Traveling in Mexico can sometimes seem like a dicey prospect. Here’s our guide to traveling to El Potrero Chico safely this season, along with a few evergreen recommendations for visiting climbers.
Everybody who’s a climber in the U.S. and Canada knows the party is in Mexico for Christmas and New Year’s. Every December (and for a few months in each direction on the calendar), climbers pour into Hidalgo, Nuevo Leon, eager to pull down on Mexican limestone, swill Mexican substances, and party all night.
They’re right to do so, in my opinion. I’ve driven down from Austin, Texas, to revel there many a time, and wish that’s what I was doing right now. Can’t-miss routes drape the cliffs as densely as streamers at a Mexican Easter party, Leo’s Tacos is always open late, and I feel deeply welcome at Homero’s every time I arrive. And for the seasonal stalwarts who’ll require a change of pace, El Salto perches just up the road.
The answer to the question, “Should I go to El Potrero Chico (EPC) this year?” is obvious to many of us; from a point of view that excludes everything but the Potrero.
View this post on Instagram
I also know people whose families have attempted to forbid them from traveling there due to worries over safety. We’ve all heard the “EPC is dangerous” stories. People have sat around tables at the campgrounds with men they’re certain are narcos.
One time in the early 2000s, police found four corpses hanging from a tree far up the canyon. They were the members of a band that had played at one of the resorts the night before.
Goodwill doesn’t always prevail; that’s the case no matter where in the world you are. So, here’s some information to help you decide whether you’re comfortable visiting the Potrero this season. We collected government recommendations, contacted campground hosts, and sourced recent visitors to get a feel for what’s up at “the little corral.”
Consider Avoiding Nuevo Laredo Due to Reported Police Bribes
Luke Riethman, who recently graduated from SUNY Plattsburgh with an Expeditionary Studies degree, visited the Potrero in September. He spoke with me from Puerto Escondido, a surf town on the Pacific coast in southern Mexico.
Riethman drove into the country along with his dog and said his trip was generally amicable. While he did encounter some concerning evidence of roadside violence (including what appeared to be a corpse covered by a sheet, surrounded by police) while driving southbound away from El Potrero through San Luis Potosi, he said that his travels in Nuevo Leon went smoothly.
Riethman stayed at La Posada along with just two other parties — early-season visitors were sparse in the canyon at that time.
View this post on Instagram
Riethman offered two key recommendations for El Potrero visitors this season:
- Don’t drive through Nuevo Laredo.
- Depending on your port of entry, file your tourist paperwork online.
Visitors to Mexico have long needed to fill out a Tourist Card containing basic information about their identity, their origin, where they’re headed, and how long they plan on being there.
In the past, stopping at a border town building to go through customs was requisite. In practice, it meant wading through a bureaucratic process that could be cumbersome or confusing — especially for anyone without a conversational understanding of Spanish.
Not so anymore. Now you can fill out your Tourist Card online, whether you’re flying or driving in. Instructions are easy to follow, and it’s free.
That depends on where you’re entering the country. Many airports and bridge entry points make the list, but unfortunately, Monterrey International Airport is not one of them.
Neither are the entry points in Piedras Negras — Puente Internacional Camino Real and Puente Internacional Piedras Negras II. That’s where Riethman recommended entering the country this season due to tips about nefarious police activity in Nuevo Laredo.
“We heard that there were a lot of police bribes happening with tourists in Nuevo Laredo,” he told me.
So he and his climbing partner chose Piedras Negras (Eagle Pass, Texas, on the U.S. side) instead. He reported no issues and an easy drive down highways 57 and 53 to Hidalgo.
When they got there, he said, the few climbers staying in the canyon at the time corroborated what they’d heard about Nuevo Laredo.
“There were two other parties, and they both said they’d been bribed,” Riethman said.
Be advised.
Note: You’ll also want to get “Mexico insurance” (yes, that’s what most providers call it) for your car. It works just like normal American car insurance, but in Mexico, and you can purchase short-term plans for your visit. Many providers make it available.
La Posada Stands Out With New Programs to Welcome Climbers
Best Practices: How to Stay Safe, and One Story About Danger
- Drive on main roads and toll roads.
- Commute during daylight hours.
- Travel as a group.
What You Cannot Bring to Mexico: Guns, Etc.
Pro Tips: Hidalgo Hangouts and Light-Duty Beta
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
Potrero-Specific Climbing Recommendations
View this post on Instagram
- Helmet. Helmet, helmet, helmet. I know people who won’t get out of their car in the parking lot below Mota Wall without wearing one, and I don’t consider them extremists.
- 70m rope. I have found rappel bolting highly consistent at the Potrero. The standard pitch length seems to be between 30-35 m. Rappelling on a 70m line, I have reached anchors due to rope stretch only on multiple occasions. (Always tie knots.)
- A quad. Bolt spacing at anchors in the Potrero is so consistent that, in my experience, I can usually pre-rig one and use it at every single belay for my entire trip.
- Gri-gri and ATC or similar. Belaying with either one will always work. But it varyingly makes sense to simul-rappel or go one at a time in the Potrero. (Always tie knots.)
- Headlamp and sleeves. You never know.
- Cash, baby. If Edgardo’s doing his thing in the canyon by the time you get down from a long day on the wall, I just about guarantee you’ll want to go see him for a margarita or some pizza. And even if he’s not there, you can usually still stop on the way back to your flop for refreshments along the way.