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sonso45
Jun 15, 2008, 12:33 AM
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June rains in Oaxaca, Mexico are supposed to be short and quick. Not this year. We did arrive in spotty light showers but the sun would quickly come out and dry everything nicely. Santiago Apoala, is a picturesque small village located approximately 2 hours drive from Oaxaca. Rastus, Juan, Anbar and Erik are my great local climbing hosts and fellow new-routers.
Erik has organized the road trip and provided me his home until we leave the next day. The Jeep Cherokee belongs to Rastus and he jams north of Oaxaca on the Mexico City toll road. One nice benefit of the Seccion 22 Teacher's strike that day is their takeover of the toll booth. We don't have to pay! Karma will reassert itself when I leave, the teachers will block the road on my way to the airport. Anyways, we have an uneventful drive on the highway to Nochixtlan where he takes us down the final dirt road. It's just wet enough to keep the dust down as we switch-backed into the canyon’s bottom. We drive to the trailhead, meet the cabins’ caretakers and unload.
What we have to do after chatting with the caretakers, is meet the president of the village and ask permission to climb. Very quiet and reassuring, I can see why he is the Presidente. He asks about our intentions and we respond that we are here to add a route to the Pena Colorada amongst the dozen or so already there. Declaring that we must be careful and that 24 hour security is available in the village, a scant 20 minute walk from the tent, he grants us permission to climb and stay without charging us the very nominal fee of 50 pesos/$5. A very nice and informative meeting capped with friendly handshakes all around finds us on the way to the campsite. We hike up a slight rise and enter the canyon of the Rio Apoala.
Above our campsite is a steep wall of ochre, brown, grey and black limestone rises about 250 meters above us, enveloped by jungle but free of the vegetation clinging all around it. The flat spot Erik has camped in so often is about 10’ above the river’s shallow stream. It has started raining again, causing a rush to put our tents up. After we hide inside for a half hour it stops and we walk back to the village for dinner and a beer.
Next day finds our camp mostly free of the hard rain seen around us. We merely awaken to a mist blowing by. The rock is dry, according to Erik, because the top is protected by overhangs. We rack up as the sun lightens the lessening clouds and brightens the huge face above us.
As the eager visitor, Erik allows me to take the sharp end and dig into the crack he has been thinking of since we spoke about this trip a few short months ago. We are going to try to link natural features, cracks and large holes in the face just right of the central dihedral splitting the entire wall. That route is called Aguila, five pitches with the final crux pitch of 5.11c. Unfortunately, it had been partially stripped of 60 hangers, nuts and washers. All that was left were ½” stainless steel studs, at least the thieves didn’t ruin them completely. Eric, Juan, Anbar and Rattous would replace them on a later trip and use red loctite to stop any would be thieves. Just to Erik’s left you can see a stud that was stripped.
I racked up, stuck my feet in my favorite Mexican rock shoes, Acopas, and looked up this potential line. A stout branch blocked my way about 10’ up, it had the carved end inserted nto a #1 camalot sized crack. It came out very easily so I doubt anyone went further using it for aid or protection. Occasionally new routes will provide even more fun while leading with assorted sizes of itself that have to be removed. I tossed very less than what I thought I would need to as I climbed up this virgin crack.
The main difficulty, other than wanting to test any of my protection on the slabby to vertical start, turned out to be a small roof nearly half way up the pitch. I placed nuts in convoluted cracks and cams complemented them in the more parrallel portions. Occasionally I passed the crack’s suspect portions on the face while aligning my protection away with cautious use of slings. The roof was a straightforward jam with great stems for the feet.
The delightful finish, in a ten foot tall cave that dug into the wall 20 feet, provided a lit flat space to spread my gear to dry. Although it was continuously raining, we escaped all but the lightest mist because of the wall’s protective overhangs many feet above us. I created an anchor from the many features inside, including a great handle of solid limestone, and leaned out to photograph while using my BD guide ATC in auto block mode to belay my new partner.
Erik easily reaches me with the Bosch, hammer, hangers, bolts and gear I placed all dangling off him. He proceeds to drill the anchor, as he has many times on this incredible cliff, while I belay him.
We trade ends and I get to place the first bolt above the belay and Erik works on the second afterwards so that we can maximize our time in this lovely, restful belay cave.
Now that we have a solid anchor and two protection bolts out of this cave, I am provided the further honor of trying to link our route to the next amenable hole, another potential cave seen from the tents. The cave exits out an overhang, stemming and jamming a thin crack, unfortunately, filled with debris in seemingly crucial areas, I am quickly persuaded to aid thru the bulge a scant body length above the bolt. We had discussed dynamic belaying yesterday and I just hoped that if I fell and screamed like a small child, that Erik would keep me from slamming into the maw of the cave or worse yet, slamming me into it’s very featured edges. I cleaned the placements and after a few feet, slowly and surely arrived at the first hole. Tying off a small 3” pillar attached at bottom and top in a small hole, I left this hole for the next one just a bulge away. This second hole, with great stances and a huge pillar nearly three feet thick as an anchor, served as the final belay.
