TR and Trip Beta: Ten Days at El Potrero Chico
Steve E.
(12/27 - 1/7) to Mexico that I took with my friend Dave. I lack the time
and motavation to put it into proper story form, so it may appear clinical
and/or detached at times. Hope it's useful to someone. Feel free to
email/post with questions. Enjoy.
Travel/Lodging/Supplies:
Ever wonder what airlines do with old jets? They stick them on the Mexico
circuit. We arrived ghetto style in Monterrey, aboard a plane I'm sure was
built before the fall of Saigon. The airport is a little funky, but not
terribly difficult to get around in, even if you don't speak a lick of
Spanish. Somehow we got into customs the wrong way, but eventually found our
baggage. I'm not sure if we just got lucky or if customs is a joke, but we
sailed through with no searches. Our pre-arranged taxi from Rancho Cerro
Gordo was waiting for us with my name on a sign. Very convenient. When your
driving towards the Potrero, and driving in Mexico is an event worthy of a
TR in and of itself, it's hard to tell where your going since the road is
surrounded by mountains for virtually the whole trip. Once your off the
highway and it becomes clear that your heading toward a particular mountain
it gets rather exciting. But don't get too excited. The first wall you see
is El Toro. It's 2,500 feet, but you quickly discover there are almost no
routes on it, and those that do exist are Grade VI nightmares. Not to
worry, there is plenty of climbing inside the potrero.
We stayed at Rancho Cerro Gordo, a.k.a. Kurt's place. The campsites are
very different from the other offerings in the area. You actually get some
semblance of privacy. Homero's is just a big field where everyone pitches a
tent at random. Cerro Gordo has individual sites separated by shrubbery.
Each site has a small grain gravel filled area to put the tent on. It's much
nicer than plain dirt. The showers are clean, relatively speaking, and the
water temp is pretty good. There is a private changing area attached to
each shower which makes it very convenient in cold weather. You can walk
into the shower fully clothed and not worry about having enough room to drop
your stuff while showering. Bring pots and dishes, the ones they have tend
to suck and probably spread germs. Once someone gets sick, everyone seems
to get sick in short order. Yes, you can drink the water straight out of
the tap. We stayed during the busiest time of the year, around New Years,
so there were quite a few people. I'm not sure what the place is like any
other time, but Kurt threw a temper tantrum while we were there. He was
apparently dismayed that people did not appear to be washing their dishes.
Loud profanity and threats to kick people out were screamed at no one in
particular. Take it for what its worth. Camping is five bucks a day. There
are probably better deals to be had, but no other campground to my knowledge
will give you as secluded and private a site as Cerro Gordo. There were two
thefts while we were there. Someone's CD player and shaving kit was taken,
and the following day, someone lost a passport and another small bag or
shaving kit. Elaina, Kurt's wife, suggested moving towards the center of
the campground away from the barbed wire fence which runs along a road. I
have no idea if the thefts were by locals or other climbers. Again, take it
for what it's worth. We were near the fence the whole time and nothing was
taken. If I go back, my passport will go with me everywhere, including the
shower.
Lunch food is a bit of a pain in the ass. You can walk to a deposito in
about 25 minutes, but they have very little to offer. Imagine trying to
live on what they sell in American gas stations. For lunch we ate bananas,
pears, apples, and canned tuna. Fortunately we brought cliff/power/granola
bars with us. You can't even find them in town as far as I could tell. For
breakfast you can get eggs in town or at market which happens on Tuesday and
Friday. You can also get fresh produce at market, but I really don't know
much else about it since we only went once on new years day and it was a
really small market because of the holiday. Dinner is easy. We ate at
Checo's restaurant every night. Checo's is five minutes from the ranch, and
you pass it on the way into the potrero every morning. Checo and his wife
will serve you an authentic Mexican meal for just about nothing. Beer is 7
pesos, or roughly 65 cents. A quesadilla is roughly a dollar. The special,
which is usually some sort of chicken or beef comes with rice and beans for
the low low price of 28 pesos, or roughly $2.60 American. Why bother
cooking and cleaning dishes when you can eat like Montezuma for less than
five bucks? When you first walk in, your USDA certified, FDA regulated,
Dept. of Agriculture raised gringo butt may be thoroughly sketched out.
After all, Checo's operates out of a converted cattle pen. Don't worry, it's
totally safe. Marta, Checo's wife, is a fantastic cook and everything is
delicious. We ate chicken and beef every night and never once felt even the
slightest bit ill. It may not look like what your used too, but it's all
part of the experience. Live a little. And tip big. We never found out what
the general tipping practice in Mexico is, but we tipped around 30-40%.
After several days we found that our food would arrive before Checo got
around to taking the order of people who had been there prior to our
arrival. No joke.
Phones/Internet: There is a phone at Checo's restaurant, but don't count on
it working. Some days it works, some days it doesn't. If you absolutely need
to make a call, you can walk to El Aguajes (sp?) in about 25 minutes. It's
one of the first depositos you come to on the road into town. You can buy a
phone card there and use the pay phones outside. It costs a dollar a minute.
To use the phone, you insert the phone card into the phone and then dial 001
+ area code + phone number. You can also do the phone card thing in town.
There is an "Internet Cafe" in town, but Cafe is a bit of an overstatement.
