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Playa Acapulquito Bluffs (Old Man's)

International > N America > Mexico > Baja California Sur

Description

Cabo offers very little rock-climbing, but here's an exception. This extraordinary, undeveloped set of beachside bouldering bluffs is located just southwest of Playa Acapulquito, a.k.a. Old Man's, one of the most inviting surf beaches in Baja.

These highly featured bluffs, composed of sedimentary rock that can be crumbly but generally is solid and offers excellent grip for climbing, are sprinkled with interesting sea caves, arches and recesses. The climbing is available at all but high tide.

According to the folks who work at the Cabo Surf Hotel's surf school and who would be in position to notice, these rocks are seeing virtually no traffic from climbers. That's not surprising, since there's not much of a climbing tradition in the area—loose scree dominates the landscape. So if you're a boulderer who likes grabbing first ascents, the Playa Acapulquito Bluffs are packed with potentially exciting, undeveloped routes.

There bluffs run perhaps 80 yards. The number of potential routes is at least 20.

Getting There

From San Jose del Cabo, head south on Route 1. Just after Lookout Point, at around KM 28, look for a pullout on your left. Park in the small, free lot just outside the entrance for the Cabo Surf Hotel. (It's a great hotel, by the way. If you're a guest there or you join them for a meal, they'll let you park in the lot inside the gates.) Walk down the stairs, through a tunnel and out a wash to the playa. Turn right and head south along the beach for two or three minutes and you'll reach the bluffs.

The bluffs offer excellent walk-offs throughout, thanks to stairs that the homeowners in the luxurious mansions above these bluffs have carved into the rock at various points in order to ease their access to the beaches below.

Routes from Left to Right

Photos [Hide ALL Photos]

1.) Soup of the Day (because it has crabs) - V1; its on the other side of the arch
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2.) Whopper - V3
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3.) Chick-fil-a sauce - V0
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4.) McMuffin - V2
[Hide Photo] 1.) Soup of the Day (because it has crabs) - V1; its on the other side of the arch 2.) Whopper - V3 3.) Chick-fil-a sauce - V0 4.) McMuffin - V2
View of the arches from the corner to the right
[Hide Photo] View of the arches from the corner to the right
Panorama picture of the Arches
[Hide Photo] Panorama picture of the Arches
Walk off from the arches
[Hide Photo] Walk off from the arches
Climbing "Surf's Not Up" on the "Crab Rock" section of Playa Acapulquito Bluffs. The line shows where you'll work your hands, across a long traverse to the left then up and out.
[Hide Photo] Climbing "Surf's Not Up" on the "Crab Rock" section of Playa Acapulquito Bluffs. The line shows where you'll work your hands, across a long traverse to the left then up and out.