tradchica Posted December 2, 2004 Share Posted December 2, 2004 I'm going to move south of the border next winter for four to six months. I want to find a location where I can teach English, climb, and speak spanish. I mostly enjoy trad climbing and alpine but am willing to sport climb if the location's right. I'll be flying solo and without car. When I lived in southern Spain, this wasn't a problem, but what about Mexico and south? Not even sure how far south I want to go. Still have time to plan. thought I'd start here. Thanks for any leads you can give me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barkernews Posted December 2, 2004 Share Posted December 2, 2004 El Potrero Chico!!!!!!! This place is absolutely INCREDIBLE!!! You have GOT to check it out. It's mostly sport... but there's a BUNCH of trad potential. The rock's kinda loose in places but the walls are huge and breathtaking. It's just about an hour outside of Monterrey. There's been some disputes over who owns the place and who runs the place lately, but I believe there's a pretty sweet little climbers village near the base still. Just not sure who runs it. Last I heard the guy who owned it got chased out of the country. Â http://www.rockclimbing.com/routes/listArea.php?AreaID=401 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EWolfe Posted December 2, 2004 Share Posted December 2, 2004 Agreed. Portrero Chico is the shiznit. Â Bring your helmet, as the limestone tends to break off. Â Other than that - amazing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dru Posted December 2, 2004 Share Posted December 2, 2004 Guadalajara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texplorer Posted December 2, 2004 Share Posted December 2, 2004 Potrero chico is a nice place but you can leave your trad gear at home. There is very little as far as trad there and the rock is pretty friable too. There is another "secret" spot to the east of Monterrey known to locals as El Salto. It is up in the mountains and has some very Thailand-like climbing in caves and such. You don't need a car around monterrey but take your gas mask as it makes LA's smog problems seem trivial. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dru Posted December 2, 2004 Share Posted December 2, 2004 Trad climbing in the Potrero killed Jose Pereyra Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ken4ord Posted December 2, 2004 Share Posted December 2, 2004 Guadalajara  I'll second Dru. Guadalajara has a great some great climbing around a beautiful European like city. There is some great places to eat, nice galleries, and fun clubs. It is also a college town that isn't near the boarder, so you might have more opportunities to teach English. Most palce near the boarder people can speak English and it there is more poverty. You have a better chance at squeeking out a living in central mexico. Another place to check out is the Copper Canyon, no good place to teach English there though. I might be able to hook you up with some folks that my parents know that have a ranch and I guess they have several routes set on there property by Skinner/Pinia crew. Also Basechiaci (sp?) has some great potential there. Some dudes from CO set up a bolted 12 line next to the falls, I think it is around 10 or pitches, it is the only one there. Done the canyon is El Gigiante, the euros have known about it ofr years and have established several Yos. style wall routes there. I have yet to check that out.  Have fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ken4ord Posted December 2, 2004 Share Posted December 2, 2004 Oh yeah, the bus system down in Mexico rocks. It is the best way to get around the country. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Off_White Posted December 3, 2004 Share Posted December 3, 2004 I was always fond of this place, but Canon Tajo is probably too close to the border for your purposes. Guadalajara is pretty cool for a big city. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ken4ord Posted December 3, 2004 Share Posted December 3, 2004 Yo off-white how is the development down there. I have always heard of the PanAm, but nothing else, except for some alpine down farther on Pico de Diablo. It is another one of those places I haven't been too. Is there other routes down in Tajon or potential for more? Also what about theviery, heard its bad there, cars getting ripped off or stripped? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Off_White Posted December 3, 2004 Share Posted December 3, 2004 It's been years since I've been down, but I've kept up a little bit. There are hundreds of routes down there, somewhat similar to Joshua Tree but with Pinon Pine instead of Joshua Trees. Lots of both face and crack climbs, the development has mostly been trad in orientation, though that may have changed a little in the last decade. The area is the rim of an escarpment, and while Trono Blanco drops over the edge, there are a lot of domes and formations on the rim yielding a stack of one and two pitch climbs. I'd guess there may be as many as a dozen routes on Trono Blanco itself these days, with a number of long free routes. Â One of the cool things about the place is that despite having been visited by climbers for over 30 years, there is no guidebook. It's all word of mouth, including directions on how to find your way there over a maze of woodcutter roads. There's been a recent battle fought over the guidebook issue, a guy named Kennedy (author of the current San Diego County guide) declared his intentions to write a Tajo guide, even though he had almost no experience climbing down there. His self stated reasons were financial in nature. You can find a long tortured debate over on RC.com on the subject. John Smallwood, longtime stalwart of the area, pulled some legal shennanigans to copyright the information in order to prevent publication. I think there's something special about a great area within 3 hours of a major metropolitan area where your best source of information is still exploration and a conversation around a campfire. I don't know what the current banditry scene is though. Â If anyone is thinking to head down there, I'd recommend getting ahold of Smallwood (he's not too hard to find on RC.com, or I've got an address floating around somewhere), he's willing to share info and you might even score a tour. Don't think of it as a reliable winter destination though, the old nickname was "poor man's patagonia" and a combination of mud, wind, and snow can make it downright inhospitable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barkernews Posted December 3, 2004 Share Posted December 3, 2004 You can also camp here: http://ranchopotrerochico.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tradchica Posted December 3, 2004 Author Share Posted December 3, 2004 Do you know where I can get some info about the climbing around Guadalajara? Sounds beautiful Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tradchica Posted December 3, 2004 Author Share Posted December 3, 2004 What about bringing aid climbing gear to Mexico? I thought about going to El Gran Trono Blanco with my boyfriend in the fall before he heads back to school. Anyone been climbing there? how was it? Thanks for all the good info mentioned earlier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dru Posted December 3, 2004 Share Posted December 3, 2004 Do you know where I can get some info about the climbing around Guadalajara? Sounds beautiful  there was an article by Jeff Jackson in Climbing mag about 4-5 years ago. or you could google "guadalajara climbing" and see what you get Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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