It's more like a broom closet filled with PC's your office threw out two
years ago, and a crusty coffee pot. It's twenty pesos per hour, or roughly 2
dollars an hour. The "Cafe," like most Mexican businesses, considers its
posted hours optional. An acquaintance of ours from the ranch who had
traveled to town numerous times reported a 20% success rate of the Cafe
actually being open.
Getting into Town: Rumor has it that on market days, Elaina and Kurt drive
people into town in their van. This didn't happen while we were there. The
other owner of the ranch, Mel, did give us numerous rides in his pick up
however. He is always coming and going from somewhere. Hitchhiking is
extremely common in Mexico, and you should feel relatively safe doing it.
Most of the time we didn't even put our thumbs out. Trucks would just pull
over and offer us a ride. Almost everyone is extremely nice. One guy who
stopped to give us a ride actually showed us where he lived in town and told
us to come see him if we needed anything. He didn't mean something illicit,
he was just being genuinely nice. In the US, I probably would have reported
him to the police as a suspicious person behaving strangely. We saw male
climbers walking to the depositos alone at night, but we did not see any
women climbers doing the same. The people are very nice, but there is no
reason to tempt fate. The road leading to town is extremely dark and
desolate until you reach the depositos. It wouldn't hurt to travel in pairs,
but again, we never had any negative experiences.
Weather:
We stayed from 12/27 until 1/7 and we saw a drastic range of temperatures.
Climbing in Potrero is about chasing the sun. The sun can make a startling
difference in temperature. In many cases it was the difference between
jackets and chattering teeth and climbing with a light long-sleeved shirt.
The first four days were absolutely stellar. The mornings are cold, but when
the sun arrives you can climb in a t-shirt and pants. Night time was cold
but manageable with a sweatshirt or a fleece. On the fifth day or so, a cold
front moved in and it got COLD. Too cold to climb even. For the rest of the
trip it was sweatshirt, jacket, hat, and gloves after the sun went down. It
slowly got better and by the time we left it was beautiful again. You should
be prepared for whatever climbing conditions you would be willing to climb
in. In other words, figure out what range of temperature your willing to
climb in, and then bring gear for the whole range. A nice hat is key.
Gear:
Bring a helmet. Wear your helmet. Did I mention a helmet? You should bring a
helmet. You should probably wear your helmet too. Even on the single pitch
climbs. Many of the shorter climbs, especially on the Jungle Wall, are
directly beneath monster multi-pitch routes and rock fall is _common_. We
were introduced to Potrero rock fall in short order. On our second day we
were at the third belay station of Jungle Mountaineering (5.10-), when we
heard the most ominous sound you can imagine. It's something akin to what it
must sound like when an asteroid is crashing through the atmosphere. "Woosh"
seems woefully inadequate. Directly to the left of us was a hanging canyon.
Below the hanging canyon is a climb called Jungle Boy which tops out at the
lip of the canyon floor. When we looked up, we saw a rock the size of a
trash can lid coming off of Yankee Clipper (13 pitches, 5.9) from
approximately 500 feet above us. It exploded on the floor of the hanging
canyon about 30 feet to our left. A pineapple sized chunk flew within
several feet of a climber belaying at the lip of the canyon floor. When we
rapped down to our gear that we left hanging on the first anchor, my
partner's brand new camelback backpack was shredded, and my rope bag had two
giant holes in it. Got Helmet?
Two sixty meter ropes is mandatory. It's nice if you have a smaller diameter
for the second rope, since it is only used for rapping. The lower weight is
worth the investment. If you have a seventy meter, it's helpful but not
necessary. There are enough single pitch climbs that just barely exceed 30
meters to make it worth bringing if you have one. Don't bother buying one
just for the trip though. I don't think we used more than 13 draws on one
pitch, but I would bring a minimum of 18, 20 is better. For anchors, we
used three foot spectra slings with biners on both ends and a figure 8 tied
in the middle. We then clipped into the figure 8 loop. The length turned
out to be just right if your static tie-in sling is a two footer.
Optionally, you could just throw a locker in the figure 8 and clove hitch
your rope in for maximum length adjustability.
If you are going to do The Spires (classic double spire formation, 5.10-),
you should probably bring a small to medium cam for the silly runout on the
first pitch. Perhaps a #1 camalot or something similar. Don Quixote (5.11)
is another climb that people bring one piece of pro for, I believe in the 1
inch range.
Grading:
In general, we found the grading to be soft. My background is Rumney, NH and
the Gunks. I thought Potrero 5.10's felt like sustained Rumney 9's. The
climbing is relatively straightforward and not particularly beta intensive
(the polar opposite of Rumney). I have attempted as high as .10b at Rumney,
and have not yet succeeded. I flashed .11a at Potrero, and on-sighted or
flashed every .10 we tried with the exception of the Spires and Motavation
(15 foot whipper). I also led, with four hangs and a 10 foot whip, a .12a
at Potrero. I wouldn't even bother attempting a .12 at Rumney. Not even
with your draws.
