El Potrero International Climbing School

2011 Clean Up and Hidalgo Kids Climbing Day

2011-06-12T12:38:00.000-07:00

We had another great clean up of the El Potrero, and kids climbing day this year. The Climbing School and others showed up to help clean and take the local Hidalgo school kids climbing. They were all incredibly excited, and natural climbers. This event really helps instill a sense of place with the kids and helps them appreciate the beautiful canyon in their backyard. Not only that but we filled the back of that flatbed truck with a lot of garbage that used to be scattered around the canyon

I am looking forward to next years clean up and kids climbing day. I need to thank Alicia Punete for organizing the event every year. She had a great raffle at the end of the day for the kids and belayers.

La Posada and EPICS's Holiday gift to El Potrero Chico and the People that Play There

2010-12-15T12:26:00.000-08:00

This project was inspired by a young man named Matty Zane. When he contacted La Posada to inquire about a work for trade agreement Luis Lozano (owner) jumped at the opportunity to help El Potrero Chico. Matty will be staying with us at La Posada in exchange for his expert labor as a trail builder. Matty has been building trails in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, over very rugged terrain, for years.

Last year there was some big rock fall from the top of the mountain. This was caused by excessive rain fall, not climbers. The rocks cascaded over the top of the severely over hung Outrage wall and destroyed the trails. We tried our best to put them in working order last year but more is needed. We are taking this opportunity to remove the "convenience trails" though the middle of the talus field which cause erosion and are the most susceptible to being struck by rock fall. The new trail will go to the top of the Spires then over to the Outrage wall. This will eliminate 90% of the erosion and put the trail, and there for the people walking on it, out of harms way.

Matty and his crew will also be repairing the trail to the Spires and potentially the trail up Los Lobos canyon. We have to see how far our community action budget goes this year. If you would like to donate money or time to this cause please contact Beckett Honicker at EPICSguides@gmail.com

Owner and head guide go big in Yosemite

2010-06-05T11:55:00.000-07:00

El Potrero Chico has ben referred to as the Yosemite of Mexico. If you consider Yosemite a mecca and an icon for rock climbing in the USA then, yes; El Potrero Chico is the Yosemite of Mexico.

Here Mark and I are climbing a newer route, maybe the second or third ascent, in the Gun Sight on Middle Cathedral Rock across from iconic El Capitan. The route is about 1000' 300ish meters with the hardest pitch at 5.12 (7c).

The days started late because thats just how days start sometimes. We arrived at the base at 11:30am, hardly and alpine start. The first five pitches yield fun run out crack and face climbing for 50 meters at a time. They deliver us into a U-shaped bowl where after 75 more meters we arrive at our sandwich ledge. This is where the real fun begins.

After a tuna and cheese sandwich, some water and some laughs I set into the first of the four hard pitches. Its a 5.12a (7a) that has some wild moves including a classic yosemite sideways dyno. After Mark arrives at the belay and rests his feet he strikes into the crux pitch. It was quite anti-climatic because one of the three hard boulder problems on this route was right off the belay. After a few failed attempts, remember its getting late on us, I saddled up for the challenge.

I tried a mantle on to a pad sized crimp. That worked but led nowhere; fall. Next I grabbed a sloping crimp, put my foot on a good hold that was even with my nose and cranked through. This pitched sported a couple more moves that were just as hard.

The next note worthy event was the large pizza sized flake that Mark pulled off the next 5.11d (6c) pitch while clipping and already run out. He took the longest ride of his life, falling from the forth bolt 20' (3.5M) past his belayer. I, the belayer, managed to kung fu kick the flake and pin it against the wall. This stopped it from hitting my dangling partner. Mark got right back up there and sent the pitch. He only pulled off one more flake.

All and all this route deserves more traffic. It was a great fun time and in my opinion worth the two years of effort it took to put it up. Thanks to Mike Shaffer, Dana Drumond, and Jeremy Collins for putting those hours into Border Country.

