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El Queso 1 Climbing

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Elevation:	705 ft	215 m
GPS:	-46.29389, -71.98284 Google Map · Climbing Area Map
Page Views:	631 total · 5/month
Shared By:	Peter Hoburg on May 17, 2015 · Updates
Admins:	Mauricio Herrera Cuadra, Alex R Page Updates (admin only)

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Description

Great place for beginners and a warm-up for weekend warriors, with 7 routes. The rock has almost always huge jugs, big holes and less than a vertical profile. Though it's dirty and sandy, partly falling apart (helmet is a must), it's a fun place to show your kids some moves or just to get your head empty after a long ride or a heavy week.

It's 15 minutes from the parking place, mainly uphill and then downhill over one fence. No water source and shelter near the crag, so take water and jacket with you.

There is one route that is missing 3 bolts (same like Queso 2), but each route has a wooden description with a name and grade and warning, if it's the one without 3 bolts or with a bee hive in the middle (that's teh last one at Principal, not Queso).

The rock quality is dicy. Some parts are falling apart, but mostly you can tell what is good and what's not. I tried to clean all of the routes, but there is still lot of sand in the jugs and some holds are really hollow and thin. Be careful and wear a helmet, if you're belaying. Rock is falling down quite often.

You can also easily rappel down from bolts above Queso 1. Just hike above it and search. There are two levels. First you have to rappel down to the second rappelling point and then you can go from this one all the way down. I tried going all the way down with my 60 m rope, which was ok, but the face is full of bumps and bushes on the top and it's not very easy to drag the rope from the bottom. Plus you also sweep some rocks with it, all the way from the top. Bummer.

For more info about the routes, see the guidebook.

Getting There

Follow the same trail that goes to Principal from el campo up into the hills on the south. Take a right turning where the signs show: –> EL QUESO, there are two of them. The path goes up on the lip of the rock face (you'll go above Principal), just keep following stone pyramids.
After few minutes of beautiful scenic walk on top of a hill and lots of spiky bushes, you'll get to a sign showing: <– EL QUESO and pointing downhill. You have to get through 2 fences and right behind the second one, there is El Queso 2. Keep on walking the same path and after 2 minutes, you'll get under your desired crag.