This town is located at the north of the state of Guerrero and is also knowed as the mexican capital of the silverware (a lot of the local craftsmen works on silver as a tradition in this town due to the mining history of the place). Taxco is a beauty middle-sized town with colony style, cobbled paving roads and warm weather.
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| The town of Taxco, with the church standing out about the houses. Photo by David Bank www.david-bank.com |
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| Taxco's center during the weekend. A nice option if you don't want to cook! Photo by Alberto Miranda |
Climbing, right!? Thats why we are here!... We finally landed in Chonta (not that early by the way), after an epic ride across the city! This crag is a 200 meter deep stalactite-filled monster cave with ridicously awesome wild climbing, offering 45º terrain on huge holds!
The first day we only had the chance to put up our quick-draws on our respective projects: Fer went straight to "El Corrido de Los Procopio 7a+/12a" at the "Besucona" sector giving some solid burns and getting really close to win the meal of the day, falling only at the last pair of moves of the crux section. Santi also tried "El Corrido" with a different beta and nice results.
By my side I was busy giving a burn on "Las 3 Atenciones 8a+/13c" on the "Reina del Sur"sector and trying to figure out wich draw of this fourty-something meter extension needed to be long and how to avoid the wasps'nest from my way (yeah! fun and pumpy!). This route is the extension of "El Amate Amarillo 7b+/12c" wich is a long endurance battle until the anchors with tricky hidden jams and tufa pulling!
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| Emilio Placencia on the "Amate Amarillo 7b+/12c". Photo by Miguel Enríquez. |
Whenever you reach the first anchor the real fight begins!... Starts from the knee-bar rest at the anchor to some long reaches between tufas to arrive to the first crux; on first sight and from below you'll see a well shaped-juggy-saviour pocket that for sure you'll try to dyno (like me on the first time) but naaahhhh!! Not this time my friend! Thats just an illusion that God put it there to make fun of you when you're falling!!... In fact thats a very bad sloper for the left hand to another sloppery pocket with the right to a hard undercling. (Anyway, its always fun to watch people try that move for the first time). After that it's easy money to the second rest, a nice sit where you'll take the most of advantage that you can because the hard crux starts riiiiight there... When you reach for a sloper with right and after a hard crossing sequence to a technical sidepulling moves sequence that will drain from you all the juice left... at least for the last few moves to the anchors and at almost 40 meters high!!!! You don't wanna fall!!! You don't wanna repeat all those moves again and sweat the entire liter of water that you just drank!! You just want to reach the anchors and have a good bottle of wine!!...Well, if you think like that up there you will have your motivation (at least it worked for me!).
The second day Fer only needed one more attemp to send the route and Santi as well. After, I tried again my project... changing/fixing draws and finding beta for the upper crux. Just two tries, no more! Fer and Santi took the oportunity and tried "El Amate Amarillo 7b+/12c" figuring out their beta :)
On the third day I sent!!! During the warming up try I felt so good that I proposed to myself that if I manage to climb to the sit I'll try it a muerte! And guess what! A little birthday present for me!! Sent it after the 4th try during 3 days, stoked!!
After I tried to put up the draws on "Biatch 7b/12b" but during my onsight, after the crux I discovered a giant wasps'nest so Fer and I kept with the sending wish! Then we get down to the bottom of the cavern to give a shot to "Mantis 7b/12b" (me, now as a happy belayer) and tried only once cause it was starting to get late and there was no more sunlight at that side of the grotte (and no more juice after 3 tries on the Amate) so she studied basically the crux and one rest after.
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| Jaime Velasco after a burn on "Mantis 7b/12b". Photo by Emilio Placencia. |
At the morning of the day four I decided to try Suc de Taronja (grapefruit juice), a full 30 meters route with 2 hard bouldery cruxes divided by a good ledge. I had no troubles to solve the first crux because I worked it before (the same start than "Pepita de Oro 8a/+--13b/c").
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| On the sending attemp in "Suc de Taronja". Photo by Arturo González |
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| Where is Ralph?? Ralph on the excelent rest of "Suc de Taronja". Photo by Arturo G. |
After the ledge there was the other boulder crux which I tried before but with the wrong beta. This time I tried with a diferent sequence (which Ralph and Gilman told me) and it worked!! But there's no time to go to the top so we decided to came down again to try "Mantis".
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| Ralph McGuire on the first crux of "Suc de Taronja". Photo by Arturo González |
This is a sweet line with very good rests, huge holds but a killer 30 meters long! So you better have a good cardio if you want to try it! The bottom half is an easy but scary slab that finishes in a very good rest heading to a roof crux with powerful moves between stalagtites and pockety holds to follow into a good rest and from there keep on moving into pumpy climbing. Fer dialed this sequence in quickly and sent this bad boy in 4 goes!!
Until then, the Procopio kids arrived and started to load the donkeys with our stuff... time to go for Fer and me, Santi stayed for another day and sent "El Amate Amarillo"!!
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| Loading the donkeys for the way down. Photo by Arturo G. |
I got to say that I kept with this itchy feeling telling me that the next try I'll send "Suc de Taronja" (so nice to have a new beta) so I came back two days after for the weekend with a new bunch of misfits: Arcadi Artis, Beto González, Carlos Cardona and Arturo González.
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| Arcadi Artis on "Reina del Sur". Photo by Arturo G. |
So I stayed hopped on "Suc de Taronja" and at the first day I warmed up puting up the draws, remembering the crux and tuning my beta! At the second go I blasted the line!! Keeping the psyche high!!
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| Close but not enough! Ralph McGuire trying the second crux of "Suc de taronja" |
Arcadi and Beto tried "La Reina del Sur 7c/12d", Arturo took it easy because a finger injury and climbed a pair of 6c+/11c and Carlos bolted a new route at the right of "Reina del Sur". Arcadi also bolted the extension of "Reina del Sur".
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| Beto working beta on "La Reina del Sur". Photo by Arturo G. |
Meanwhile I decided to try the project bolted by Diego Montull: "Chanchuyeando" It looks like a good project considering that everything else was wet or it was just too long: FAIL!! The start of the route is a very hard boulder (or I just don't managed to solve the sequence) so I quit and get after the new extension of "Reina del Sur": FAIL AGAIN!! The extension was insanely hard!!
I'm guessing that the new extension could be 8c/+ (14b/c) So I just cleaned up a little bit, chalked the few holds and yipi ka yei, a new project for the future!! :)
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| Arcadi bolting the extension of Reina del Sur! Photo by Carlos Cardona |
I'm guessing that the new extension could be 8c/+ (14b/c) So I just cleaned up a little bit, chalked the few holds and yipi ka yei, a new project for the future!! :)
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| Sorry folks!! No pics of the first days but it was something like this! Source: www.nataliedee.com |
If I may say so, we have been crushing!!! Until next time!! Nice climbs!!
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