El Sendero Luminoso 5.12d

El Sendero Luminoso climbs the central pillar of El Toro at El Potrero Chico in Nuevo León, Mexico, a 15-pitch limestone route of about 1,500 feet (460 meters) rated 5.12+. Eleven of its pitches are graded 5.12 or harder, and it combines sport-climbing bolts with the scale and commitment of a big wall, making it one of the area's most serious long routes even on a rope.

History

Jeff Jackson, Kurt Smith and Pete Peacock established the route in 1994. It became widely known after Alex Honnold free soloed it on January 15, 2014, climbing without a rope in just over three hours while Cedar Wright filmed nearby. The route later carried tragedy when Brad Gobright fell to his death descending it in 2019, a reminder of the risk built into the wall's scale even for roped parties.

On film

El Sendero Luminoso (2014), a short film from The North Face, documents Honnold's free solo years before Free Solo brought him wider attention, showing him at the base of the route and climbing its 1,500 feet of sustained 5.12+ limestone without protection.