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La Bamba

5.10, Sport, 825 ft (250 m), 9 pitches,  Avg: 3.5 from 46 votes
FA: Cooper Varney and Harry Kinnard, February 2023
International > N America > Mexico > Nuevo Leon > El Potrero Chico > El Toro (The Fr… > Wild Wall

Description

This route starts on a face below a long, corner crack/left, facing dihedral system between Voyage of the Trash Cat and When You’re Lost in the Wild. 

P1 - 8 bolts, 24m, 5.9
An easy start leads to a steep face littered with cracks and pockets. This pitch should be linked with the second to avoid a hanging belay.

P2 - 7 bolts, 15m, 5.9
Make a couple of tricky moves near the anchor and continue up the face. Follow bolts to a dihedral and  chimney like feature which leads to a good stance and bolted anchor.  

P3 - 6 bolts, 24 m, 5.9
A short but enjoyable face leads to a ledge followed by an another face. Move up to a large ledge and bolted anchor. 

P4 - 11 bolts, 38m, 5.7
Climb up semi water polished rock and follow bolts up a fun ramp. Belay at a small but comfortable ledge. A surprisingly pleasant pitch. 

P5 - 13 bolts, 30m, 5.9
To start this pitch you can either step left into the corner and stem your way up before moving right or move right immediately off the belay through slightly more cryptic climbing. The angle kicks back before transitioning left to the corner. Follow the corner crack to a good stance and belay. 

P6 - 11 bolts, 25m, 5.10a
Stem and lay back you way up the stunning corner. Move left at the last bolt aiming for a nice pod on the face and belay. A superb pitch. 

P7 - 15 bolts, 33m, 5.10b
Move up and slightly right on smooth rock. Follow bolts that take you back into the corner. A thuggy bit of crack climbing leads to a section of lie backing. Pull on top of a large, semi detached flake and belay.

P8 -11 bolts, 28m, 5.10b

This pitch offers fantastic climbing through the continuing corner crack system. Belay on top of a small pedestal. This is probably the best pitch on the entire route.

P9 - 16 bolts, 35m, 5.10c

Continue up the aesthetic final pitch which will position you at the top of the corner with a broad view of the Potrero, Hidalgo and Monterrey. This pitch is quite sustained and requires good crack climbing skills.

Descent

Rappel the route. It would be wise to saddlebag your rope. Pitch 9 is 35 meters long so you'll need a full 70 m rope to get to the pitch 8 anchor. Pitch 4 is about 38 meters long so a substation has been added to allow for safe descent to the next rappel station. It is also possible to rap past the p3 anchor and descend to the p2 station with about 2 meters of rope to spare. The rope probably pulls better from this station. From the top of pitch 2 it is possible to make it to the ground in one rappel with an 70 meter rope otherwise you'll have to use the rap station on pitch 1.  

Notes

*Like a lot of the long multis in Potrero this one has a few sections with loose rock or blocks that may look suspect. Be careful on anything that looks bad and do some assessing before pulling on anything that does not look solid. A lot of rock was removed from this route to make it climbable and safer but some blocks/pieces were left in place for a variety of reasons. Everything that is on route has been checked as thoroughly as possible. Message me or post a comment here if you notice something that is in need of attention. 

*This would make a great moderate multi pitch climb by simply stopping at the top of pitch 6. The climbing becomes significantly more sustained and challenging after pitch 6. 

*The route is about 250 meters long and offers a nice variety of climbing in a beautiful and quiet setting. 

*Pitches 6 through 9 involve a good amount of crack climbing and without those requisite skills the climbing could feel stiff for the grade. Crack gloves are recommended, especially for pitch 8 and 9.

*Some may have noticed that this climb was previously documented on mountain project as "Unfinished Project". This entry has since been deleted. 

The history of the route! 