There are two guidebooks for Potrero. We used Mexico Rock and Kurt Smith's
supplement. The other option is the Magic Ed guide. In general, the Magic Ed
guide grades are softer than Mexico Rock/Smith Supplement. Kurt's
supplement is usually one letter grade lower than Magic Ed's. On the other
hand, Magic Ed's guide has several topos that Mexico rock does not. To the
extent you care, Kurt Smith accuses Magic Ed of plagiarizing Mexico Rock.
The supplement also contains warnings about many routes Smith considers
poorly bolted or dangerously loose (not coincidently, many of those are
first ascents by Magic Ed). The only route Smith called "poorly bolted"
that we actually had a chance to see was El Curandero on the Mini-Super
wall, and it really was hideously bolted. If you blow at the crux you can
kiss your ankles good-bye. Suffice it to say, we never saw anyone climb it.
Climbs:
Buzz Rock: We began our trip at Buzz Rock. The wall is not actually inside
the Potrero, but rather, it sits in front of El Toro and is readily visible
from the Ranch. Buzz Rock is basically a collection of fun and relatively
easy 5.9's. There is also a two pitch and a three pitch climb in the same
grade range to get you acclimated. The only downside is the approach.
Forget what the guidebook says. This is how you get there. First, walk out
of the Ranch and down the road until you come to the dried river bed. The
river bed is that wide swath of rock that cuts across the road. Follow the
river bed until it hits the next road. Go right on that road for about 30
seconds and the road will widen a bit. I'm not sure if it is a permanent
feature, but there was a huge pile of white calcite rock deposited here.
Walk along the fence behind the pile for about 10 seconds and you will find
a place where the fence has been knocked down. Follow the trail until you
come to the giant rusted metal chute that leads up the approach hill. Follow
the twisting trail up the hill. You should be traveling directly towards the
face of Buzz Rock. If you find yourself leaping over cactus or otherwise
trailblazing, you messed up. Get back on the trail.
All the single pitch climbs at Buzz are fun and worth doing. The multi-pitch
routes on this wall are confusing. There are intermediate rap stations that
you will confuse with belay stations. Either skip the first station or just
do it in small pitches to get your rope management skills up to par for the
real monster climbs your going to do later. We never did figure out if we
finished those climbs or just added in extra pitches. There were bolts above
us, but it didn't really look too enticing.
Jungle Wall: Our second day was on the Jungle. We did Jungle Mountaineering
first, after waiting for it. It's a really fun four pitch route that tops
out at 5.10-. You need two ropes to rap it. The third pitch is pretty runout
but it's easy climbing. The last pitch is the crux pitch and involves some
neat stemming moves with no hand holds. The crux move is stemming your left
foot on a corner that angles towards you, while you hang on to cruddy holds
and reach for the biggest jug you could ever ask for. At the moment I can't
recall what else we did that day.
Spires: The Spires is the striking formation at the rear of the potrero, and
home to probably the most classic route in the whole area, Aguja Celo Ray
(Space Boyz not withstanding). Strangely enough, no one uses the routes
proper name. Instead, everyone just calls it the Spires. If you use the real
name of the route, most people will have no idea what your referring to.
Mexico Rock calls it 5.9, the Smith supplement calls it .10-, and I call it
.10. Bring your lead head boys and girls. I met a .12 climber that pulled on
draw on the first pitch. The beginning of the first pitch gives you a
choice of face or crack. The crack didn't look pleasant so I took the face.
It was hard and I ended up hanging twice. The pitch is much longer than you
think it is when you look at it from the ground. Climbing this amazing
formation makes it all worth while though. Halfway up the base there is a
natural tunnel through the rock. Stop for photo op. You continue up the
smaller spire, past a ridiculous and totally unnecessary runout (optional
#.75 or #1 camalot), all the way to the saddle between the two spires. The
wind in the saddle is pretty strong, so bring a shell. By the way, the first
pitch is in the shade the whole day during the winter, so dress warmly. You
will be shivering in the morning shade while the mutants over on the Outrage
wall will be climbing shirtless. Once you get past the first 15 feet or so
of the second pitch, the exposure is pretty severe. You start out climbing
the inside of the spire directly above the saddle, but soon enough you have
to move out onto the exposed arete to finish up. The crux, at least for my
partner who led the second pitch, was smearing on textured rock with no real
edges and side pulling off a decent left hand, albeit tips only. Interesting
anecdote: While climbing the Spires, we met the Senior Editor of Climbing
Magazine, Alison Osius and her friend Susan. Watching Alison's unbelievably
static form on the other Spire was inspiring, no pun intended. I hope
someday I too can move with the deliberation and precision of a praying
mantis. The Spires is a really fun super classic route on an amazing
formation with a real treat at the end. You get to do a double rope 160'
free-hanging rappel down the backside of the formation. A real blast! Make
sure you come down second, so your partner can take pictures of you hanging
in space from below, with the top of the spire as your background. It is
possible to rap the route with one rope, but I believe it requires the use
of Pangea's anchors, which will really irk whoever is climbing it. Pangea
(5.11+) is a super-popular, super-pumpy testpiece on the backside of the
Spires. Expect long lines if your not there first thing in the morning. We
never got on it.
After the Spires, we did the first pitch of Las Chimuelas on the Jungle
Wall. It was worth while, and I wish we had finished all three pitches.
