Cabezon Peak
On clear days, looking west from the summit of my backyard cliffs, I can just make out what looks like a giant haystack on the horizon. If I were to hike due west from my house, across the Rio Grande Valley, over the Jemez Mountains and into the Rio Puerco Valley, in about 100 miles, I would find myself at the foot of this massive mound of rock.
The Stackmaster & Cabezon
Cabezon Peak is an eroded volcanic neck, all that remains of a now extinct volcano. Millions of years ago, hot molten basalt shot up through the central pipe of this volcano, but instead of erupting, it solidified inside the mountain. Over millions of years, erosion removed the surrounding layers of rock, leaving behind a vertical spire of columnar basalt. Shiprock in northwest New Mexico and Devil’s Tower in Wyoming are both famous examples of volcanic necks.
East Side of Cabezon
Rising more than 2,000 vertical feet from the surrounding landscape, Cabezon is the largest of more than 50 volcanic necks in the Rio Puerco Valley, a region known as the Mount Taylor volcanic complex. Cabezon means “big head” in Spanish. The name is believed to be derived from Navajo legends about a giant slain on nearby Mount Taylor, whose head rolled down into the Rio Puerco Valley and became Cabezon Peak.
Overlooking the Rio Puerco Volcanic Field
The closer you get to Cabezon, the more impenetrable it looks: sheer walls of vertical basalt columns are surrounded by an exhaustingly steep talus slope. But there is a chimney to the top: a scalable passage hidden somewhere in the rock face. Several years ago I tried and failed to find the path. I was hiking solo that day and every route I spied looked far too dangerous to attempt without a spotter.
The Way Up
Cabezon is considered a Class 3 climb, with two short Class 4 sections. The Yosemite Decimal System defines the five climbing classes as such:
- Class 1: Walking with a low chance of injury.
- Class 2: Simple scrambling, with the possibility of occasional use of the hands. Little potential danger is encountered.
- Class 3: Scrambling with increased exposure. A rope can be carried but is usually not required. Falls are not always fatal.
- Class 4: Simple climbing, with exposure. A rope is often used. Natural protection can be easily found. Falls may well be fatal.
- Class 5: Technical free climbing involving rope, belaying, and other protection hardware for safety. Un-roped falls can result in severe injury or death.
Heading up the chimney, just below the class 4 crux
Where we left the dogs
Heading into the cleft that leads to the summit
Rod photographing the photographer just below the summit
Summit Spiral!
Summit Register Sketch
More Summit Register Art
The King of Cabezon!
Cabezon D.O.G.
At the trailhead. Please! No money! How often do you see that? The best things in life are free.
Click here for more pictures of our climb up Cabezon and visit Summitpost.org for detailed route instructions. It’s a beautiful day here in New Mexico and I’m off for another hike!