In February 2023 Cooper Varney and Harry Kinnard spotted the line, bolted and climbed to a high point 9 pitches off the deck. They began the cleaning process with the intention to open the route but the project was abandoned shortly thereafter and lay dormant for 2 years. I first heard about the route last year when a couple of friends had accidentally got on it mistaking it for When You're Lost in The Wild. I had noticed the first couple of pitches and thought that the route appeared to have potential. In December of 2024 after speaking to Ben Kahn I found out some of the history and sent Cooper a message inquiring what his intentions were for the route. I asked if he would mind if I took over development and he agreed. Ben and I quested up in early January of 2025. We climbed the first 5 pitches and then rapped down doing a quick clean as we rappelled.  I fixed a rope from pitch 2 to the ground and then in the weeks that followed started the cleaning process. After removing tons of loose rock and prickly plants that were in the way of the climbing on the first 5 pitches I was confident it would be a good route when finished and decided to invest the time required to bring it to completion. Mike Wright joined me to move the fixed lines up another two pitches from 5 to 7 in mid January and then Martin Ho gunned the rope up the last two pitches to the high point established by the original fa team. The final 15 meters on the last pitch veered off to the right out of the corner and ended at an uncomfortable stance. I decided to change the finish of the route by having it continue straight up the corner rather ending at a good sized ledge that would make a nice belay. After fixing ropes from the top I was able to slowly chip away, cleaning all the pitches from top to bottom, adding bolts and anchors on the way down. In February of 2025 the route was finally completed and ready to open after Nick Brown, Bryan McQuiston and I climbed the route ground up. 

Many people have contributed to the development of this route and should be thanked for their time and effort: Cooper Varney, Harry Kinard, Ben Kahn, Mike Wright, Francois Vitale, Shawn Bethune, Denise Hamel, Zoe Desjardins, Marin Ho, Nick Brown and Bryan McQuiston. 

Location

Take the approach trail toward Plutonia Cave and then continue on toward Wild Wall. You will pass the Trash Cat side trail on your left. Continue walking up the canyon for about another 5 -10 minutes past Trash Cat. The route starts on a steep face about 40 meters below When You Are Lost in the Wild.

Protection

Bolts

Photos [Hide ALL Photos]

Yellow line is Trash Cat, Red is La Bamba and blue is When You're Lost in the Wild.
[Hide Photo] Yellow line is Trash Cat, Red is La Bamba and blue is When You're Lost in the Wild.
Greg jamming his way up the final sustained crack pitch.
[Hide Photo] Greg jamming his way up the final sustained crack pitch.
Bryan McQuiston on pitch 4.
[Hide Photo] Bryan McQuiston on pitch 4.
Nick Brown on pitch 5.
[Hide Photo] Nick Brown on pitch 5.
Pitch 6
[Hide Photo] Pitch 6
Mussy coming into top of 4th pitch
[Hide Photo] Mussy coming into top of 4th pitch
Initial slab crux of pitch 7.
[Hide Photo] Initial slab crux of pitch 7.
Martin Ho on pitch 4.
[Hide Photo] Martin Ho on pitch 4.
Mike Wright leading pitch 5.
[Hide Photo] Mike Wright leading pitch 5.
Final 9th pitch
[Hide Photo] Final 9th pitch
Pitch 7 view
[Hide Photo] Pitch 7 view
Optional linked pitch data
[Hide Photo] Optional linked pitch data

Comments [Hide ALL Comments]

Bryan McQuiston
Indianapolis, IN
  5.10c
[Hide Comment] Very psyched to be there, big thanks to Greg and company for all the hard work cleaning this up. The last 3 pitches are the money, especially the last pitch, sustained corner crack climbing for 100 ft. Great work Greg, thanks for letting us tag along. Feb 19, 2025
George Humbert
New Lion
[Hide Comment] Thank you Greg Hughes and everyone involved in this great multi pitch, thank you for your hard work and great routes done at EPC.
Soon we will be there, uploading it and enjoying it.

greetings!!
Coconut Feb 20, 2025
Nico Reitman
  5.10d
[Hide Comment] Stellar sustained laybacking and exposure! We comfortably linked pitches 1-6 with a 70m rope. Pitch seven's the crux and goes at 10d IMO. Apr 10, 2025
Alan L
Boulder, CO
  5.10a PG13
[Hide Comment] Did this route today, absolutely no chance anything on this is harder than 10a. Could give this 10c for "choss." The most difficult thing on route was avoiding loose rock imo. Choss for sure, route needs to clean up before I'd recommend it to anyone. "Worst route I've done in EPC in a long time, poo poo choss" - Quinn Rohlf