Safe Trips and Great Deals

2010-05-13T14:07:00.000-07:00

Everybody is looking for the best deal these days. You hear that all the time, but when have you not. Mexico has always been on the tip of everyone's tongue when this expression comes up regarding winter vacations. Recently I have not heard Mexico mentioned as much. Is this because the vacation options have become more expensive?

The negative publicity that Mexico has received in regard to violence related to drug and people trafficking is warranted in some areas of the country. Taking safety precautions is something us climber know all about. We also know that letting fear rule us is a sure fire path to regret.

At EPICS and La Posada El Potrero Chico we have set up a system that will maximize you vacation time and dollars. We have had clients come from New York City to climb for the weekend. All you need is a little money, a plane ticket to Monterrey (MTY) and a passport. We take care of the transportation to and from the airport, your accommodations, your food (if you prefer),water, and your climbing partner/certified guide. What else could one need?

Check out your options: www.elpotrerochico.com.mx

Land of the Free

2010-03-03T07:37:00.000-08:00

Land of the Free, IV 5.11d (R) is a hard, sustained, long and runout line which requires full commitment and absolute confidence. El Potrero International Climbing School was able to provide a guide, Mark Grundon, with the necessary experience and knowledge to complete this conquest. Despite the dangerous nature of this line,El Potrero International Climbing School's guide was able to minimize the risk to an appropriate level. I recommend El Potrero International Climbing School whether you are looking to learn how to lead climb or whether you are looking to take on a multi-day big wall 5.13.

-Sayer

El Salto

2010-01-27T09:05:00.000-08:00

There you are, in an office or your living room. Its cold outside and all you are thinking about is tying in. In you mind you feel your hand wrapping around a big tufa and your feet cut. You straddle a stalactite and reach for the anchors.

Now, how do you get there? You climb 5.11 or 5.12 in the gym or outside. You don't need a rope gun. However you don't have time on your vacation to deal with finding a car, finding the climbing area deep in the hills of Mexico, and learning to drive alongside crazy Mexican drivers and police. You don't have time for any annoyances to stand in between you and the rock. Maybe you don't want to hassle with packing all the things you will need to be comfortable camping for a week. Don't worry, thats were we come in.

Our service will get you from the airport to a USA style grocery store, and from the there to the little town deep in the hills surrounding Monterrey. You will never have to fumble with a Spanish phase book. "cascada cola or culo de cabello"
We will bring all the good amenities for car camping.
We will take you to the best campsite, the best crags, and put you on the best routes. You will never have to try and decipher the cryptic guide book.
If you decide that you want to stay in a cabin in town we will negotiate the best price and drive you to the crag every morning.
In the event that you get hurt we will professionally extricate you from danger. There will be a a wilderness first responder with you at all times who knows how to get to the best hospital and has a reliable car . There are no ambulances where we are going.

Where to fly into: Monterrey, Nuevo Leon Mexico (airport code MTY)

Rate car and guide (gas included): $250usd per group (up to 3 people)

Rate for camping supplies*: $40 usd per day

* (tents, pads, two burner stove, chairs, water containment and solar showers)

2010 El Potrero Chico Clean Up

2010-01-10T16:00:00.000-08:00

Imagine please a world where all consumables were packaged with bio degradable wrapping: corn husks, banana leaves, etc. In this world all the glass, plastic and aluminum were so valuable that they were scavenged through till nothing was left. This was Mexico as of fifty years ago. That all changed very quickly.

Now people still have the "use it and throw it on the ground" mentality that came from eating everything from corn husks. The adults have it, the teachers have it, the police have it, the kids have it; everyone. This is not deep rural Mexico we are talking about either. People in our big town and neighboring large city throw their plastic, glass, aluminum, and paper on the ground along with their: sinks, tires, mattresses, and corn cobs.

When I first came here to Hidalgo and El Potrero Chico in 2005 I was appalled, as I think most gringos are, when they see something so far outside their paradigm. For me, seeing a child throw a bag on the ground in front of their mother and a police officer, who should be stopping this child, is just as shocking as seeing someone prepare dog meat for stir fry. Latin America is truly different from the United States in this way; the littering I mean. So I set to work to clean up El Potrero Chico.

