Nina and I climbed Ladron Peak yesterday, via a class 3 route on the west face. It was a challenging climb made more difficult by the fact that I forgot to put all the food in my pack, so we were starving the whole time. The scarmbly upper section was a lot of fun, and there was a certain amount of adventure factor since I couldn't find a single trip report for this peak on the internet. Thus, we had no idea of how to go about reaching the summit of this peak which appears to the untrained eye to be completely surrounded by cliffs on all sides near the top. Unfortunately, I also neglected to pack my camera, so there are no pictures. But in case anyone else wants to climb it, I'll post a route description here:

Ladron Peak: West Face
Class 3
2,600' gross gain, 8.7 miles round trip

From exit 175 on Interstate 25 (UTM 13 33096E 3810082N), north of Socorro, NM, take a left off the exit ramp onto paved "Old Highway 85" heading SW. After about a mile and a half (and having crossed the Rio Puerco), turn right onto improved gravel County Road 12 (UTM 13 328929E 3808574N). Follow CR-12 for about 20 miles, going around the mountain on its north side. Turn left at UTM 13 303041E 3816938 onto another good gravel road. After 0.7 miles, turn left again (UTM 13 303442 3815894). After 2.2 miles (UTM 13 304872 3812935), take a final left onto a faint unmaintained two-track. You will need a high-clearance vehicle for this portion of the drive, though 4WD should not be required. This track ends after 0.3 miles at fence with a pedestrian gate (UTM 13 305253 3812743). This is the trailhead.

Beyond the gate at the trailhead, go due east until you find the gravel road; follow this road ESE as it heads towards the mountain. The imposing western face of the Ladrones is obvious ahead. Keep an eye out for interesting fossils in the limestone along this road. After about a mile, the road ends. Just before the road ends, it turns down into the bottom of the wash. At this turn, a series of black rubber water tubes leave the road and continue east. A good trail runs along these tubes; follow this trail east and continue up the valley. The trail ends in the vacility of a small spring that is being used to feed water into the tubes (UTM 13 306954E 3812133E). The remainder of this hike will be bushwacking.

Hike northeast up a short rise to gain a ridgeline with a good view of the remainder of the climb. Look for and follow a good game trail contouring due east and losing a bit of altitude to reach the rocky wash separating the ridge you were just on and the next, less distinct, ridge to the north. It is this less-distinct ridge that you will climb to reach the steeper final summit push. Follow the ridge up its centerline, making your way through the thick juniper and assorted cactus. There is a small flat spot on the ridge at UTM 13 307996E 3812138N which has a small clearing and makes a good lunch spot [should you remember to bring any food, see above]. This spot also marks the end of the gradual ridgeline hike and the beginning of the steep and sometimes technical mountain.

From this spot, there are numerous routes to the summit with varying levels of technical rigor. To maintain a maximum difficulty of class 3 scrambling, go up from the lunch spot to a small cliff band. At the base of the rock, traverse left (north) to the point where the rock band ends and there is a narrow talus flow coming down the slopes. Ascend the talus to its top. You are now just west and directly beneath the summit block. Look for an obvious weakness in the cliffs to the left (north). Work your way up the crack to a notch in the summit ridge. You'll see two cairns nearby, one of which marks the highest point of the Sierra Ladrones (it wasn't obviously clear which was higher, but they are only about 100' of ~flat hike apart).

The USGS 7' quad labels a nearby summit as Ladron Peak; I'm not sure if this is mislabeled, or if Ladron Peak is simply not the highest point in the range. We took the easiest route we could find, which ended up being low class 3. Excellent class 4 and 5 climbing routes were apparent all along the upper portion of the route described here.

The view from the summit is extrordinary. Major visible New Mexico summits include Mt. Taylor, Cabezon Peak, the Sandias, the Manzanos, the Oscuras, Salinas Peak, South Baldy, and the northern Gila. Also visible are the cities of Socorro and Albuquerque.