Expereinces and current Info on Suesca, Colombia

I’m going to be based in Cali, Colombia for a month and have Dec 24th through Jan 2nd where I don’t need to work. Visas dictate Colombia or Ecuador. My partners Spanish is quite good, mine is survival only and we will have transportation.

Suesca is top on my list. Any recent additional first hand information would be great. We can camp but likely if there are recommended private rooms available we would take one. Is there cell service, wifi, how secure are the rooms. Recommendations from current experiences at Suesca or other areas please.

My partner would like to head south in Colombia toward Ecuador. I think that if we do this option it would end up less climbing and more trekking/peak bagging (no glacier work). In this case I will skip bringing the climbing gear and bring backpacking gear. What are your current experiences in SW Colombia and northern Ecuador, are there peaks/backpack trips you would recommend, parks that are must see.

I have seen a few climbing areas in southern Colombia but I’m not sure if it is worth packing gear if there isn’t an area with a lot of routes. We are moderate climbers (9-11 sport, 8-10 trad).

Cheers

Bump. I'm also looking for beta about climbing and staying in suesca.

I was in Suesca for a few days in March. I stayed in a little hostel (forgot the name) for something like 10 bucks a night about 10 minutes walking from the climbing. Nothing fancy but there was a chill crew staying there and I did not feel too scared leaving my laptop and other belongings laying about. Apparently there are some other crags in the area of even higher quality, and it seemed like if you got to know some locals they would happily help you find them. You can easily rent gear there, including ropes, but the stuff I got was in very "well loved" condition. Bear and food are cheap. The Italian restaurant is phenomenal.

I climbed in Suesca for about a week. I found it to be a bit sandbagged. The sport climbing is harder and you will want to bring trad gear with you to offer better protection. There is a hostel there you can stay at. lots of friendly local climbers. I went north to La Mojarra in Mesa de los Santos for some super fantastic sport climbing that I would recommend. The hostel there is called the Refugio la Roca and it is amazing! you can camp for about 5 bucks or sleep in these awesome cabanas built onto the side of the canyon for about 20. The climbing is a 5 min walk from the refugio and is in the shade and perfect temps with a nice breeze from about 12-5pm. There is a place to do yoga and you can cook your own food in the kitchen but bring your own pots etc cuz they dont have much there and it can get busy. the food they make is also delicious!
just google Refugio la roca, Colombia.
I flew from Bogota to Bucamaranga on the national airline for 30 CAD dollars, or you can take an 8 hr bus ride. and then its another couple hours by bus near the Chicamocha canyon. Its remote but worth the hassle I think!

I second what the previous two replies said about Suesca. I spent roughly 4 days there in January and stayed at a hostel right next to the italian restaurant. I recall it being around 8-10 dollars a night and was 10 minutes from town or climbing. Many of the locals are more than willing to show you around give you some hints on some lines. The guidebook at the time, seemed to be totally off. We chose to head to La Mojjara as well. Fantastic sport climbing and a cool scene.

I spent about 6 months living in Bogota back in 2013 and went to Suesca many times. I can't vouch for accomodations, since I would always just bounce back to Bogota each evening, but I can vouch for it being a pretty sick place to climb! There's a climbing shop right by the approach to the area that can help you with route beta. The scenery and climate are gorgeous, the area has the best weather of anywhere I've lived. At the time I was there, I was only a 5.10 sport climber/5.9 trad climber and there was still a bunch to do. There is a lot of mixed routes though, so a light rack would definitely help.

There's a couple pretty cheap (from American standards) restaurants right by the crag too

There was cell service in the town, can't remember if it extended all the way to the crag or not.

Thanks for all the info! I'm currently in Panama, but will be heading to Columbia in the next week or so if anyone wants to meet up and share a rope, feel free to shoot me a message.

Hey everyone, thanks for the info. I'll get to Suesca but it looks like this trip we will fly from Cali to Bucamaranga for sport climbing. Running out of luggage space, bring down part of the Colombia rack this trip and the other half next trip.

Gambel, Kemper & WMcD

Gambel
Hey dude, I'm flying tomorrow to Bogota and I don't have anything planned for the 24th onwards, mind if I tag along at La Mojarra?

Kemper,
I'll be in Bogota untill the end of January if you wanna Climb at Suesca I'd be down anytime, I will also be traveling to La Mojarra with a guy from LA if you wanna join too.

WMcD

Same info!

Yesterday I spent the day climbing Suesca. Wow, what a cool spot. We hired a couple guides, Daniel and Luis (a.k.a. Lucho). Both of them were excellent in local knowledge and client focus. I spent most of my time with Daniel, who has lived and climbed in Suesca for 24 years. He helped develop the place and volunteers a lot of time, effort and money to make the place what it is.
The town is small and very friendly, including a few restaurants, a hostel and a gear shop.
The rock is very different than what we have in Colorado. It's a fun type of climbing and quite diverse in route style. If anyone wants more info here is the contact info for our guides:

Daniel Michaan
michaan78@yahoo.com
(57)3118649239

Luis Quintero
ecoexpedition@yahoo.com

I ended up skipping Suesca and heading to La Mojarra instead. Amazing climbing, a beautiful hostel and unforgettable scenery. Next time suesca!

I'm starting to think about packing for a trip to Suesca. I want to pack light but also have the things I need to climb. I'm hoping to sample the classics from 5.8-5.12. I have two questions:

I think I've read that a 50m rope is sufficient. Is this correct? I have longer ropes but would rather not pack them. Ideally I'd like to chop an old cord down to 50m and leave it in Colombia when I head home.

I understand it is nice to have a bit of rack. I'm thinking I'll bring a set of nuts and maybe a few cams. How much gear will I really want? Whats the ideal Suesca rack?

Thanks.

WMcD wrote:I have two questions: I think I've read that a 50m rope is sufficient. Is this correct? How much gear will I really want? Whats the ideal Suesca rack?

A 50 will get you up and down a lot of stuff there. I thought a single rack 0.3-2 and a dozen draws were plenty. Extendable draws are also useful.

The routes tend to be steep and juggy with plenty of roofs.

El Nomada is a pretty chill local hostel frequented by climbers and 10 minutes from the crag. Private rooms available and fairly secure. Things tend to be a bit dead during the week. Standard average hostel wifi. Italian place is pretty good. Also, an empanada guy visits the crag most weekends. They are really good empanadas.

Public transport from Bogota to Suesca is pretty good.

Suesca Is a great place to climb. I'm partial to Sandstone, because that's all TN has to offer. To Derek... The guidebook that is online is completely off. The printed guidebook is also completely off... Due to its last update in 2007.... But there is a brand new guidebook in the works.. that will have routes updated to whatever is there today.. 2/5/17. It will be in English and Spanish. It is being put together by local guides down therd, so it'll be bombproof, complete with everything in color and brand new route photos and topos...

To Danny,. If you would like to tell your story about the 24 years you have been climbing in SUESCA... Give Sebastian Mejia a call, I'm sure he'd be glad to hear from you... Tell him Tony have you the heads up...

Has this new guidebook come out yet? Looking to climb in Suesca over winter break. Any recommends for lower grades, gear rental vs. byo, weather, etc. appreciated!