Sorcerer's Apprentice

This is an old and somewhat forgotten classic on Torreon. The first two pitches are some of the best climbing at the 5.10 grade in the Sandias. Be prepared for sustained climbing with small and occasionally heady gear.

P1 - You can start directly below a thin crack/seam that cuts its way straight up the wall for 200ft. If you start directly there is about 50 ft of face climbing to gain a big ledge. You can access this same ledge from the left and skip the lower face. Above the ledge pull into the crack system (fingers) and begin working out the many cruxes that lie between you and the 1st anchor. The cruxes are almost all face climbing as the seam doesn't allow straight crack technique. You will pass two old bolts and one new one and a fixed pin right before the belay. 5.10c 60M

P2 - Climb past a fixed pin into a left facing corner, stem, jam and crank through the corner and exit atop an clean flake. Traverse the flake right 15ft into an amazing left facing corner. Climb the corner to it's top and traverse (crux) then mantel up to the belay. 5.11a 30M

From the top of pitch 2 another pitch has been established at 5.11b/c to another bolted anchor. There is still another pitch directly to the top that now goes at 12a/b (see The Sorcerer). These 2-3 pitches are not Sorcerer's Apprentice but a new direct finish that Mick Schein, Josh Smith then later Allan Aiken and myself had been working on. Mick Schein and I finished this new direct finish on Oct 2, 2010. The original finish is to traverse rightward after the second pitch and work your way up to join Mountain Momma on its last pitch or two.

Located about 100ft up hill from Mountain Momma. Start at the base of a vertical face that leads directly into the crack/seam of the route. Rappel with two 60M ropes.

Cams from .25 (purple or grey C3) to 2 inches, doubles .5 to 1.5, RPs, set of nuts. P1 - 3 bolts and 1 piton, bolted anchor P2- 1 piton, bolt and piton anchor