Note: At the end of the first pitch you will see anchors to your left. When
you get to those anchors, you will see another set only fifteen feet above
you and to the right. Don't worry, your at the right anchor. The one above
you is a rap station you will use on the way down, because the route angles
left, and rapping from the belay station would be problematic.
Mini-Super Wall: Fan-freaking-tastic. Stupendous. There are four 5.10's in a
row, and every single one of them is a blast! We started out on a 5.8 called
Leftover Man (or something like that) and then moved up to the .10's. They
were busy so we went uphill two minutes to Mas Panza Que Pelo (5.10-). It's
a really fun route that's a great warm up for the four .10's just downhill.
It climbs through a small a-frame roof and then over a bulge at the top. We
felt like it was closer to 5.9, so use it as a warm up. Just downhill from
there are the fab four .10's from left to right, Coke, Cerveza, Chilidog,
and Empanada. They run from .10- to .10+ and every single one of them is
pure fun fun fun. Cool pockets, huecos, crimps, etc.. The only thing missing
is tufas. Cruxes all occur near or at the top of the route. One sixty-meter
is sufficient. There is one pock mark on the wall, and it's name is El
Curandero. Skip it, if you like your ankles.
Mota Wall: Another awesome wall. This a great way to start the morning,
since it's in the sun for pretty much the whole day. For that reason, it
also tends to be popular. First route we did was Treasure of the Sierra
Madre (5.10-). It's a really cool detached pillar with actual arete moves.
Fun warm up. Don't hesitate to throw the stem when you need to, even though
its off the pillar. Outside, if its rock, its on route. After that we did
Motavision (5.10+), which is directly to the right of Motavation (5.10+).
Make sure your on the right route because El Grifo, which is directly to the
right of Motavision, requires a seventy meter to lower off. Motavision is a
nice route on clean vertical face. However, it isn't quite as fun as
Motavation. Motavation has really neat pockets and fun moves. I took a 15
footer when my forearms buckled near the top. As long as your past the
bulge in the beginning it's a clean fall. Next, we did the hardest route I
led cleanly on the whole trip. Two-Pumped Chump (5.11a) is another fun route
with clean face and neat moves. The crux is down low; stay to the right of
the right facing corner/bulge thing. It doesn't look hard at all from the
ground. It's deceiving. We didn't do the second pitch, but I understand it's
fun, although not quite as stellar as the first pitch. We also did Spies,
Lies, and Naked Thighs (5.12a or 5.11+ depending on which way you go).
There is a crack just below and to the right of a blank face about half-way
up. If you go right of the crack, it's .11+. If you stay left of the crack
and move up the blank face it's .12a. We tried the blank face. I took a
clean 10 foot whip at the crux, but made it up with about four hangs. I left
the draws up and my partner took a short fall at the crux but he was able to
clip the crux bolt first so it was basically a toprope fall. It's a super
technical section that was definitely the highlight of my climbing career
thus far. My right index pad is still sensitive. No kidding. Everything from
a gaston on a paper thin three-tip flake, to a crappy two finger half-pad
pocket, to a final semi-desperate mono to clip the bolt. Neato.
Las Estrellas Wall: This wall is the home to the only monster route we did
on the trip; La Estrallita (12 pitches, 5.10b). The route climbs the fin of
the Las Estrellas wall. It starts on the wall, but after four pitches, you
are basically climbing on the top of the wall, along the ridge. The climb is
super casual and requires no lead head. There is no exposure after the
initial pitches, and even those aren't terribly exposed. It's an excellent
first monster route. One caveat: Do not climb beneath another party on this
route. It is tempting to do so because you rap off the back side of the fin,
which means no one will be dropping rap lines over your head. However, like
most long routes in the Potrero, Estrallita has loose sections, and they
aren't all small pieces. Because of the nature of the route, the rock fall
tends to come directly down the route. Some of the climbing is relatively
low angle, so it will not bounce off and fly safely over your head. The
leader will need to tread lightly and be extremely aware of potential loose
rock. Test holds and knock frequently. That said, the route is a lot of fun,
and extremely laid back. No exposure panic here. The .10b sections are not
hard at all, and I think those grades are softer than most at Potrero. If
you climb solid .9's at Rumney you can on-sight Estrallita no problem. The
following is some very useful beta.
The Smith supplement has bad beta on this climb. There are two variations,
and it lists only one. Consult the Magic Ed guide for a topo and better
beta. Either that or pay attention now. The first two pitches can be strung
together with about 24 or 25 draws. The third pitch is the first optional
variation. If you head straight up, it's 5.11 and it looks like it. For
easier terrain, take the obvious ramp to your right at 5.9. The fourth
pitch is the variation the supplement doesn't list. If you head straight up,
it's 5.11, and again, it looks like it. For an easier time, walk left.
