Cuba partners

Looking for Cuba partners. I've never been to Cuba so someone who has been would be helpful. Any contacts with climbers who frequently climb there would also be great. I live in the FL keys.
Send me a message
Thanks
Tom

Hey Grover, Maybe you could guide us a little! I know I can search the internet, but want to hear from you. How does an American get to Cuba? Are the plane tickets affordable? Used to be tracel was only permittted under the guise of education or medical support; we had to go from Canada or the Yucatan. I had the chance once to charter a boat from Jamaica, but figured that island was crazy enough for me at the time.

Hope you get a partner and rip up some of that limestone, I think there are threads around here with beta. So let's hear.

Steve

I've been there a bunch
happy to offer advice
best,
mike

Mc- I was hoping to fly out of Key west straight to Cuba. I've heard of people doing this that live down here recently. I'm not sure what the rules are but it's close by for me and looking for locals or people who frequent Cuba for climbing. Chances are slim but wanted to see if theres a group of people near by to hook up with.

Well I'm sure there is plenty to do if nobody is climbing - Mucha suerte!
Steve

Does anybody need a belay in Cuba?

I will be heading to Vinales, Cuba on Jan 12th to the 15th.
I'm flying out of Fort Lauderdale and will be going on a general license for humanitarian reasons to donate climbing gear and other goods. If anyone would like to donate climbing gear or happen to be in Vinales to climb at this time please contact me.
Thanks

hey Marathon, i'll be in Vinales Jan 30- Feb 3. This misses your posted dates by a couple weeks, but if you happen to change your dates or extend your trip, let me know. would love to climb with you.

I will be in Vinales around Jan 29th- Feb 4th. Got in contact with a guide there, and am bringing a bunch of gear to donate plus climb with. If you'll be around there that time then, PM me and we can get something going. Still looking for places to stay in and around Cuba.
-CB

Thanks for the replies, I extended my trip to the 17th, leaving tomorrow.
I might try to go back in February, I found cheep flights out of ft lauderdale.
It's a long shot but would like to find partners to climb in Vinales.

@Mike B. - I'm going to be in Cuba Feb 10-20 and would love to climb. Any information that you might be able to share would be great. Specifically, contacts for guides, etc.

Anyone else going around that time? For those that have already gone and climb, any information you can share would be much appreciated.

Cheers

My trip to Vinales was great, I did hook up with a local guide named Yandry and climbed with him two days. We climbed at the local crags we could walk to from town and there is plenty there to keep you busy. Meeting in the town square every morning at 10 to go climb is the thing to do for anyone solo, or just go up to the crags when there in the shade. If your going to get on the harder routes I think being strong on underclings helps.

Anyone planing on going to Vinales and looking for a guide should get ahold of Yandry. He is very knowledgeable on all the crags and routes, he is also developing his own routes. Just keep in mind when you are in Vinales or walking to the crags with him he could actually get in trouble for guiding. So you may have to follow him at a distance so it doesn't look like your being guided. Yandry is a super nice guy and would love to show you around, put up top ropes, belay, whatever you need. Just email him and set something up. Keep in mind a lot of the Cuban people only make $20 a month so paying him to guide you would help him a ton, and he is more than fair.

Yandry's email address is: yandryh@nauta.cu
Yandry' pronounces his name yandrea

hey everyone,

my trip to Vinales was great also. climbing there was unlike anywhere i've been, so much featured rock--caves, tufas, textures, overhangs, with so few climbers competing for it all. there are so many crags within close proximity of each other, but offering such varied climbing, all sport. the handful of local climbers down there climb just about every day and are constantly putting up new routes, but are badly in need of non-rusting titanium bolts to do more. there is so much undeveloped rock, and they work really hard to use what they have, so bring bolts and gear if you can.

i stayed with a guide named Tito (Jorge) Morales, whose info i got from admin on cubaclimbing.com (which is an invaluable resource), and from previous posters here. he and his brother Luis are guides and have two separate houses that they each rent as casa particulares for 25cuc per night + 5cuc for breakfast if you want it. He was in a Rock & Ice article in July climbing with Sasha DiGiulian. Tito charges 25cuc per day to guide, and speaks English. Luis not too much. I also met Yarobys, another veteran Vinales climber that also guides, who mans the shed en route to the crags with all the donated gear from past climbers for you to use if you need it.

Tito's email: Jorgepimentelmorales@gmail.com
(i was given other addresses for him but those all got returned without delivery). internet access is limited so be patient with reply times.

Yarobys' email: yaroscal@nauta.cu

info for Havana to Vinales: tickets on the Viazul bus were sold out 3 days in advance (3 buses run per day at 12cuc each way around 8:40am, 11am and 2:30pm from havana, but schedules change). but if you didn't buy your ticket in advance, no sweat, you can get a taxi collectivo for 15cuc per person (not more than 20) the day of. it helped me to show up just before a bus left; guys were facilitating filling the taxis. it was really efficient and took 2.5 hrs travel time (vs the 3.5hrs on the bus bc of rest stops and other driver activities). the driver dropped us each off at our casa addresses. i had gone to the viazul station the day before to get a ticket, and wasted half a day doing so; next time i'd just go straight for the taxi collectivo option. there's tons of (nonclimbing) people going to vinales every day.

Casas in Vinales-- even if you don't have a reservation for a casa, the streets are lined with available ones, so it's no big deal. the big road that leads down to the crags is Calle Adela Azcuy, and there are tons of casas there and branching off.

Climbing-- 3 days was not nearly enough, you could climb for months. i climbed at Cueva Larga and Cueva de la Vaca around 5.10a-d (but they use the french grading system, so 5.6a-b), but there are plenty of 11's, 12's, + and some 8's and 9's. routes averaged 12 quickdraws, but varied between 8-14. we used a 70m rope.

Rest days-- because of the daytime heat (even in January), we never climbed before 2pm, but you could probably do early mornings too. we rented bikes for 5-7cuc and went to El Palenque, a bar in a cave, and Cueva del Indio in one direction, where there's a somewhat touristy boat through a cave for 5cuc, and to Mural de la Prehistoria in the other, paid 3cuc for 3ppl and hiked to the top for a great view of the valley and mogotes. we also went to see some other climbing areas.

after climbing and before dinner, climbers hung out at Raul's farm stand (you cross his farm anyway to get to some crags), where there was organic fruit from his farm and beverages to buy. cool place to chill away from the tourists. i was surprised at how overrun with tourists vinales was, so it was nice to hide away.

it's hot in the daytime but i was cold at night (in jan) so bring layers.

that was my experience, i'm sure it varies by person. hope it helps people go enjoy the awesome climbing and contribute to the strong little community of climbers down there. thanks for starting this thread! pm me if more questions!