Leclerc Rock
Early in 2024, I decided it was time to adventure out and find a few new locations for rock crawling. While Badrock Ridge with its beautiful red sandstone features is one of my favorite spots, I felt that the addition of a new and more challenging area with a different rock type would take our crawler testing projects to the next level.
After a few weekends of following dirt roads wrapping around the base of the La Madre Mountain, I spied this massive rock outcropping rising up from the eroded desert landscape, not too far from the northern edge of Calico Basin. |
It’s difficult to see from a distance in that it’s narrow and long, nearly invisible from the south and east, but as the sun starts to set in the afternoon, its tall peak will throw a shadow on the lower surrounding area while the dull grey rock picks up a pale glow.
Now that I knew where was off in the distance, it took a bit of scouting to figure out how to reach location. With a bit of help from some drones, we found a series of interconnected dirt roads which cut across the arid terrain and wrapped around the side of the outcropping, making access surprisingly easy ( as long as you have four-wheel drive, adequate ground clearance, and a good set of off-road tires).
Now that I knew where was off in the distance, it took a bit of scouting to figure out how to reach location. With a bit of help from some drones, we found a series of interconnected dirt roads which cut across the arid terrain and wrapped around the side of the outcropping, making access surprisingly easy ( as long as you have four-wheel drive, adequate ground clearance, and a good set of off-road tires).
Late afternoon the following day, I loaded up the truck and headed out to see up-close what this outcropping was all about.
Much of the trail was routed to follow and twisting sandy wash, strewn with rock fragments and small bit of pulverized wood from trees and shrubs intermixed. By the time I reached the outcropping, the sun had started to set, and the air quickly cooled as the desert began to stir. |
Standing at the base of the outcropping, I was surrounded by an incredible silence, almost like a pause in the breath of the desert. The scent of creosote and sage was wafting through the air, and if you listened closely, you could hear the skittering of lizards moving among the rocks.
Rising in full splendor was a rock formation I had never encountered on the trail. It had a brooding aspect to it, almost a palpable disdain for my presence.
Rising in full splendor was a rock formation I had never encountered on the trail. It had a brooding aspect to it, almost a palpable disdain for my presence.
Up Close
Erosion was hard at work on this outcropping, making the rock look as if it were melting into the desert floor. Hundreds of narrow water runoff tracks had cut grooves down the rock’s face, randomly disappearing behind a fractured block and then reappearing somewhere below near the base. Countless desert plants dotted the cracks and voids on the rock, actively prying apart the stone with a wedging effect of their roots. Running my fingers across the surface, the rock is shockingly coarse, abrasive to a level I’d have never seen before. It wasn’t the typical red sandstone of the area, but it also didn’t feel like any kind of volcanic or hard rock like granite. Looking closer, the rock is a brutal, exacting mass of sharp spines and razor chips. Eroded pockets in the rock’s surface created a series of sharp-edged cups, and if you’d lined up hundreds of broken shot glasses. For so much erosion, the rock is surprisingly steep. It does not have the melted look of sandstone; it stands much more erect. I could see a few interesting lines for the crawlers, but many were going to be quite challenging for even our most tuned trucks in the fleet. |
Will it Work
Stepping back, a few things popped into mind. First is that if I were to stumble and fall while crawling, it would surely result in a nasty injury; shredded flesh and chipped bone is virtually guaranteed. I’m not clumsy by nature, but it’s easy to take a bad step when your attention is on the crawler rather than where you’re stepping. Another question was just how fast this rock surface was going to eat up the soft crawler tires. My initial guess was it the rock would most likely tear a sidewall or carve away chunks of rubber from the tread pattern. Tire damage would be quick and catastrophic, unlike the slow and methodical abrading effect of the red sandstone at Badrock Ridge. If that proves to be the case, then most likely we will save this testing location for the last stop on a tire review. |
What it does provide is something completely different than anything else we’ve encountered, bringing a new level of difficulty and a bit of danger. Perfect.!
Heading back to town, I wanted to get a better understanding of the rock type I was dealing with and to present it in a way that would highlight its unique traits without getting lost in the weeds of a poorly written geology paper.
Heading back to town, I wanted to get a better understanding of the rock type I was dealing with and to present it in a way that would highlight its unique traits without getting lost in the weeds of a poorly written geology paper.