Seriously...just walk. It's a bolted sidewalk sized ledge that leads to a
crack that leads to easier face at 5.8. From there, you do a 3rd class
scramble on a fixed rope through the Aztec Lounge. Word has it that during
the spring and summer there is a Rattlesnake living here. Step lightly. When
you reach the anchor for the fixed rope you will be facing a rock wall. Turn
to your right and walk over to the anchors at the bottom of what looks like
a water slide made out of rock. Run up the chute for about 35 feet before
you clip your first bolt. Seriously. From here the pitches slowly get back
to harder terrain culminating in three .10b pitches almost in a row. At
least one of the .10b pitches appears to have been retro-bolted, so you may
see two sets of bolts. The first will be on the rock you are climbing, and
the second will be on the clean face to your left. You are basically
climbing up a giant corner for the top half of the route, so there is always
a face to your left. Always use the bolts on the left face instead of the
bolts on the rock you are climbing. I suspect the reason it was re-bolted is
because much of the rock you climb will ring ominously hollow when you knock
on it. If your clipped into it when it falls, it would take you for the big
ride. The final pitch is rated 5.7, but it's a sandbag. More like 5.9-. It's
also quite loose in the crack so beware not to send any presents down to
your second. The summit is really nice, complete with a register. Say hi to
Shrek for me. Look for the entry by Dave and Steve somewhere around January
4th, 2002.
Alternate Start: If there is a party setting up on Estrallita when you
arrive, don't despair. You can pass them easily if you use the little known
alternate start. Find the Mojo Slab, just uphill from the Fin de Semana Wall
(opposite side of the fin). You should scope this route out the day before
you do Estrallita so you know exactly where to go if you need to use it.
There is a two pitch route called UFO's, Big Rigs and Burritos (5.9, 5.7)
that will shave off two pitches and deposit you at the start of the 3rd
class scramble, well ahead of the other party.
Rap Beta: For various and sundry reasons, we did the five hundred foot rap
off the backside of the fin in complete darkness. Good thing we brought
headlamps. The ground on the backside is higher than it is on the front
side, so while the climb is about 800 feet, the rap is only 500. Do not
bring a second rope. You can do 5 single rope raps, and double ropes will
almost certainly get stuck if you use them on any of the first three raps.
The first three raps are not entirely straightforward. You need to be on the
lookout for two things. First and foremost, the anchors. Don't miss them.
You are not rapping over a climb, so if you miss them, you may be stranded
in the middle of a stretch of glass polish rock. The other thing to watch
for is arrows. There are arrows spray painted on the rock (remember, your
not in the US gringo). Follow them, they will tell you where your rope
should run. To reach the first rap station, you must follow the fixed line
from the summit, down a fourth class scramble. If you don't know how to use
a munter hitch on a fixed line, you need to learn BEFOREHAND. You probably
won't be able to use a belay device to rappel on the fixed line because it
is simply too stiff to shove into an ATC. A munter-hitch on a big locking
biner works quite well, and is a technique you should know anyway. One other
helpful piece of beta, the last rappel ends on a shelf about 10 feet off the
ground, and requires a non-technical scramble down a little ramp. In the
daylight, you probably wouldn't even notice that you had to downclimb. If
it's completely dark, and your headlamp doesn't go past 10 feet, it will
feel as though you are still hundreds of feet off the deck with no anchors
in sight. You should have about 5 to 8 feet of rope left when you reach the
ledge. If you have more than that, you haven't gone far enough yet. Helpful
hint: Make friends at camp and give them one of your walkie-talkies when you
do a monster route. There is no search and rescue service in the potrero,
short of the friends you make during your trip.
Those are the highlights of our trip. If I think of additional stuff, I'll
spray it at the group. I would definitely go back to the Potrero, there are
lots of routes I still want to bag!
Julie
>
> What follows is a TR and lots of trip/planning beta from a ten day
excursion
> (12/27 - 1/7) to Mexico that I took with my friend Dave. I lack the time
> and motavation to put it into proper story form, so it may appear clinical
> and/or detached at times. Hope it's useful to someone. Feel free to
> email/post with questions. Enjoy.
Long, but worth every word!
JSH
Dawn Alguard
> What follows is a TR and lots of trip/planning beta from a ten day excursion
> (12/27 - 1/7) to Mexico
Thanks for this, Steve. We don't get many Potrero Chico TR's.
Just a couple of comments.
> To the
> extent you care, Kurt Smith accuses Magic Ed of plagiarizing Mexico Rock.
For what it's worth, having used both guide books, it's hard to
see where this accusation is coming from. Certainly, there are
no topos in the Mexico Rock book, so Magic Ed's topos obviously
didn't come from there. The only similarity between the books is
that they cover the same routes (more or less, Magic Ed's is more
updated). The descriptions, ratings, and even the overall
organization are different.
> One other
> helpful piece of beta, the last rappel ends on a shelf about 10 feet off the
> ground, and requires a non-technical scramble down a little ramp.
Very true. I also agree that you'd never manage to pull double
ropes and you'd be SOL with a stuck rope because you're not
rapping the route. We also had a real rope-stretcher rap in the
middle, like reach down and clip the anchor and then rap off the
end of your rope. But, I only remember three raps (not counting
the downclimb at the beginning or end) so perhaps we missed a
station.
Dawn
Thor Lancelot Simon
[snip]
>Once someone gets sick, everyone seems to get sick in short order.
>Yes, you can drink the water straight out of the tap.
I'm not entirely certain these two statements are unrelated (FWIW, I
drank the water "straight out of the tap" at the Potrero when I was
there, too -- until someone pointed out to me that the tap many of us
were drinking from was connected to Homero's swimming pool!)
