitches on Bad Fun allow you to clean up those last two rap stations you built.  The third station for Bad Fun meanders way out left and consists of a single bolt and gear.  You angle back up and right and finish back in the gully you started the raps in.

Route Description

1st Pitch- 100’-5.8/ Climb back up your last rappel. A non-descript pitch for the most part with a stem or two at the grade.  Belay ledge with bolts and hangers.

2nd Pitch- 130’-5.10b/ Climb up and left utilizing the right-side crack for gear.  Traverse left to under the roof and place the #4 if you brought it although there are other options.  Traverse under the roof with jams but little to no feet for a move or two.  At the edge, place a medium piece deep to avoid the rope intertangling with it.  Continue up the corner with small foot edges out left when needed for lay backing.  You come to a rest where you can easily traverse out left but this is not the eventual trending out left you are looking for.  Rather continue straight up the wider crack corner via stemming.  Eventually hug a block and traverse right, mantle it to a belay ledge that was the start of your 3rd rappel. 

3rd Pitch- 120’-5.10b/ This pitch is not near as sustained as pitch two but does climb better than it looks.  The crux of the route according to most is the start off the belay up a thin shallow right facing corner.  However, I did not think this climbing was as challenging as the roof traverse on pitch 2.  I placed a perfect #.4/.5 off-set cam up high to protect the crux move.  A #0 size cam also protects the seam lower down.  Make an awkward left foot high step and the crux is over.  This start is a bit dirty as the whole pitch is compared to pitch 2.  Continue up through much easier ground and enter the next corner directly above.  This steep left facing corner is well protected. Stem up and traverse out left before the roof.  Continue angling up and left through chossy ground to turn an arete where you will find a single bolt (2021) to assist with a gear belay.  You only have 50’ more to go but rope drag would prevent most from continuing.

4th Pitch- 50’-5th/ Continue up and right mantling a pillar of sorts and pass the bolted rap (start of your descent) and belay off of a tree where you left your packs.

Climbing Sequence

1st pitch
1st pitch
Start of the 2nd Pitch
Start of the 2nd Pitch
Start of the 3rd Pitch
Start of the 3rd Pitch
3rd Pitch
3rd Pitch

Descent

(see approach)

Essential Gear

70m rope.  Single from #.3 to #4.  Doubles from #.5 to #2.  Micros, wires and/or offsets to protect the start of pitch 3.  Ten 60cm slings.  Route is southwest facing, shade until noon in September.