climbing in Cuba

looking for info from anyone thats has been to Cuba climbing. best time to go, is it really that cold?? I have the guide book it just seems a little off?? But then again i haven't been to Cuba so what do i know. any help beta would be greatly appreciated

I have been to Cuba twice Dec-March is the best time to go.
Here are some:

Travel Recourses
Books
Cuba Climbing, by quickdraw Publications
quickdrawpublications.com/p…
urbanrock.com/cuba-climbing
vinalestours.com.mx/

Web Sites
cubaclimbing.com/
escaladaencuba.com/
climbingcasas.wix.com/cuba-…
srcfc.org/cuba
srcfc.org/cuba/climbingtrip

Facebook:
facebook.com/pages/Climbing…
facebook.com/pages/cubaclim…
facebook.com/groups/4920160…
facebook.com/armando.menoca…

Video:
youtube.com/watch?v=N2XNoxB…
youtube.com/watch?v=UaR9Uff…

I would stay as low key as possible. Don't speak at all if you can help it. Also try to immediately imitate the locals in dress and behavior to stay under the radar. Cuba is no joke.

Before making a decision, be certain you will encounter some bad bolts in Cuba.

The environments in Cayman Brac and Cuba are identical. All the stainless steel bolts placed in Cayman Brac, back in '95-98, have either broken or are in such a state of decay that you can break many of them off with your fingers. These were high-quality stainless bolts from Fixe, Petzl, Metolius, etc. The best money could buy at the time.

These are/were the same type of bolts that have been placed in Cuba and in similar environments around the world. It's not that the people who placed them had poor judgement or ethics, it just that they didn't know any better.

In Cayman Brac, all SS bolts have been replaced with titanium glue-ins starting back in 2000. And of course, all new routes have titanium. If you look at cubaclimbing.com you'll see that Armando is now asking visiting climbers to bring only titanium bolts.

climbing.com/route/bracwin/

titanclimbing.com/why.html

climbcaymanbrac.com/safety/

Consider contacting Armando Menocal. He's on MP.

Howd you make out on your trip? Anything to share that would be good for future travellers to know?

climber57 wrote:Howd you make out on your trip? Anything to share that would be good for future travellers to know?

You might contact Calvin from Solid Rock Climbers for Christ group srcfc.org This year he went directly from Redmond, Or to Havana, Cuba flight. All the past trips have you had to go to Mexico then to Cuba.

Just posting cuz this thread got revived, but I just returned from a trip to Cuba a few weeks ago. Ridiculously easy (especially if you speak a little Spanish), ridiculously safe, temperatures were ~70s-80s even in January, and the climbing was abundant and world-class. 100% worth the trip - go sooner than later, especially since the country is transitioning and you can still get around for cheap. It's quickly becoming full-on "touristy", but you can still find many genuine interactions since the floodgates haven't officially opened yet.

If you can speak spanish and avoid the "tourist tax", you can get a cup of coffee for $0.04 right now and a hand-made, oven-fired pizza will cost you roughly $0.50. Once the direct flights start, those prices are going to change quickly.

Sketty wrote: Once the direct flights start, those prices are going to change quickly.