Backside of Upper Mound/ Wounded Knee area (Northern cluster of boulders)
6 bouldering routes at Backside of Upper Mound/Wounded Knee area (Northern cluster of boulders) in New Mexico.
- 6 routes
- V2 – V6-7
- Bouldering
Best time to visit Backside of Upper Mound/ Wounded Knee area (Northern cluster of boulders)
Best months: April–May and September–October. Best months have typical highs of 55–85 °F, lows of 30 °F or warmer (32 °F where the station doesn't record snow), at most one snowy day and no more than 12 wet days.
Jan
45° / 26°
5 wet · 3 snow
Feb
51° / 29°
5 wet · 3 snow
Mar
60° / 35°
5 wet · 2 snow
Apr
68° / 40°
4 wet · 1 snow
May
78° / 49°
5 wet
Jun
88° / 58°
5 wet
Jul
89° / 62°
11 wet
Aug
86° / 61°
11 wet
Sep
80° / 55°
8 wet
Oct
68° / 43°
6 wet
Nov
54° / 33°
5 wet · 2 snow
Dec
44° / 26°
5 wet · 3 snow
Typical high / low (°F) and days with rain or snow, 1991–2020. Measured at Albuquerque Foothills Ne, NM, 3.4 mi away at 5,994 ft. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020.
The Backside of Upper Mound/Wounded Knee area is a cluster of boulders in the Sandia Foothills, on city land in New Mexico. It sits within the Northern cluster of boulders, and the Wounded Knee route is among the named problems here. The climbing is all bouldering, with six routes spread across the cluster. Grades run from V2 to V6-7, and the Wounded Knee arete, first climbed by Paul Horak around 1979, is a V3. Pizza Crack is a V2, and Driftwood direct start is the hardest at V6-7. Spring and fall are the most comfortable times to visit. Typical averages from a nearby weather station show May highs around 78°F and October highs around 68°F, while July and August bring the most wet days, about 11 each month. Several other climbing areas sit about 0.1 mile away, including Upper Mound - the corridor and Upper Mound (main upper cluster of boulders). The U Mound Eye of the Sandias Link hike is about 0.3 mile off.
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