Shillelagh, 5.9+, 5 Pitches

Overview/Approach

The Wedge sits directly behind the Tooth which is the most common trad objective in the Organ Mountains.  The Wedge is more prominent and to me represents the shape of a “tooth” as much if not more so than the Tooth itself.  It is a taller wall with a bigger approach and more complicated descent.  It has been nicknamed the “Jewell of the Organs” by an early prominent local climber but features few published routes as of 2021.

The most challenging published technical climb as of 2021 is a route named Shillelagh (named after an old Irish walking stick typically used as a weapon but in this case referring to a piece of aid used to climb the route back in the day).  Shillelagh will not match up to the much cleaner and more challenging 5.10 routes on the Tooth, but it does offer two fun pitches (5.9) along with summit views of White Sands National Park as it sits much higher than the tooth.  The con is obvious as soon as you leave the confines directly below the Tooth, involving a nasty bushwhack up the gully separating the two features.  The descent from the summit offers more of the same.  For someone who learned to climb in the Canadian Rockies these obstacles mean little.  To modern climbers coming out of the gyms, they will be aghast at the effort it takes to acquire a route that can be easily climbed in five pitches.  Shillelagh is published on MP.com as 5.9+.  It is also found in the old Falcon Guide but referred to as the Diagonal Route, 5.9+.

The first pitch is one of the two gems on the route, climbing a fun right facing chimney that requires chimneying, stemming and hand jamming to the top.  The second pitch is broken up a bit and includes its own short chimney section.  The third pitch is a 5^th class rambling full rope length move of the belay essentially.  The fourth pitch is an excellent pitch at the grade taking on three fun roofs in a row to the left shoulder of the formation, the crux pitch.  The last pitch can be easy or exciting depending on your mood and wind gusts.  There are three options to finish on to the summit.  

Traverse left from the base of the Tooth staying close to the rock.  Bushwhack up some immediate slab and traverse left into the bush choked loose gully.   I prefer to scramble up a short and treed drainage on your right to attain a clean slab vs staying in the gully for very long.  Either way, make your way up to the large gully between the Tooth and the Wedge.  Stay close to the rock on the right side (backside of the tooth), at times scrambling up onto the rock vs fighting the vegetation in the gully.  When the gully constricts, cross over north to the base of the obvious right facing chimney (with a small tree at top) which is the first pitch of Shillelagh.  At this point you have scrambled about half way to the pass at the top of the gully. One poster on MP.com mentions 5 miles and 3000’ gain on the approach.  I measured neither.  It took us less than 3 hrs from camp (gate), but that would be for a competent and fit team.

Route Description

1st Pitch- 100’-5.9/ This chimney climbs more fun than it looks.  You start out chimneying which leads to stemming, jams and flakes offering a general variety of climbing to a sloping stance above a tree (slung rap), medium gear belay. 

2nd Pitch- 150’-5.8/ Climb the left of two corners (crux of the pitch) with intricate pro.  Then follow easy ground up to the top of this section of the wall.

3rd Pitch- 200’-5th/ Continue up a gully and traverse a massive flake left to its end and then step up to a short slabby corner and then traverse left above a roof to a slung (2021) tree area.  Medium gear belay.

4th Pitch- 230’-5.9+/ The only justification to do the length of approach for this route is this pitch.  Climb through a series of fun and protectable roofs (3).  There are a few old rusty pins, but modern gear protects the roofs no worries.  The third one offers the more technical energy to surmount.  After the third roof, climb well featured face to the top of the left shoulder of the Wedge.  A full 70m rope lead.  Small to medium gear belay at the obvious start of the next pitch just below the top or use a boulder belay on top of the shoulder.

5th Pitch- 100’-5.8/ Climb up the boulder choked wide crack to the east.  If not too windy, take the runout slab above some face climbing.  If too windy, make a traverse left into a junky chimney and climb to near the top of the formation.  Sling a boulder.

Climbing Sequence

Descent

Walk the summit ridge towards the east sub peak.  Locate a fixed rap (2021) below a small stand of aspens.  Make a single 60m rope rap down to the east side.  Scramble down south towards the col.  You will have to gain some elevation back to the col between Square Top and the Wedge.  Tons of Organ bush and loose rock to navigate of course. Return to the base of the route from the col. 

Essential Gear

Single rack to #3.  Double to #1. Gear belays.  Little to any (viable) fixed pro on the route (vs routes on the the Tooth), but it is not near as sustained as routes on the Tooth either.  Typically sunny and windy.  Biner approach shoes for the descent.