Very well bolted, props to the FA on that. "PG-13" only for the rock quality. Would not want to be below another party on this for the time being. No doubt a massive effort to establish, not the stellar splitter corner climbing I was hoping for. Nov 29, 2025
Harry Kinnard
Fayetteville, WV
[Hide Comment] Glad this thing got completed and is getting some attention. We thought it would clean up into a decent line and it looks like it has. It had been kicking around my head to finish it some day, but other projects kept me from returning. Huge thanks to Greg, Ben, and everyone else for putting in the time to complete it...now to actually go rock climb it someday... Dec 11, 2025
Tony Walters
San Pedro
 
[Hide Comment] Gotta give this route some love, with some highly entertaining lay backing and cool crack climbing. Pitches 1-4 are a nice warm up, then pitches 5-9 are phenomenal, with 7 and 9 feeling fairly stout and sustained. I loved this crack and the adventurous feel of the whole climb. It's also very considerately bolted and belay ledges are generally very high quality.

It's a unique climb, but I do think it shares some similarities with Trash Cat next door: it's a great shady climb for a hot day, offers spectacular views and appears destined for classic status. However, not even a year old and we already had 5 other parties climbing when we were, and as a new climb there are still plenty of white Xs on sketchy rocks, choss and rock fall even though it is being regularly maintained. Be compassionate and careful if others are below you, expect some traffic and be honest with yourself about your tolerance for said risks before hopping on this in the busy season. Word on the street is rappel stations might get some additions to help with more traffic. Big kudos to Greg and the rest for top-notch work. Jan 4, 2026
Ajay Sap
Seattle, WA
  5.9+
[Hide Comment] if you got any crack skills, this thing is quite cruiser and hard pressed to be called 5.10. either way its pretty fun! Jan 12, 2026
Jay Morse
Hooksett, New Hampshire
 
[Hide Comment] A great destination, or a great consolation prize if you hiked to Trash Cat and found a conga line going up. The first 4 pitches are relatively mediocre, but pitches 5-9 were outstanding Trad-style climbing in a great setting. Feb 17, 2026
Nicholas van Rensburg
San Antonio, TX
 
[Hide Comment] Almost an amazing route, still super dirty but once cleaned up this climb will be a 4 star route. Great find and route Greg!! Feb 24, 2026
[Hide Comment] Thoroughly enjoyed this climb, destined to be a classic. Watch out last pitch had massive loose rocks the size of dinner plates in a few places. Crack climbing was a dream out here, absolute amazing climb Feb 27, 2026
susan peplow
Joshua Tree
 
[Hide Comment] The crowd seems to love this one, and I get it it’s a pretty line and the movement is decent.

The climbing is varied and enjoyable. Some fun jams, plenty of laybacking, and the upper pitches settle into a left-facing corner (rack on the left). It’s hard to point to a true crux pitch. Nothing tricky but do agree that P7 is thuggy. P1/3 link easily to the big ledge. I skipped linking 4/5, though others did it without much fuss. 5/6 and 7/8 link well too. The final pitch carries the harder grade, but it feels in line with the rest. If 10c is giving you pause, don’t overthink it....it’s well bolted and straightforward.

That said, it’s still dirty. Plenty of marked blocks, big and small. All avoidable, but they interrupt the flow (even by Potrero standards).

Also worth noting: parties will climb below you. To each their own, but this route has the potential to rain dirt and debris, especially on rappel. It worked out fine for us, just something to keep in mind. There’s one rap station per pitch, with low-profile Fixe hangers, so shared stations can get crowded quickly.

This route has real potential. With more traffic and time to clean up, it could turn into something great. Definately falls more to a crack climb than tech. There are no tiny pockets and few micro edges so you can leave the sport slippers to air out and bust out your comfortable shoes or trad boots instead. Feb 28, 2026