I organized the first EPC trash clean up in 2005. We have a El Potrero Clean up every year. They have been picking up momentum over the past three years. This year we, El Potrero Chico International School and La Posada, had the support of a fresh municipal administration. The town of Hidalgo provided trash bags, a truck, workers, flyers, and most of all; moral support. There were twenty kids from secondary school participating. In exchange for their help EPICS set up top ropes to give them a taste of why all of us crazy mountain climbing gringos flock to their town. The idea is to show the youth that recreation and a clean environment go hand and hand. The mayor came as well as the director of culture and participated whole heartedly. Many climbers joined in and really gave back to the place they love.

El Potrero Chico will be trashed next year when I return. It's OK. I will have another trash clean up. My hope, and the reason for all of this, is that in fifteen years when these kids are adults we will not need a clean up every year. Maybe then we can start talking with them about simple little things like recycling***. For now I'll be happy if everyone can embrace putting their trash in one place; the land fill not El Potrero Chico.

*** If anyone wants to come and set up a recycling program the infrastructure is not far away in Monterrey. They just need a collection center, transportation, and local support/education. I just don't have the time or energy to do everything. I would love and embrace this action and would lend to it as much energy and local knowledge as I could.

Winter rock climbing in a safe little corner of Mexico

2009-09-20T09:26:00.000-07:00

As the head guide here in EPC I don't really see much snow through out the year. Many of my friends are winter guides in places like the Tetons and New Hampshire. They can be quick to poke fun at the fact that I am a southerner and do not like the cold. Don't get me wrong; I can tough it out with the best of them. I just don't like to and I know it. So I avoid winter. I come to El Potrero Chico to guide winter rock climbing. I first came here 5 years ago on vacation, and now I live here half the year. I never feel threatened like the media would like me to feel. I always feel welcome, strong, well fed, and most importantly; warm.

I love all of the winter rock climbing down here in El Potrero. The classics that I guide never get old: Space Boys (5.10d), Estrellita (5.9), Pancho Villa Rides Again and many others. I also like to pick a fitness project every year like: Mother Ship Connection (5.13) or Hombre de Rifle (5.13a). I really like to stay fit during the winter and El Potrero is the best place for me to do it. I could go to Spain or China or Thai Land, but why? Mexico is close, easy and welcoming. The bolts are safe because we monitor and replace them as needed. There is a rescue service that we, El Potrero Chico Climbing School provide free of cost. There are even free self rescue courses offered every month. The camping is easy inexpensive, clean and safe. The food is sooooo good. There is a real family atmosphere around La Posada. Also ITS WARM! I love winter rock climbing in Mexico.

New FREE Programs and Seminars for 2009/10

2009-06-23T06:34:00.000-07:00

Every month this year we will be offering a variety of seminars for free to the qualified public. The first of these will be a free self rescue seminar focused on teaching competent multi-pitch climbers to be safer. Most of what we will be covering in this day long course will be "preventative medicine". After the free course on the Third Thursday of every month we will offer an inexpensive two day self rescue course at a cost of $50usd a day with a maximum 5:1 ratio.

The second program we will be offering for free is for local Mexicans. La Posada/ EPICS have been trying for years to find interest in the town for a kids camp, but so far it has been a stretch for parents to hand over their young ones. However what has worked has been free days of community climbing. On the second Saturday, or El Sabado Segundo, of every month we will offer a free day of climbing to anyone in the community who wants to give climbing a try. We will be looking for volunteers in the climbing community. If this is something you would like to do on your vacation please contact us and sign up. There will be a free lunch or diner offered in appreciation of you help.

Programs will start in November. Please contact via email (guides@elpotrerochico.com.mx) if you are interested in participating or if you would like to donate to our causes of corroborating a safer climbing community and building bridges between the climbing community and the community of Hidalgo, NL.

Slide show from El Potrero Chico

2009-06-10T10:35:00.000-07:00

Free Self Rescue Course

2009-04-08T12:00:00.000-07:00

This year EPICS offered a 3 day self rescue course to qualified applicants. 13 people showed up including 4 locals from Hidalgo. The idea was to train climbers who could no afford expensive professional instruction. The great thing that happened is we ended up training locals who can be called upon to preform rescues in the event of an emergency. Everybody learned a lot and was very appreciative. We will be offering at least one a month next season. Please contact the school (guides@elpotrerochico.com.mx) for info about dates.

