El Potrero Chico

Cameron Saul wrote:Ryan Maitland - I don't leave the house much? Really? Not sure why you'd go the extra mile to attack the one person who has a cautionary tale. Leaving that aside, I think it's best to go into adventures with all the information. Ryan Loiselle explicitly asked for "the good, the bad", not a bunch of platitudes. I wasn't trying to persuade him not to go, just to give him the information he requested. I think anyone considering going to Nuevo Leon should know what they're getting into. Is it worth the risk? I certainly think so, but that should be each person's decision. There are plenty of data points on the crime situation in the area. I don't think it's responsible to just say "Oh, it's fine" or "I didn't see anything, so it must be no big deal". Educate yourself and then make the decision. All of the other comments about the locals being awesome are totally on point. They are, and the climbing is spectacular. Some links: travel.state.gov/content/pa… osac.gov/pages/ContentRepor… Some anecdotes from the nearest major city: quora.com/How-truly-bad-is-… Regular police escort on highways in Tamaulipas, the state just East of Nuevo Leon: insightcrime.org/news-analy… Media getting targeted: fastcompany.com/1785413/mex… Murder rate in Nuevo Leon is 13x the U.S. national average (2010): geo-mexico.com/?p=4854

Sorry to hurt your feelings bro. Thanks for the years old links too, those will be really helpful to reference next time I'm down there and actually experiencing the opposite.

Lol. Keep up the good work, buddy. Internet forums are for silly flame wars, not information, right?

Dumbass.

Cameron Saul wrote:Ryan Maitland - I don't leave the house much? Really? Not sure why you'd go the extra mile to attack the one person who has a cautionary tale. Leaving that aside, I think it's best to go into adventures with all the information. Ryan Loiselle explicitly asked for "the good, the bad", not a bunch of platitudes. I wasn't trying to persuade him not to go, just to give him the information he requested. I think anyone considering going to Nuevo Leon should know what they're getting into. Is it worth the risk? I certainly think so, but that should be each person's decision. There are plenty of data points on the crime situation in the area. I don't think it's responsible to just say "Oh, it's fine" or "I didn't see anything, so it must be no big deal". Educate yourself and then make the decision. All of the other comments about the locals being awesome are totally on point. They are, and the climbing is spectacular. Some links: travel.state.gov/content/pa… osac.gov/pages/ContentRepor… Some anecdotes from the nearest major city: quora.com/How-truly-bad-is-… Regular police escort on highways in Tamaulipas, the state just East of Nuevo Leon: insightcrime.org/news-analy… Media getting targeted: fastcompany.com/1785413/mex… Murder rate in Nuevo Leon is 13x the U.S. national average (2010): geo-mexico.com/?p=4854

Still no info on your personal scary experience...just saying.
Look, anywhere you go in the world you run risks, especially if you come from a wealthy country to a poor one.
All you gotta do is not flash that Rollie, pay respect to local business by purchasing goods and don't act like a frat boy on Spring Break.
I agree with the swivel head advice but I keep that shit rotating even in my hometown...

To the OP:

Sorry, I should have posted this before the thread began to devolve.

arielschalet.com/airport-pi…

The Pena family owns many of the campgrounds and more private housing options in the canyon. They run an excellent airport pickup service, run by two of the sons (Milton and Arnold), both of whom are American citizens, speak fluent English, and know the region better than most. If you are worried about the safety of the area (realistically, any risk is likely to be found in transit from the airport to the canyon), these guys will get you where you need to go, plus they can arrange for free guided transit to and from the local market, shops, etc.

OP (or anyone),

Hit me up when you're down there, I'll be volunteering at El Búho for the season and am looking forward to meeting folks!

Sounds like the general consensus in this thread is to just be smart! Don't travel at night, stay out of obviously dangerous areas, and be respectful of the locals.

I'm excited for the season!

Edit: removed comment about Monterrey. I regret buying into rumors before coming here that it's a dangerous place in all. It's really a fine place; it has its obviously sketchy areas like any other city, but I can't see how anyone could wonder into those types of spots on accident.

BrianWS wrote:To the OP: Sorry, I should have posted this before the thread began to devolve. arielschalet.com/airport-pi… The Pena family owns many of the campgrounds and more private housing options in the canyon. They run an excellent airport pickup service, run by two of the sons (Marvin and Arnold), both of whom are American citizens, speak fluent English, and know the region better than most. If you are worried about the safety of the area (realistically, any risk is likely to be found in transit from the airport to the canyon), these guys will get you where you need to go, plus they can arrange for free guided transit to and from the local market, shops, etc.

This is great advice! We got a ride from Magic Ed, the late local climbing guru, who gave us an awesome run down on all the routes we should do. Super kind, amazing intro to the area.

Johnathan C - What does the volunteer work consist of? How
did you get involved? It sounds like an interesting endeavor.

Ryan Loiselle wrote:Johnathan C - What does the volunteer work consist of? How did you get involved? It sounds like an interesting endeavor.

Ryan, El Búho is a coffee shop in town. The team that serves there serves good coffee (obviously), hosts some cool events, and works on other projects in the community. The shop itself is just another great option of a place to chill at in Hidalgo, like many of the other amazing places around Potrero I've been hearing about and am excited to check out! Feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions about it!

@Cameron
"If you go there and walk around like your waiting to get robbed or something then you probably will just like anywhere else. Carry yourself like you know what your doing and you know where your going just like any other city and keep your head on a swivel."