Geology Details
I reached out to my alma mater, UNLV, and tracked down Dr. Ganqing Jiang for some assistance. Dr. Jiang is the Department Chair for UNLV’s Geosciences and was willing to give me a brief overview of what I was looking at. I sent over some photos and a short description of the rock, and shortly after he gave me his best guess. |
Dr. Jiang:
“These rocks seem to be the large landslides described in Dr. Dan Sturmer's field guides. The rocks are Paleozoic carbonates. When carbonates were dissolved by surface water, differential dissolution would result in sharp corners and edges. This is judged from the pictures - hopefully it's correct.”
“These rocks seem to be the large landslides described in Dr. Dan Sturmer's field guides. The rocks are Paleozoic carbonates. When carbonates were dissolved by surface water, differential dissolution would result in sharp corners and edges. This is judged from the pictures - hopefully it's correct.”
I followed up on his lead and was able to track down Dr. Sturmer over at the University of Cincinnati.
As with Dr. Jiang, I sent over a number of photos as well as a pin on the location, and he was able to nail down exactly what I was dealing with. |
Dr. Sturmer:
“That is on the eastern end of the La Madre (or Turtlehead Mountain) rock avalanche deposit. Rock avalanches are a type of landslide that includes bedrock and flows like an avalanche. The landslide emplacement process causes the material to be broken up (and pulverized), and the erosion patterns you are seeing are likely in an area where the landslide material was broken down to very small particles. The source material is Devonian-Mississippian-age limestones (those are the gray rocks above the red and tan rocks to the west).
Shown here is a geologic map of the area with the location of your photo on it with the white marker. The purple Mm unit is the landslide deposit (note that this unit caps the ridge throughout the area). The Ja is the Jurassic Aztec Sandstone. The yellow and orange units (Qay, Qao) are young alluvial units.”
“That is on the eastern end of the La Madre (or Turtlehead Mountain) rock avalanche deposit. Rock avalanches are a type of landslide that includes bedrock and flows like an avalanche. The landslide emplacement process causes the material to be broken up (and pulverized), and the erosion patterns you are seeing are likely in an area where the landslide material was broken down to very small particles. The source material is Devonian-Mississippian-age limestones (those are the gray rocks above the red and tan rocks to the west).
Shown here is a geologic map of the area with the location of your photo on it with the white marker. The purple Mm unit is the landslide deposit (note that this unit caps the ridge throughout the area). The Ja is the Jurassic Aztec Sandstone. The yellow and orange units (Qay, Qao) are young alluvial units.”
Unusual Details
As Dr. Sturmer pointed out, there is a considerable age difference between the rock outcropping of interest and the surrounding area. The outcropping (shown in purple ) is comprised of limestone rock from the Devonian period, ranging from 358 to 419 million years ago (Ma). The area surrounding the upper and side is comprised of a sandstone ( hidden beneath a top layer of desert soil ) is from the Jurassic period. This geologic period ranges from 145 to 201 Ma and is also the same rock type where dinosaur fossils are commonly found. Thus, in all practical terms, there is no less than 150 Ma separating the creation of these two rock types. |
Note: Here is the link to this MAP which contains the supporting data for color coding. Best when viewed on a PC.
Finally, there is the alluvial fan and rock debris from the Quaternary period, shown in yellow and orange and surrounding the bottom area of the formation.
Comprised of rock from the most current or modern geologic period, the Quaternary period ranges from today and stretches back to 2.6 Ma in the past. Knowing that there are different types of Limestone, I asked Dr. Sturmer what the best and most simple way to accurately describe the rock type without angering the Geology gods. Dr. Sturmer indicated it was correct to simply refer to this rock outcropping as Limestone. |
“(It’s) Fine to just call it limestone, though there may be dolostone as well. Limestone is dominantly made of calcite/aragonite (calcium carbonite or CaCO3), whereas dolostone is mostly made of dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2). Limestone and dolostone are very resistant to weathering in dry environments.”
So, there we are. The outcropping is made of limestone which is quite different in both age and rock type than the surrounding sandstone and alluvial fan debris. It is also far more erosion resistant than sandstone, resulting in sharper edges, more vertical surfaces, and highly irregular shapes. |
What’s in a Name
Back at the shop, I was determined to come up with a proper name for this rock outcropping. Scrolling through the photos one morning over coffee, I was struck by the uniqueness, the hidden beauty, and furious challenge tucked away in the subdued details of the limestone. Then quite suddenly, a face popped into my head, and it was of the late climber Marc-André Leclerc. |
Marc-André made a name for himself by tackling the most difficult and dangerous climbs across the world, pitting himself against what the worst of mounting climbing had to offer.
