El Potrero Chico Beta

Hi rock warriors,

I'm looking for any and all Beta you may have for El Potrero Chico.

I've got the whole enchilada guidebook, but was looking for any advice outside of that.

Will definitely be climbing time wave zero, but not sure what else.

Me and a partner will be there during thanksgiving if anyone wants to join for a feast or something...

Satori, pitch black, off the couch... I'd say rap before the .12 on TWZ if you cant climb it, but you probably wont do that...

Sleeping on the wall on TWZ would be sweet. Tie knots in the ends of your rope.

What's the scene for van camping?

Search the forums, there've been lots of general EPC discussions and beta.

Just general "beta" is a pretty broad ask. Got any more specific questions?

David Gibbs wrote:Search the forums, there've been lots of general EPC discussions and beta. Just general "beta" is a pretty broad ask. Got any more specific questions?

http://mountainproject.com/scripts/Search.php?query=van+camping+el+potrero

mountainhick wrote: mountainproject.com/scripts…

I was replying to the OP, not your specific question. In fact, I don't think your question about van-camping was in the thread when I started writing my response.

Yours is a good specific question that people could answer -- not a generic, "give me EPC beta".

I've not actually van-camped there, but I would guess there's a pretty good chance you could just drive into the canyon a ways and camp there. It seems pretty unregulated. (For a few years, at least, a local camped/lived at the entrance, and asked for tolls from climbers going in to the canyon.)

Potrero is sick! Van camping is easy. Beta is everywhere. Do Pitch Black (5.10d) And check out El Buho Cafe in town!!

Hey, does anyone know where I can find a guidebook down there?

Genevive Walker wrote:Hey, does anyone know where I can find a guidebook down there?

Posada El Potrero Chico has a small gear store. That would be the place to look.

(Problem is what is in print right now? Ed is dead, so his guidebook may no longer be available since he did limited print runs on an annual basis. And The Whole Enchilada has been out for a while -- dunno if it is in print, either.)

Anyone have any rest day beta?

alextaylor116 wrote:Anyone have any rest day beta?

Read a book, smoke a cigarette, have a glass of whiskey (or tequila), repeat ad infinitum.

Genevive Walker wrote:Hey, does anyone know where I can find a guidebook down there?

There are great hot springs...a bit of a distance from EPC (45 minutes). Great rest day activity.

http://termasdesanjoaquin.com.mx/english/

Posada is the go to place to camp. The restaurant has great food or a kitchen to cook your own. Find a guy named Frank who works there. He's got a big beard. Super nice. If I remember correctly, he was trying to put together a new guide book that may have been released. Besides that look out for Edgardo. He usually hangs out in the canyon with his gear trailer pumping music and getting people rowdy. Hit him up for gear/beta/awesome margaritas.

For rest days, head into Hidalgo and check out the street markets or the climber coffee shop/hostel. There is also some hot springs or something a short drive away. Or hike up to the top of El Torro.

A 70m is clutch, but not necessarily needed. Tie stopper knots on your rappels.I recommend Estrellita and Snot Girlz. Be safe. Look out for your fellow climbers. Have fun.

potrerochico.org/

Does anyone have any PDF Topos you could share with me? My guide book doesn't have Topos...

Tall Cup Of Joe wrote:Posada is the go to place to camp. The restaurant has great food or a kitchen to cook your own. Find a guy named Frank who works there. He's got a big beard. Super nice. If I remember correctly, he was trying to put together a new guide book that may have been released. Besides that look out for Edgardo. He usually hangs out in the canyon with his gear trailer pumping music and getting people rowdy. Hit him up for gear/beta/awesome margaritas. For rest days, head into Hidalgo and check out the street markets or the climber coffee shop/hostel. There is also some hot springs or something a short drive away. Or hike up to the top of El Torro. A 70m is clutch, but not necessarily needed. Tie stopper knots on your rappels.I recommend Estrellita and Snot Girlz. Be safe. Look out for your fellow climbers. Have fun. potrerochico.org/

Are you coming down this year Tall Joe? We've got a crew going down after xmas. -Erik

I second doing Satori, it's a relatively long hike for Potrero but totally worth it. There aren't usually many people on it and it provides a great birds eye view of Hidalgo.

A 70m is not just recommended but necessary for some routes so make sure you know which ones if you don't bring one.