>thefts while we were there. Someone's CD player and shaving kit was taken,
>and the following day, someone lost a passport and another small bag or
>shaving kit. Elaina, Kurt's wife, suggested moving towards the center of
>the campground away from the barbed wire fence which runs along a road. I
FWIW, while we were there, a schoolbus full of climbers was thrown out
of Homero's after the property of several other campers was found within.
I saw them drive off into the Potrero; I have no idea what happened
thereafter (we heard estimations of the safety of camping in the
Potrero that varied from "it's totally fine" to "you will be robbed by
bandits, no, I'm not kidding.").
>breakfast you can get eggs in town or at market which happens on Tuesday and
>Friday. You can also get fresh produce at market, but I really don't know
>much else about it since we only went once on new years day and it was a
>really small market because of the holiday. Dinner is easy. We ate at
The market totally rocks. As for breakfast -- did the restaurant at
Homero's close? That was the best breakfast deal I've ever had in my life.
>I don't think we used more than 13 draws on one pitch, but I would bring
>a minimum of 18, 20 is better.
I seem to recall using something like 17 or 18 draws on Gringo Disco (not
to be missed!) and, as I recall the topo, Spaceboyz has some long pitches
as well.
>If you are going to do The Spires (classic double spire formation, 5.10-),
>you should probably bring a small to medium cam for the silly runout on the
>first pitch. Perhaps a #1 camalot or something similar. Don Quixote (5.11)
Lots of Potrero climbs used to have runout first pitches. I didn't find
the Spires particularly unusual in that regard when I was there. You
mention doing Jungle Mountaineering, and mention the runout third pitch;
has it been rebolted in the past few years? When I did it three or four
years ago, the bolts were quite old and they were pretty widely spaced on
all four pitches, but the dramatic feature of the climb to my mind was the
off-the-ground runout (30'?) on P1. Easy climbing, but it definitely got
your blood moving! It would be a shame if it had been rebolted.
--
Thor Lancelot Simon t...@rek.tjls.com
But as he knew no bad language, he had called him all the names of common
objects that he could think of, and had screamed: "You lamp! You towel! You
plate!" and so on. --Sigmund Freud
Tim Stich
> We stayed at Rancho Cerro Gordo, a.k.a. Kurt's place. .... It's much
> nicer than plain dirt.
I concur that this is the place to camp. Having camped at Homero's the
first two visits, the sites at Kurt's were a real nice change.
The showers are clean, relatively speaking, and the
> water temp is pretty good. There is a private changing area attached to
> each shower which makes it very convenient in cold weather.
This is also nice about Kurt's showers, although you can just put your
clothes over the shower door at Homero's if you want. The hot water is
often much flakier at Homero's.
>I'm not sure what the place is like any
> other time, but Kurt threw a temper tantrum while we were there. He was
> apparently dismayed that people did not appear to be washing their dishes.
> Loud profanity and threats to kick people out were screamed at no one in
> particular. Take it for what its worth.
I would have gotten a big kick out of that! Ha ha ha! Kurt is, well,
Kurt.
> If I go back, my passport will go with me everywhere, including the
> shower.
If you drive, securing your belongings is much easier. Certainly lock
up your stuff if you can. Kurt and Homero would be wise to put in some
lockers to rent, which I think would be an immensely popular service
and cheap to set up.
> Lunch food is a bit of a pain in the ass. You can walk to a deposito in
> about 25 minutes, but they have very little to offer. Imagine trying to
> live on what they sell in American gas stations. For lunch we ate bananas,
> pears, apples, and canned tuna.
Yeah, once again if you drive you can take care of breakfast and lunch
yourself (recommended). Dinner is the meal you want to eat out.
We ate at
> Checo's restaurant every night. Checo's is five minutes from the ranch, and
> you pass it on the way into the potrero every morning. Checo and his wife
> will serve you an authentic Mexican meal for just about nothing. Beer is 7
> pesos, or roughly 65 cents.
Checo's is hands down my favorite place to eat, and buy beer for that
matter. Deposito Del Toro will overcharge the hell out of you if you
are a gringo, whereas Checo is happy to sell everything at one price.
It was funny, but we brought our own Mexican beer purchased in Austin
on the last trip. The cheap deposito beer days are over.
> We saw male
> climbers walking to the depositos alone at night, but we did not see any
> women climbers doing the same. The people are very nice, but there is no
> reason to tempt fate.
Unruly drunk men is the thing to avoid if you are walking alone at
night and female. That's what local women have counciled, but the same
really goes for here in the States as well. ;-)
> Gear:
> Bring a helmet. Wear your helmet. Did I mention a helmet? You should bring a
> helmet. You should probably wear your helmet too.
Boy are you ever telling the truth. When I was there last, I managed
to drop several fist-sized rocks pulling the rap line down Snot Girlz.
I yelled down instantly and no one got hit. One girl hauled ass down
the lower trail; she seemed familiar with the rock fall situation.
Either that or she had a highly developed sense of self-preservation.
> Two sixty meter ropes is mandatory.
For a few routes, perhaps, but not all or even most. It depends® It's
truly a joy climbing Yankee Clipper and/or Space Boyz with one rope,
for instance.
> Grading:
> In general, we found the grading to be soft. My background is Rumney, NH and
> the Gunks. I thought Potrero 5.10's felt like sustained Rumney 9's.