His free-climbing prowess quickly gained international attention, yet for all the media chasing him around, he simply wanted to climb. Marc-André's desire to seek out these challenges is something that's resonated with many avid outdoor adventures, inspiring them to push beyond self-imposed mental limits and experience what is possible. |
This is the same thought I had when standing at the base of this weathered limestone; is it possible to reach the top? What are the challenges, and what are the risks? Its most appealing part was the seeming endless number of “might be possible” lines twisting in so many different directions to the top.
This limestone outcropping represented a new challenge, a new level of difficulty which I had never encountered on any other trails. To say I was anxious to get started was an understatement. I snatched up the phone and rang Kyle, the other half of MVRCA, telling him we had a new and highly challenging rock formation awaiting us, Leclerc Rock. "Start packing..!" |
"[Leclerc's] soloing wasn't about the athletic activity, it wasn't about sport. It was about a spiritual commitment to adventure." -Alex Honnold |
On March 5, 2018, the world lost Marc-André Leclerc and his climbing partner, Ryan Johnson, to a climbing accident on the Mendenhall Towers near Juneau, Alaska. The climbing community and its extended family will forever be diminished, but for many of us, Marc-André's story will continue to live on through his friends, family, and the story of his incredible accomplishments. |
First Dance
I headed back out the following week with the SCX-6 Honcho to finish up our review of the Axial KM3 Mud Terrain tires. It was the perfect opportunity to observe the Honcho's performance on this new terrain. Five minutes into the crawl, the Leclerc Rock did not disappoint. Headed up the first ascent, the KM3’s traction on the weathered limestone was fantastic. The tires hooked up to the sharp, broken surface was easy, often providing more traction than the CG of the truck could handle. At times the truck would slip a bit on the steeper sections, accompanied by a disconcerting groaning and popping sound as the tire’s lugs tore free from the rock surface. After hearing it for the first time, I stopped the Honcho and quickly looked over the tires for damage, but other than a bit of chipping around the lug’s edges, they were still in one piece. |
Traction in a straight line was far superior when compared to sandstone, but the rock's aggressive texture caused a unique problem when side-hilling.
Rather than the truck slowly drifting to the side on a steep side-hill as it would on sandstone, the limestone rock would hold the tires tightly on the edges, forcing the truck to lean over towards the downward sloping side. As the angle continued to steepen while driving along the trail, the truck would suddenly pitch over onto its side with little warning. This difficulty was best managed by attacking steep lines head-on, and then cutting to the left or right only when absolutely necessary. It will take some time to sort out the best lines and trails, mostly due to the unusually high levels of traction on this rock. Such unpredictability saps a person's confidence, knowing that a mistake up high on this rock will bring significant consequences. It's both thrilling and stressful, demanding 100% focus when engaged with the rock. |
Closing Thoughts
The discovery of Leclerc Rock has been a stroke of good luck, rekindling our desire to return to the adventuring aspect of rock crawling. For personal growth, it's time to leave the smooth, gentle slopes of familiar sandstone formations and challenge ourselves to a new level of technical rock crawling. We will continue to use Badrock Ridge and other locations for tire testing, but when it comes to see just how far we can push our skills, Leclerc Rock will be the spot. |
Additional Information
Sources & References
Author’s Note
A special thanks to Dr. Sturmer for taking the time to explain the limestone outcropping as well as providing supporting information for this article. This level of detail would not have been possible without his assistance.
- The Alpinist (2021) Directed by Peter Mortimer and Nick Rosen.
- www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/climbing/last-days-marc-andre-leclerc
- www.climbing.com/people/marc-andre-leclerc-alpine-soloist-for-the-ages
- https://www.redbull.com/us-en/the-alpinist-marc-andre-leclerc-movie
Sources & References
- Ferry and Sturmer (2022). Field Analysis of the Blue Diamond Landslide: Implications for Environmental and Engineering Geology in the Basin and Range Province.
- Gradstein, Felix M.; Ogg, James G.; Smith, Alan G. (2004). A Geologic Time Scale 2004. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0521786737.
- Map Reference: (Page et al, 2005; https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/Prodesc/proddesc_71661.htm)
Author’s Note
A special thanks to Dr. Sturmer for taking the time to explain the limestone outcropping as well as providing supporting information for this article. This level of detail would not have been possible without his assistance.