The Sextant
Climbing crag in New Mexico with 6 routes on 5 difficulty grades.
Photo: Jon Gudorf Photography, CC BY-SA 2.0 (via Flickr)- 6 routes
- 5.6 – 5.10b
- Trad · Sport
Best time to visit The Sextant
Best months: March–May and September–November. 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° / 24°
Feb
52° / 29°
Mar
62° / 35°
Apr
70° / 42°
May
80° / 50°
Jun
91° / 61°
Jul
95° / 67°
Aug
91° / 65°
Sep
84° / 56°
Oct
71° / 44°
Nov
57° / 32°
Dec
45° / 24°
Typical high / low (°F) and days with rain or snow, 1991–2020. Measured at Teec Nos Pos, AZ, 21.5 mi away at 5,290 ft. The station sits about 700 ft lower than this place, so expect it a little cooler here. This station doesn't record snowfall. Source: NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020.
The Sextant is a climbing area in New Mexico on land managed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, within the Navajo Region Fire and Aviation Management unit. It sits about 0.3 miles from Ship Rock, which makes it an easy pairing for a day of climbing in the area. Spring and fall are the most comfortable times to go. Typical averages from the Teec Nos Pos weather station, about 21.5 miles away, show April highs near 70°F and October highs near 71°F, while July highs reach about 95°F and January lows dip to around 24°F. That station sits roughly 670 feet lower than the area, so temperatures at The Sextant run a little cooler. The climbing here mixes trad and sport styles, with six routes in total. The trad routes run from 5.6 to 5.8+, and the sport routes are around 5.10a/b. Yardarm Traverse is a 5.6 trad route, and Eaglebeak, a 5.8+ trad, was first climbed in 1968 by Harvy T. Carter and others. Starlight, a 5.10b trad, rounds out the higher-grade options.
Keep exploring — more climbs worth the drive
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