As someone who's traveled a lot, I think this is universally great advice for when you're in a foreign country. Obviously, you NEVER know what could happen to you no matter where you are, and that's a hard reality of life. For example, there was a random shooting into a crowd (thankfully no one died) not too far from where I live in KC, and there's no way people could have seen that coming... But I think it's still true that behavior in general -- as you've described -- and being smart does mean a lot when you're in foreign areas.

I just want to add my two cents about the comment "stay out of dangerous areas (Monterrey)". As someone who lives half the year both in Monterrey and El Potrero Chico I find that a little comical. People in El Potrero Chico build up this fear of Monterrey. There are barrios in the city you should stay out of like La Campaña at night but the great thing about Monterrey is the ghettos are up on top of hills which make them difficult to wander into. Parts of the city like San Pedro (technically it's own city) are very wealthy and safe. In fact if you asked someone from there they would say stay away from places like El Potrero Chico. I don't agree with that either just trying to add some different perspectives. I say branch out of the gringo island in El Potrero Chico go check out El Salto Huesteca and the Cumbia Cave. Or not that is the appeal of El Potrero Chico for many you can stay a bubble of US climbers and just get a taste of Mexico as you venture down to Hidalgo to buy groceries in town and that is great too. Also my two cents about general safety from spending 8 winters down there would be things have calmed down in the recent years. My understanding of this would be that the major turf war between two cartels has settled out. Four years ago definitely had a more worrisome feel with a large military presence everywhere. This is more the feel that places like Michaocan have currently. On surfing trip two years ago we encountered the arm citizen militias which is a little disturbing when the locals are carrying machine guns to protect tourists. This is far from the case in El Potrero Chico. I am clearly biased as a climbing guide working down there but that's my two cents.

Cheers
Mark Grundon
El Potrero Chico Guides

Went to EPC two years ago and even spent a day in Monterrey by myself and had NO safety issues at all. Took buses and taxis and never felt unsafe, even in the city. I'm planning to be there around thanksgiving, if anyone is looking for a partner then.

I will echo Mark's comments. I was down in El Potrero this February and had an amazing experience. I have a friend who lives in Monterrey, so I had a bit of a guide to the city and surrounding areas...but I never felt nervous or threatened. We were definitely conscious of our surroundings...but I've felt more nervous during a two week stint working in Washington DC. I'll also say go visit La Huasteca and El Salto. We spent two days in La Huasteca and it was amazing. El Salto was wild. My buddy knows the area and we had a blast. I'm definitely planning a return trip in 2017!

I appreciate all the comments everyone. We both have a good peace-of-mind going into this trip now. I don't know why I got all sketched out in the first place. I guess the mind does crazy things once you start reading into all the "stories". If I survived a cross-country trip in Peru (on a DR650), I think I will be fine in this situation.

Mark Grundon - Looking forward to climbing with ya!

borderlandbeat.com/

Here right now. It's fantastic. Get your butts down here.

Mark Grundon wrote:I just want to add my two cents about the comment "stay out of dangerous areas (Monterrey)". As someone who lives half the year both in Monterrey and El Potrero Chico I find that a little comical.

Yeah, honestly, having been here now and not going off hear-say, I'd say none of it is that bad

Hey!
Joining the party a little late. I've been living here in Potrero for about 15 months now. Things have calmed down a ton violence wise. I've never once felt unsafe at Potrero Chico. I wouldnt reccomend driving around some of the surrounding highways at night, but during the day, and certainly in Potrero, things are very safe. Having said that, I drive those highways at night myself pretty frequently.
Maybe Cam's just trying to stir up some shit...
Lots of friendly folks and good sport climbs down here.

Mark Grundon's a stand-up guy. I'd climb with him.

We went down for a couple weeks in February. We were a little nervous with all the media Mexico hype, but couldnt have felt safer. Every time we felt like we were in a situation that would have been intimidating back home (groups of burly looking guys leaning on a car blasting music, etc), we were met with smiles and high fives, never any ill will. Everyone was super welcoming to us gringos with the poor espanol. Was thinking I wouldnt need to go back, kind of a been there/done that sort of thing, but it was all so cheap and easy that I find myself wanting to return! Great time, great people. Wear your helmet all the time, lots of loose rock/people dropping stuff...

Edited to add that we were a little concerned with getting from Monterrey to EPC, after reports of Monterrey being sketchy. As everyone said above, it was perfectly chill and honestly felt like walking out of any airport in the states. We had Harvey Pena (Milton and Arnold's nephew) pick us up at the airport and it was all very easy and comfortable. We stayed at La Pagoda, a little quiter, cheaper and more..."rustic" than La Posada, but we loved it. Gilberto, Milton and Arnold's dad is the caretaker there.

Great trip all around, highly recommend going!!

My favorite part of Mexico is everyone flocks to Potrero. ;) ;) ;)

Hi all, it is good to have this kind of threads about Potrero Chico. I am a Mexican climber living about 40 mins from EPC. in the past I used to be at EPC every single weekend and it was dangerous place to be even for mexicans. Nowadays I feel EPC very safe and friendly, the police is closing the park about 6:00pm to noneclimbers during the weekeends but climbers can keep climbing after, that is a big improvement I guess.

You are more than welcome to EPC, I strongly recoment Mark Grundon, excellent cetified guide and He can give you more detailed information about EPC than me.

When moving around Monterrey, I rather call a taxi station than getting a random taxi.

Best regards,

Marcelo Gonzalez