El Salto Logistics Questions

I'm thinking about spending January/February in Mexico. I'm most stoked on hard, single-pitch sport which makes me wonder about going to El Salto instead of Potrero. However, I don't know anyone who has spent extended time in El Salto and so I have no idea about the logistics beyond flying into Monterrey. I've done some digging but if anyone has any leads on 1. Where to stay for an extended period of time, 2. Transportation both from the airport and to the crag, and 3. The general social vibe/how easy it is to find partners, that would be incredibly helpful. Let me know!

Hey I'm no expert on El salto but I did spend three weeks down there last winter at Rock camp and had a great time. It's within walking distance to all the crags, has a covered outdoor shared kitchen, a hot shower and a really nice spray wall. There's a couple other campgrounds around town, all at about the same rate I think, which was reasonable, but from first glance rock camp seemed like the best. If you can find a way to get in contact with the owner Carlos, I know he has some sort of taxi service to and from the airport and he can also give you all the climbing beta you would need. I went with a partner but met some other traveling climbers at rock camp who we climbed with a couple times. Apart from the campgrounds, Hanuman cafe would probably be a pretty good place to meet a climbing partner. Or you could head to La Boca or Las animas as there's usually climbers at those walls. Not a huge social scene in town typically though. And if you're most interested in hard sport single pitch I would definitely say El salto has more to offer than epc.

Ask your Canadian friends. Literally every Canadian has been to El Salto. I'm barely exaggerating.

Olivia Pendaswrote:

1. Where to stay for an extended period of time, 2. Transportation both from the airport and to the crag, and 3. The general social vibe/how easy it is to find partners, that would be incredibly helpful. Let me know!

I'll also add: 4. Where/how to buy groceries?  Is this possible without a car?

I'm also interested in doing an El Salto trip at some point. But have some inconvenient eating restrictions that mean I generally need to buy groceries and cook myself.  I've done alright at Potrero, getting groceries in town, but restaurants and taco stands are usually a no-go. Wondering if El Salto is feasible.

The closest actual grocery store is something like a 30 minute drive from the climbing. There's only convenience stores and some little restaurants and one great pizza place in town near the climbing. 

You should have no problem finding climbing partners this time of year. If rolling solo stay at rock camp, if with a group rent a house near the arroyo. There is a bus that runs between el Salto and el cercado/Santiago a few times per day. It is slow, going into and back from town will take up most of a day. The HEB grocery store on the east side of the main highway (85) is by far the best place to get groceries especially if you have dietary restrictions. Good tip, schedule your rest days/going to town days for the weekends. El Salto is overrun by all forms of jeeps and four wheelers on the weekends blasting around making an awful racket.