Potrero May 2002
Updated June 1 - additions:
A) scans
from Marie's non-digital camera
B) some older (non-related)
Potrero pics
C) Magic
Ed's info (below)
Marie and I just returned from an awesome week in the Potrero. Who would have thought that the weather would be perfect? Also, who would have thought that, for most of the week, there was not another climber in the whole Potrero. Not surprisingly, I neither saw nor heard a single bit of rock fall the whole time. Also, because of brief, recent, rainfall my brand new 60M bi-patterned rope never once got dirty. It was too dry for mud, and too wet for dust.
If you can get down there now before the weather changes, I wholly recommend it. The only drawbacks are the occasional, but short, rainstorms and mosquitoes that you won't find so often in the winter months.
We were the only ones staying at Homero's until Thursday when a few people from San Marcos showed up. We swam every afternoon in the Pagoda pool because it was bigger and in the sun. Like La Quinta Santa Graciela, there were only two people staying there - a geology student and her friend. We ate at different Mexican friend's places every night and were treated like visiting royalty. WE saw Homero often and he got around pretty well with his new, lightweight, full-leg cast.
After two months of having a broken leg, and last week's surgery, he is driving an automatic truck just fine with his good left leg (hey, at least he's not talking on the cell phone while driving). Marie insisted we learn how to make tortillas from a friend's mom one evening. I decided to learn too, but was laughed at by the Mexican men who said that I was doing woman's work. Not wanting to be un-manly, I promptly grabbed a beer, and sat on my ass with the other men (actually, my tortillas weren't very round or flat and I didn't make them fast enough).
As for climbing, We did both the East and West Spires, La Ola, Goldenpuff, Snott Girls, and Jungle Boys. It was Marie's first time doing multipitch so we did everything carefully and slowly. We did Aguja Celo Rey the first day and I unintentionally sandbagged Marie.
I thought both pitches were 5.9, but Marie went slower than expected and later found a guide book at Homero's saying that they both were indeed 5.10. My bad - so the next day we decided to actually get an easy warm-up and we did one of those routes at the base of the Mota wall. Kind of fun, but millipedes everywhere.
After one bit Marie's finger, I decided to start flicking them off the major holds (I don't think they're dangerous like the centipedes, but Marie was much more likely to get hurt by being bitten off a route than they were to be hurt by being flicked off). We then did the first pitch of Snott girls in preparation for doing all seven pitches the next day. She got it without much problem. At some point, the geology student's partner joined us and decided to climb with us - which was perfect because I had just bought a new digital camera and he was a photography buff. I set him up on Monkey Boy next to Snott Girls and he helped take 120+ photos at 1600 x 1200 resolution. Talk about excellent overkill. Marie then led her first Potrero climb - some 5.9 or 5.10 uphill from Motavision - without a single hang.
The sun started shining on us so we went down to the Pagoda for lunch and a swim. After much laziness, we went back up and took more pictures while climbing La Ola.
LaOla
After staying out too long Wednesday night at a friend's house, we woke up late on Thursday and marched up to Snott Girls. I made the unfortunate choice to not do a warm-up because I wanted to beat the sun to the fifth pitch where it always hits people. Big mistake to not do a warm up climb. Marie hung several times on the same climb that she had done successfully the day before. Although she managed to do a bolt-to-bolt on 5.11d Crankenstein at Reimers the week before, this was clearly pushing her too hard. She lost valuable energy and finger strength that almost destroyed our attempt for the day. I linked the next two pitches and she did fine following - but she was clearly weakened by the first pitch and her fingers were about dead. Although her enthusiasm was dampened, she was determined to do the entire route. Four pitches and several pictures later she made it. I could see that she had not enjoyed the multipitch thing as much as me and I was worried that I'd done irrevocable damage to her desire to climb. We were both hit pretty hard by the sun on the way down and that ended the climbing day.
Marie - pitch1 |
Marie - pitch1 |
Trip - pitch1 |
Trip - pitch1 |
Marie & Trip - pitch5 |
Marie - pitch5 |
Marie - pitch5 |
Millipede - pitch5 |
Marie - pitch6 |
Marie - pitch7 |
Marie - pitch7 |
Trip - pitch7 |
|
Except for the spires (with a belay ledge as big as a ground station) Snott
Girls was really Marie's first experience with multi-pitch. Although I had originally
hoped to take Marie up Yankee Clipper, we were both too tired from a long day
on Snott Girls. The next day was therefore dedicated to relaxing by hiking through
the Potrero, going to the market, and swimming. We enjoyed cool weather, even
in direct sun, walking in the Potrero in the morning. On the way back, we found
the geology student's partner, Jason, helping two guys named Cody and Brian
(from San Marcos I believe). Cody had pulled off a hold before the first clip
on the third pitch (5.11) variation of Estrallita. He hit the belay stance and
broke his leg. We helped him to a car and they went off looking for Homero.
A few hours later, all six recent arrivals from San Marcos decided it was best
to return and seek American medical attention.
Update from Magic Ed: (it's his route)
"I got the report on the Estrellita accident. From the description of events
that I got it was obvious that the guy was slightly off route--he should have
been climbing four feet to the right instead of trying to make a long reach
to make the clip. "
Although seeing an injury surely did not help Marie's confidence in the multi-pitch thing, the new shrimp cocktail place in the Friday market made us both feel nicely sated. We later swam at the Pagoda and watched a storm come in. Two other climbers had arrived from Texas and had gone up Yankee Clipper in our place. Based on their slow ascent of the first few pitches, I'd estimated their return around 6pm. Fortunately, like Mr Spock in Star Trek, my estimation was dead-on. Unfortunatly, the storm came in at 5pm. Enourmous wind, then rain, then hail. When it started to taper off in 30 minutes, Marie and I drove up to Central Scrutinizer and watched them make it down cold, wet, exhausted, but safe. An hour later the walls were mostly dry. Marie was finally ready to climb again and we went up 5.10d Golden Puff - which she did on top rope, without hanging, on her first try. She liked it so much that we both ran laps on it. So much for my fear that she wouldn't like climbing again.
Before leaving on Saturday, we ran up the Eastern spire route quite easily and I debated whether to try to put her on Pangea. Oddly enough, we hadn't brought sweatshirts. And despite the full sun everywhere else, the spires were shady, cold, and windy. We also wanted to be back in Austin by 9pm, so we bailed. She doesn't know it, but Pangea will be her project the next time she returns to the Potrero. Although we stopped to drink many pina coladas, etc. in Neuvo Larado, we made up for lost time with my radar detector and fast driving on the way back.
Altogether a most excellent journey.