Another Great seaon in El Potrero Chico

2009-04-08T11:40:00.000-07:00

As the director here at EPICS I was out of touch with many of our clients this year. I spent the season alpine climbing and festering in a tent in Southern Patagonia. However I did have a couple clients whom I climbed with and like a lot. We climbed some great stuff like Time Wave Zero in 5 hours, Space Boys, Treasures of the Sierra Madre, Estrellita, and the Spires. We are looking forward to a great season next year. We are offering a 10% discount for booking 4 months or more in advance. Mike, David, Peter... Thanks for a great March!

2009-03-12T16:55:00.000-07:00

Jack Osbourne Comes to El Potrero

2008-09-15T18:48:00.000-07:00

This May a British production group came to El Potrero Chico in order to film a big wall accent. They used La Posada as a home base and El Potrero Chico International School as there local guides and expert teachers. The show they were filming is called Adrenaline Junkies starring Jack Osbourn. The goal was to get Jack, Craig David and Emma Griffith up a rather large objective called Space Boys. This being a 330M 5.10+ made it a hard objective for Craig and Emma who were beginners. La Posada provided the best service a film company could ask for including three meals a day and snacks. EPICS provide two guides who were the teachers, the muscle, and the North American voice of climbing on the show. The whole thing went off with out any bad hitches. It wasn't always pretty, but I won't ruin the show.

For the same instruction Jack gets go to: www.ElPotreroChico.com.mx

Mexico Climbing School at La Posada

2008-06-29T09:14:00.000-07:00

Mexico climbing School.
Come climbing anywhere in Mexico with El Potrero International Climbing School. Enjoy winter time in a whole new way.

El Potrero Chico Climbing School; Colorado

2008-06-29T08:32:00.000-07:00

Colorado offers a great variety of climbing from granite to sandstone and of course our favorite... limestone. Here is Matt Peer Climbing with El Potrero Chico International School outside of Mexico. This crag out side of Colorado Springs offers great 5.4-5.10 terrain to hone slab and crack climbing techniques.

Climbing Mexico; Candel Cave

2008-06-29T08:09:00.000-07:00

La Cueva de las Candelas is a tourist attraction. They would never let you bolt this thing in the States. Good thing it isn't in the States. The routes are hard and well protected. Some are steep some are wicked steep and some are horizontal along the stalactite covered ceiling. The camping is in a cow pasture an hour and some north of San Luis Potosi. The cave is right next door to the field. There are some easier zones near by and also some crazy volcanic bouldering. This is a great stop on the way down to Mexico city because it is located only 20 minutes off the high way to San Luis Potosi.

Utah for the spring

2008-06-29T07:54:00.000-07:00

We are not just a bunch of sport climber down in El Potrero Chico. Its a great place to practice in the winter, but our true love is traditional climbing. We go all over as guides and for pleasure. There are great places all over the world for climbing, but one of my favorites is Indian Creek In South Eastern Utah. The trad mecca is an hour south of Moab Utah and Offers great trad routes from 5.9 to 5.13. It was here this summer that I sent a 5.13a on traditional gear as well as a slew of 5.12s a couple onsight.
The camping is primitive car camping. That means it is not very primitive, but compared to La Posada it is. We had a great time detaching from the world at large while spending a week at a time out in the serene Utah dessert.
We can go anywhere and do anything here at El Potrero International Climbing School. All you have to do is ask.

The Best way to learn to climb; from a guide

2008-02-06T20:56:00.000-08:00

Ashley and Katie contacted us because they had never climbed outside. They thought, as more people may begin to realize, that the best way to learn to climb is to take a forty day trip The best way to start that trip is to hire a guide to teach you the ropes. Now these girls can climb, scaling difficult boulder problems is not a problem. When it came to roping up and pitching out meter after meter they recognized a problem. Coming to an area for so long to learn how to climb one can be lead a stray; destined to spend 3/4 of the trip leaning the wrong things and the other 1/4 trying to correct the information. They forsaw this and hired us to teach them the ropes. In two days our guide Beckett Honicker tought them all the skills needed to climb multi-pitch bolted climbs.

