El Potrero Chico, who's still going/went

There's an obvious debate on the safety of EPC after the incident highlighted in Rock and Ice: rockandice.com/lates-news/t…

Have any of you been down since then? The internet seems to be pretty slanted towards not going, but i figure it's fine.

If you've been down there, please share your experience.

Dont believe the hype. There is no intentional threat to climbers. Besides obvious travel dangers in a foreign country, if you have a common sense of how to walk in a city then you wont have any trouble. I spent a month there this past december/january and only had the unfortune of getting sick and losing/getting stolen my debit card.

There were no threats.

That article is well over a year old. A few months before it was published, I was there with my ten month old. My family came back the following year after the article. The only change I noticed were the empty cliffs. The same kind locals were there to greet us, same general laid-back vibe, same friendly, open atmosphere. I'm sure you CAN get in trouble in Nuevo Leon, maybe even in Hidalgo, particularly if you don't know how to handle yourself. Everyone was kind to us. I never felt threatened, out of place, in danger, etc. I hope to be back there this winter and every winter after :)

It's fine. I was there last year a few weeks before the that article came out. Never have I heard of any climbers being put in harms way down there. Just be smart. Don't hang out in places you shouldn't at night and don't go looking for drugs or anything like that. Hang out at the climber campgrounds, climb, and only go into the town during the day.

I think that the cartel and gangs in Hidalgo and the surrounding areas realize that the new influx of climbers into the area has boosted the economy, and they don't want to ruin that.

If you look at the stats, Mexico isn't really a dangerous place for American citizens. Mexico is a dangerous place for Mexican citizens. There are cities in America where your in statistically much more danger as an American than in Mexico as an American.

Just go. The climbing, culture, and scenery can't be beat.

Everything here is tranquilo. Plenty of climbers coming and going by air and by land.

I just returned from potrero. Unbelievably fun trip and nearly empty. A couple of aussies had their new born with them and at no point did it feel or seem unsafe. I spent time in Cleveland and Detroit in the last year and felt CONSIDERABLY more danger in both cities than I did in hidalgo.
edit: my fiance had concerns about my travel plans after reading that same article you posted, but honestly, that article really feels much more like sensational journalism than anything else.

this is what i figured. It's just good to hear from folks who are actually goin.

Thanks.