I'll second that. I also agree that Rumney's grading is harder, as I
got to sample the climbs there in October for the first time. Yowsa.
> All the single pitch climbs at Buzz are fun and worth doing. The multi-pitch
> routes on this wall are confusing. ...We never did figure out if we
> finished those climbs or just added in extra pitches. There were bolts above
> us, but it didn't really look too enticing.
I hear the last few bolts to the summit is pretty worthless. Lot's of
scrambling on loose crap. The huge ledge at pitch three is fine.
> It is
> possible to rap the route with one rope, but I believe it requires the use
> of Pangea's anchors, which will really irk whoever is climbing it.
You can rap from the second pitch anchor of the uphill Spire route
(what we usually refer to it as). A single 60 meter rope will get you
down the backside from here with several feet to spare.
Pangea
> (5.11+) is a super-popular, super-pumpy testpiece on the backside of the
> Spires. Expect long lines if your not there first thing in the morning. We
> never got on it.
The anchors are offset and wierd. Bring some slings to toprope it.
> The third pitch is the first optional
> variation. If you head straight up, it's 5.11 and it looks like it. For
> easier terrain, take the obvious ramp to your right at 5.9. The fourth
> pitch is the variation the supplement doesn't list. If you head straight up,
> it's 5.11, and again, it looks like it.
The first 5.11 pitch has one really hard spot, which I had tons of
hang time on. The second, silly 20 ft. 5.11 pitch is easily
circumvented by climbing the face just left of the crack/diehedral,
which I would say is in the 5.10 range. The 5.11 part simply has large
boulders missing, exposing the relatively featureless rock beneath. In
short, it's forgettable, so don't worry about passing it up.
> Those are the highlights of our trip. If I think of additional stuff, I'll
> spray it at the group. I would definitely go back to the Potrero, there are
> lots of routes I still want to bag!
Way cool TR there! I was working on a combo TR of three visits, but
that has been taking too long. You hit all of the details anyway. All
any good TR needs is some new Potrero photos. My friend Jason Perez
took these from the December trip. He correctly identifies the distant
images of Gary Ellis and I on Snot Girlz, even though he was way the
hell over on Black Cat Bone.
http://home.austin.rr.com/jclimber/potrero_dec01/potrero.html
-Tim Stich
Steve E.
"Thor Lancelot Simon" <t...@panix.com> wrote in message
news:a27a8r$hid$1...@panix1.panix.com...
> Lots of Potrero climbs used to have runout first pitches. I didn't find
> the Spires particularly unusual in that regard when I was there. You
> mention doing Jungle Mountaineering, and mention the runout third pitch;
> has it been rebolted in the past few years? When I did it three or four
> years ago, the bolts were quite old and they were pretty widely spaced on
> all four pitches, but the dramatic feature of the climb to my mind was the
> off-the-ground runout (30'?) on P1. Easy climbing, but it definitely got
> your blood moving! It would be a shame if it had been rebolted.
I don't recall the bolts on Jungle Mountaineering being particularly old. It
may very well have been re-bolted, but I can't say I mind. I also do not
recall a 30 foot runout off the ground, which further indicates re-bolting
if your memory, and mine, hold true. Again, can't say I mind if it fixed a
30 foot runout and replaced manky bolts. As I recall, the only ugly runout
was P3 and my partner didn't complain to badly.
Steve
Thor Lancelot Simon
Oh, the bolts weren't manky -- but they were noticeably older than most
of the other bolts on popular climbs.
The way I remember the route being bolted, there definitely weren't any
"ugly" runouts. In fact, the route name pretty much made sense -- easy
climbing with little pro, interspersed with harder, more interesting
sections that were bolted pretty well. Actually, it really had this
nifty old-route feel to it, where every time I got to where I *wanted* a
bolt, I'd look up and there it would be: just a move or two *into* the
interesting section, instead of down below it. A really nice "tune your
head up" kind of route. A couple of years later I was reminded of it
by "Five Gallon Buckets" at Smith -- except that the beginning of Jungle
Mountaineering was a little harder (5.6 instead of 5.4?) and I thought I
remembered the runout being a little longer. Of course, that could be
my memory trying to make me feel like a badass again. ;-)
Brent McDaniel
Nice and informative TR. We were there for 10 days before christmas. I'll
add some more info as I think this thread will be valuable if someone is
searching for more info at a later date.
Time: If you can arrange it, the few weeks before christmas is a really
nice time. The weather was nice, shirtless climbing in the sun, capilene
top in the shade. At night it got chilly by bearable. The best part is,
no one's there! We were able to get on many of the classics without
getting up early and never were on a route at the same time as another
part. Kurt showed us the reservations list, seemed like the whole world
was showing up on the 26th. If I go back, I'll defintely do the
pre-christmas thing again.
When your driving towards the Potrero,
> and driving in Mexico is an event worthy of a TR in and of itself, it's
> hard to tell where your going since the road is surrounded by mountains
> for virtually the whole trip.
We drove in from Atlanta, the trip taking exactly 20 hours from leaving
Atlanta to drinking a cold beer at Kurts. Border crossing at Solidarity
bridge was pretty casual and the driving was straightforward (we took the
toll road, expensive but worth it). If you follow the directions on
Kurt's website, it's a piece of cake.