Franks guidebook is still in the works, I recommend picking up magic eds pocket guidebook if any still exist, I suspect they don't unless his wife printed some up. Otherwise the whole enchilada is good. I recommend making photocopies of any topos you need for longer multipitches or at least taking photos of the pages with your phone or camera. Mark Grundon has some free topos available for free on his website, Google potrero chico mountain guide. Bring a summit pack on longer multipitches for water, snacks, and to stash layers in.

Depending on how fast you and your partner are it's recommended to start time wave in the dark to ensure you have enough time and to climb mostly in the cooler part of the day.

alextaylor116 wrote:Does anyone have any PDF Topos you could share with me? My guide book doesn't have Topos...

You might check what is available on thecrag.com for EPC, too. Frank seems to be updating a bunch of info there, and I've put at least some photo-topos up there. It has an export-to-PDF function, too.

Also, when you're following a bolt line, a topo just isn't quite as important as on a trad line.

Potrero is a great destination, with many good routes, but not many that I'd consider superb. The fun of climbing there is climbing many, many pitches on long routes quickly, with just a rack of draws. There aren't too many overwhelmingly good 5 star lines, but most of the standard routes are of comparable (pretty good quality). In short, it doesn't matter too much what you get on; you'll have fun on most anything. Most of the routes face either north (Satori, Virgin Canyon) or south (TWZ, Mota Wall, etc.), and the temperature difference between sun and shade in that dry climate is huge, so pick your routes according to the weather.

Gear and tactics beta- You'll want these to bring things, and to use them in this manner:

70 meter rope- pretty nice to have. Allows easy pitch linkage, gives a little more room and comfort on long-ish rappels, and letsyou lower off pretty much any of the single pitch routes. No need for an 80 in Potrero; it wouldn't give any advantages over the 70.

25+ quickdraws. On the multi-pitch routes, anchors are generally spaced at 30 meter intervals for rapping. When climbing, link pitches in blocks of 2. This is a blast- your buddy leads pitches 1 and 2, and then you second up to him, arrive at the belay with all the draws, do a quick switcharound, and then you lead 3 and 4.This means you get to climb 400 feet without stopping- FUN! This will also save a lot of time on something like TWZ. 25 draws is usually enough for these 60 meter pitches. Light draws are nice. A few traddy extendo draws are useful to have when things wander.

2 Gri-Gris. ATCs are sooooo last century. Gri-gris are great in Potrero. Good for belaying the leader, good for bringing up the second off of the anchor, and great for simul-rapping. Yes, simul-rapping. Do it. The advantages are many. Saves a ton of time on TWZ. Possibly safer too; it mitigates rockfall hazard- you can't kick rocks onto your buddy while rapping if you are next to each other. Using gri-gris (and knots in the ends of the rope!) makes it feel at lot less sketch than ATC simul rapping.

Rappel gloves. Good leather rappel gloves, with a clip-in hole to hang then from the back of your harness. Really, really nice for when you are rapping 2000 feet in a few hours (I'd say mandatory).

Helmets. I hate wearing a helmet, and don't wear one in most places. I wouldn't climb in Potrero without one. It is chossy, and there are a lot of other climbers.

2 pairs of shoes- a comfy pair for all-day 5.10s and a tight sporty pair if you do some harder cragging

Water: You want a lot of water capacity for long routes. TWZ is in the sun all day and can feel quite hot. A suitable pack that you can climb in confortably, and still cary several liters of water, is a good idea. Platypus "Soft Bottles" are ideal for long routes. Why doesn't everyone use these?

Tiny folding knife: Ropes do get stuck in Potrero, sometimes irretrievably. Having a knife could save your butt in such a situation. Or know the tricks for cutting a rope through other means.

Headlamps- long routes, short winter days. Move fast and you won't need them. Still nice insurance against epics.

Yes to everything this guy said ^^ nothing cooler than climbing 400 feet basically uninterrupted.

Here are the links to my sketchy free topos. Can't complain because they are free but you don't need too much beta as you just follow the bolts. Estrellita Topo

Space Boyz

Yankee Clipper

Also as I know Posada is booked out if you are looking for a room during the New Years season I have a couple of the house rentals listed on my website, I can also arrange airport pickups. It costs $60 for up to two people and you get Magic Ed's book, the toll road, and a trip to the grocery store before arriving. The link to the house/apartment rentals is here. El Potrero Chico House Rentals