Long, moderate, well-protected multipitch climbs coupled with dramatic scenery and short approaches?
. . . YES PLEASE !!!
Lauding:
Compact area, yet huge mountains
Variety of accommodation that is walking distance from the climbing
Great restaurants and margaritas for apres climbing
Short approaches
Complaints - not a lot to complain about here - even for the prissy:
Limited rest day or evening activities - we were here in shoulder season (early-Nov) so I would suspect that things might seem different at other times.
Logistics Overview:
Arriving to the area for the first time had me astonished by the size of the mountains. El Potrero Chico is a compact climbing area that sits above the town of Hidalgo, Nuevo Leon. Flights are into Monterrey and then approximately a 45min drive gets you to the Potrero. The town of Hidalgo is a short drive from the climbing area and features a variety of restaurants and appartment-style accommodation. Up the hill from the town is a little climber's village of sorts. This area has a variety of great accommodation including glamping, camping, airbnb's, motels and hostels. There are a variety of great and reasonably priced restaurants in this village. The only downside to staying up in the village is a lack of grocery store or market - so plan accordingly. All of the climbing can be accessed by a short walk if staying up in the village. You can easily get away without have to rent a car which is nice.
Notable Extra Climb-ricular Observations:
Safety/Crime - there seems to be a lot of concerns related to safety when talking about Mexico in general. We did not feel unsafe at all during any part of the trip. Instead of leaving stuff we didn't need at the base of the climb, we brought it up to ledges after a pitch or two. Not sure this was necessary but it worked well and didn't give us any problems.
Climbing Community - there was an excellent sense of community amongst the climbers staying up in the village. It was easy to meet people in the evening at La Posada. The crags and climbing areas were filled with friendly people which made managing crowds on the more popular routes easy. Our checked bags didn't show up on the flight the first day and we quickly found people to climb with by just walking up to the crag. We took on a third one day whose partner had to leave for the airport.
Route Quality - there are suggestions on mountain project related to an abundance of loose rock and suspect hardware. While we agreed that not everything was perfect, it certainly is not out of character with other places that we have climbed. Loose rock and dubious bolts should be managed just like anywhere else and does not warrant a particularly higher level of vigilance here.
Food - bring cash to enjoy the great mexican food and margartas. We didn't have any GI issues on the entire trip. We did not drink the tap water though.
The Climbing:
The climbing there is on excellent limestone. Mostly a predisposition towards positive in-cut climbing. You'll also find a bit of crack, slab and tufas. The climbing on Motta Wall seemed to be more technical and less positive then the other areas. The routes are generally well bolted. We brought a light rack on most of the multipitches to supplement bolts. But (even by prissy climbers standards) it wasn't really required or useful. The belay stances are mostly very comfortable on nice ledges - so a team of three could work well here. Bi-pattern 70m rope helps facilitate efficient rappelling.
Prissy Climbers Top 5 Routes Ranked:
Pitch Black, 5.10d, 6 Pitches - The crux was pitch 2 featuring sustained thin face moves. Upper route is very aesthetic solid limestone and climbs like granite. A great variety of moves and styles across the entire route.
Space Boyz, 5.10d, 11 Pitches - Great views, exposure and position the entire way. The advertised crux is pitch 6 and protects very well with only a short but thoughtful 10d section. The next pitch (pitch 7) seemed overall harder to us. The climbing on the upper mountain is pleasant but somewhat non-descript except for a fun chimney feature near the top. Bolts are somewhat spaced on the easier pitches.
Treasures of the Sierra Madre, 5.10c, 7 pitches - Interesting climbing the whole way. The crux starts with a slabby move right followed by an energetic and somewhat technical roof pull. The upper pitches (although easy) are worth doing to get the impressive view from the top.
Estrellita, 5.10b, 12 pitches - This is a long route but climbs quite quickly. I would say the climbing is fairly soft for the grade if you are somewhat adapt at off-width technique for the upper corner pitches. We did the 5.11a variation down low which avoided a weird traverse. This variation felt relatively easy with a short but powerful crux section. The top out was beautiful beside the infamous palm tree. Rapping down the other side was easy to locate and went well (bring up your approach shoes).
Las Agujas (The Spires), 5.10d - This is a zone featuring a variety of short but exciting and aesthetic multi-pitch climbs. We climbed Bonesaw Arete, 5.10c (not in book). Then we climbed Aguja Celo Rey, 5.10c, (some supplemental cams felt nice) to get to the top of the west spire. Then climbed Off The Notch, 5.10d, to get to the top of the east tower.
Other Climbs Completed:
Pancho Villa Rides Again, 5.10c, 5 pitches - Bolted cracks down low with engaging upper pitches.
Satori, 5.10c, 7 pitches - Great cruisy climbing up an interesting feature. No distinct crux.
Excalibur, 5.10c, 5 pitches - Interesting adventure-type route. Unbelievable view of virgin canyon from the top.
Virgin Canyon Cragging - High concentration of excellent moderate single pitch routes on main wall. Don't miss Milk Cow Blues, 5.10c.
Motta Wall Cragging - Technical climbing that felt more "limestoney" then the rest of the park. Notably, we tried Two Pump Chumps, 5.11a, but had to back off the second pitch.
Cactus Pile, 5.10b, 3 pitches - Hard crux on pitch 2, followed by an amazing pitch 3.
The Rattler, 5.10d, 3 pitches - Thin face climb with a hard crux move. Bolts seemed a bit spaced although we realized one was hidden behind a bush on the way down.
Stay tuned for some upcoming posts related to a detailed route description of Space Boyz.
Wishlist for upcoming trips include: Yankee Clipper, Time Wave Zero, Snott Girlz and Black Cat Bone.
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