> We stayed at Rancho Cerro Gordo, a.k.a. Kurt's place. The campsites are
> very different from the other offerings in the area. You actually get
> some semblance of privacy. Homero's is just a big field where everyone
> pitches a tent at random. Cerro Gordo has individual sites separated by
> shrubbery.
We stayed at Kurt's as well. Nice place, decent privacy and facilities.
We ate at Homero's 2 nights and I liked the scene at Kurt's better. I'll
stay there again if I go back.
> Getting into Town: Rumor has it that on market days, Elaina and Kurt
> drive people into town in their van. This didn't happen while we were
> there. The other owner of the ranch, Mel, did give us numerous rides in
> his pick up however. He is always coming and going from somewhere.
Elaina took a big crew into town in the van when we were there, plus I
toted some folks in my car. Getting a ride to market day is pretty easy
and well worth it. A nice rest morning.
Rockfall: We saw some rockfall but it wasn't as bad as I had been led to
believel. If people will just be careful when pulling rap ropes, it
wouldn't be a big deal. Climbing with a 70m rope makes this easier as you
don't have massive amounts of rope.
> Two sixty meter ropes is mandatory.
I took a 60m and a 70m. I never took the 60m out of my car. I totally
recommend the 70m as it makes everything easier. One note, you CANNOT rap
Agua de Coco with 1 70m rope (despite what it says in Ed's guidebook).
> If you are going to do The Spires (classic double spire formation,
> 5.10-), you should probably bring a small to medium cam for the silly
> runout on the first pitch.
You can thread a constriction in the rock to ease the runout if you'd
like. The runout section is easy climbing, though.
> Grading:
> In general, we found the grading to be soft.
Agreed, but it seemed to depend on who did the FA. In general, I found a
K. Smith FA was probably harder than others at the same grade in the
guidebook. Like all guidebooks, take the #'s with a grain of salt.
> Climbs:
> Buzz Rock: We began our trip at Buzz Rock. The wall is not actually
> inside the Potrero, but rather, it sits in front of El Toro and is
> readily visible from the Ranch. Buzz Rock is basically a collection of
> fun and relatively easy 5.9's. There is also a two pitch and a three
> pitch climb in the same grade range to get you acclimated. The only
> downside is the approach. Forget what the guidebook says. This is how
> you get there. First, walk out of the Ranch and down the road until you
> come to the dried river bed. The river bed is that wide swath of rock
> that cuts across the road. Follow the river bed until it hits the next
> road. Go right on that road for about 30 seconds and the road will widen
> a bit. I'm not sure if it is a permanent feature, but there was a huge
> pile of white calcite rock deposited here. Walk along the fence behind
> the pile for about 10 seconds and you will find a place where the fence
> has been knocked down. Follow the trail until you come to the giant
> rusted metal chute that leads up the approach hill. Follow the twisting
> trail up the hill. You should be traveling directly towards the face of
> Buzz Rock. If you find yourself leaping over cactus or otherwise
> trailblazing, you messed up. Get back on the trail.
Alas, why didn't I have this info before I went. I wandered through quite
a bit of nasty cactus trying to find my way up there but it was worth it.
Fun moves and a nice view. We did 1 of the 3 pitch routes (can't remember
the name, 10+ in Ed's book, more like 10-) and it was nice with solid rock
all the way to the top.
> Spires:
<good info on the spires snipped>
With 1 70 you can rap the route itself. I also don't recommend belaying
at the top of the 2nd pitch. Stay at the notch and climb it like a normal
1 pitch sport route.
Pangea
> (5.11+) is a super-popular, super-pumpy testpiece on the backside of the
> Spires. Expect long lines if your not there first thing in the morning.
> We never got on it.
I climbed it twice, never having to wait in line at all (before christmas
is the way to go!). The anchors at the top are wierd, better (imo) to
lead than to toprope.
Recommended!
> Mini-Super Wall: Fan-freaking-tastic. Stupendous. There are four 5.10's
> in a row, and every single one of them is a blast!
Agreed. I was skeptical with 4 routes of the same grade being so close to
each other but each one was different and fun.
>Mota Wall:
<mota info snipped>
Mota is definitely worth going to but be aware that Snott Girlz is also
here and loose rock has been knocked off. Be careful.
> Las Estrellas Wall:
There are also some good single pitch routes on this wall as well. The
Marklar routes are nice, as is Fear of Flyin' which gets real pumpy.
Other random comments:
*We liked Snott Girlz better than Space Boyz. The climbing is more varied
and the 5th pitch is truly one you want to lead.
*La Ola at the wave are has a really cool section at the top but be
careful lowering if you're only using a 60.
* A hike up to the dihedrals area is worth it. Dead Man Walking is a
nice, long dihedral crack route. If you go up there, the surf bowl is a
must visit. All hard routes but can be fun to watch people cranking some
hard stuff. Guppy, the easiest route there, is nice. It was the only
route in the area that I got on and I'm glad I did. Took a couple of
falls but it overhangs nicely so they're fun. Don't blow it at the
anchors, look for the arm hook!
* Most of the routes at the Scrutinizer are quality and have 0 approach
time.
-- Brent