My friends had informed me of the local’s lack of trad gear and I brought some of my own: DMM wallnuts, BD camalots, Lowe tri-cams and the new-fangled but trusty OP camlinks. Hence our mission to establish this route ground up and bolt it top down for all to enjoy. The lack of funds being a crucial point in the decision to make it, as the rest of the routes, a sport route.
Later, the rest of the crew jumped on the route’s first pitch, not yet too wet, and enjoyed the new line. Here, Anbar topropes the bottom half of the first pitch.
There is a route just to the left up a steep face and none to the right. While rapping down, I looked to the sides and noted many potential lines to come during my next visit, hopefully a dry March or early April. But of course, the rest of the line, the final two thirds, is the main event to come.
For more information on Santiago Apoala follow the link and learn about this wonderful natural treasure of the Mixtec and Mexican people:
http://www.planeta.com/...o/oaxaca/apoala.html
(This post was edited by sonso45 on Jun 17, 2008, 7:14 PM)
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curt
Jun 15, 2008, 6:06 PM
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Registered: Aug 27, 2002
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WOW. What an amazing place, Manny. Nice TR.
Curt
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stagg54
Jun 15, 2008, 6:20 PM
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Apoala is a really cool place. Definitely small town Mexico at its finest.
Glad to hear you guys made it in and out alright. When we went our 4x4 got stuck in the mud. It took a pretty crazy hauling system to get us out of there.
Apoala is just a beautiful place with lots of things to see and do.
I hear there is a lot of good canyoneering further down the canyon, past the huge waterfall.
There is also that big cave up there. I think it is called Boca del Diablo. It looked pretty amazing.
Have you ever climbed the big dihedral that splits the wall? If so, what does it go at? I remember looking up at it and thinking it would be a stellar line.
Also have any of the other sections of cliff there been climbed?
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markguycan
Jun 15, 2008, 9:10 PM
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Registered: Sep 26, 2003
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looks pretty sweet! thanks for the read Manny.
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sonso45
Jun 16, 2008, 5:23 AM
Post #5 of 14
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The huge brown dihedral splitting the wall is an 11c, 5 pitch route that had several pitches' nuts and hangers stolen. It should be repaired shortly by Erik and Rattous et al.
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markguycan
Jun 17, 2008, 3:30 AM
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Registered: Sep 26, 2003
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you might want to suggest to Erik and Rattous to put a little epoxy on he threads when they screw the nut on, or at least leave some threads exposed and bash'm up a bit after the nut is on. to deter theft. I'd like to go there someday. I've had a great time in Oaxaca- naked bouldering on the beach...
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sonso45
Jun 18, 2008, 3:22 AM
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I left some red loctite to prevent further theft but mashing the head of the stud could be ok if you are careful, I have done it inadvertently. They suggested creating a register for climbers to sign in on. The village is very close and they monitor the area.
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markguycan
Jun 18, 2008, 1:46 PM
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I think a climbing register with the local villiage is a good idea- it will help keep climbers responsible. A nail punch or a small chisle can be used to disrupt the threads and "lock" a hanger in place...
are you heading back to el gigante this year?
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sonso45
Jun 18, 2008, 2:34 PM
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I may go to Penon Blanco in Durango instead. It is solid granite, a multi-pitch bonanza! On the way is Penoles, a place my friends liken to Hueco Tanks' rock. But, I am interested in returning to El Gigante with the right people.
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jaybro
Jun 18, 2008, 3:58 PM
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Registered: Feb 2, 2005
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Very Nice, Manny, thanks for sending me the link. Somehow the part about the meeting with the village presidente, touched me the most; the climbing looks killer, though!
I have a friend from my Greenie days who has up El Gigante, i can connect you, though he is a Luddite without internet...
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dreday3000
Jun 18, 2008, 4:21 PM
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Registered: Jun 15, 2006
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Wow, Mexico has a lot of rock. Most gringos (myself included) don't get too far past Potrero. Next time I head south, I'm going deeper. Great TR.
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mountainjunkie
Jun 18, 2008, 11:02 PM
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Registered: Jul 14, 2006
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That's awesome Manny!! Looks like you guys had a great time!
Joe
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emilioclimber
Jun 20, 2008, 10:41 PM
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Registered: Sep 24, 2007
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heeeey Manny!! what a huge wall it looks great the clouds and misty also.
Nice trip!!
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sonso45
Sep 17, 2008, 5:45 PM
Post #14 of 14
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Going back 10/31 - 11/3 2008 if anyone else is interested. Pm me.
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