Space Boys on her first day

2008-01-23T14:02:00.001-08:00

Space Boys in an impressive route. Generally it is the first one that people stop at in the canyon. They ask "can I climb that?" It comes off, at first, as massive. Once the first 400 feet are tackled in two LONG 5.9 pitches the same person will say "oh we won't even be late for dinner". The subsequent pitches are 10a, 10d, 10b, 9, 9. Seven pitches and 1100 feet later sitting on top of the summit spire one reflects "there is no way this would be a grade three anywhere else in the world. What a good rock climb!"
Julie Schultz arrived in the morning at 11:00 AM and still managed to, with guide Beckett Honicker, climb this Mexico super classic and still be on time for dinner.

Beckett Honicker on "Mother Ship Connection"

2008-01-14T13:41:00.000-08:00

This is a typical climbing day for our guides. This is a 13a called Mothership Connection. (from left clockwise) The Outrage wall and El Potrero. Beckett Honicker digs in after climbing the crux. Rachael takes full advantage of the rest before the last crux. This Mexico route climbs 35 meters of beautiful tufa (refer to above photos for definition of tufa).
"This is a route I love to climb in Mexico with clients" says guide Beckett Honicker. "We get a lot of kids from gyms in the States that just eat this stuff up" he continued.

Save the animals

2008-01-14T13:30:00.000-08:00

There are a lot of wonderful people on the planet and Dottie Cross is one of them. A retired pit boss, she now lives as the caretaker in City of Rocks, Idaho in the summer and here in El Potrero Chico in the winter. While she is here she tries, in addition to climbing 5.11, to save every dog she sees. She has succeeded in save over twenty dogs from near death and finding them homes in the States. This has also helped the local economy namely the veterinary office.Tami has also been instrumental in this effort. We at El Potrero International Climbing School support this effort and are offering a channel for you to help. Please send your inquiries of donation to
guides@elpotrerochico.com.mx Photo credit Elizebeth Ruff
HELP SAVE DOGS IN MEXICO!!!!!!!!!!!!

A Cultural Bridge

2008-01-09T19:34:00.000-08:00

On this day we took everybody who works at La Posada out to the crag to see what they were made of. With team building as a major goal we accomplish a lot cultural exchange between the guides and the locals.
This is just one of the many bridges we have made between the climbers and the local community in Hidalgo. These folks had a blast, and amazingly enough most of them enjoyed fighting their way up 5.9's. The local guide book author Dane Bass came out to show his support and take pictures of the event.
Everybody learned a lot and had a great time!

Escaping the "SAD"s

2008-01-09T17:34:00.000-08:00

Andy came to Mexico from the UK to escape seasonal affective disorder. After Biking in the Copper Canyon andseeing the city of Monterrey he iced the cake of his vacation with a big wall climbing trip in Mexico. The climbing here is so natural that he went from climbing HVS (5.9) to climbing E2 (5.10c). We did Estrellita, a thousand foot 5.9+, and the Spires (10.b) in a day. This is the location for link ups...

Scared of heights?

2008-01-09T17:04:00.000-08:00

Dominic found out about us in Lonley Planet Mexico. He is a med student studying dive medicine. Under his calm English exterior he is deathly afraid of heights; at least he was. Dom went from being afraid at 10M to traveling 150M up a cliff face. Dominic attributed his success to the helpful teaching techniques employed by El Potrero International Climbing School guide Peter Fasold. Climb Mexico in the winter Spring and Fall for the best first time climbing experience.

The Devil's Path

2008-01-08T19:08:00.000-08:00

Here is a more advanced route that we love to take people up here in El Potrero. It is five pitches, four of which are 5.11. This is for the gym/sport climber that wants to make the jump into multi-pitch climbing. Here Nathan Pauli gets after it with guide Beckett Honicker. Nate was an inch away from on sighting the 5.11c crux pitch.