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ground_up
Trad climber
mt. hood /baja
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Nov 30, 2015 - 12:57pm PT
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Bad news...dang. Sketchy down there.
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Nov 30, 2015 - 01:07pm PT
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Sinaloa - the belly of the beast. Methinks they did little research.
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T2
climber
Cardiff by the sea
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Nov 30, 2015 - 04:02pm PT
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What a bummer
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tradmanclimbs
Ice climber
Pomfert VT
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Nov 30, 2015 - 04:47pm PT
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Bummer. the article that i just read said they were driveing from edmanton to some surfing place in mexico. Seems they did not get very far after getting off the ferry. makes it sound like driveing to portero like some of my friends did a decade ago is no longer an option.....
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east side underground
climber
paul linaweaver hilton crk ca
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Nov 30, 2015 - 05:17pm PT
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very sorry to hear this condolences to family and friends. I've driven the entire coast of mainland mex it used to be such a cool place but since the drug wars it is too dangerous to be on the road. fly in, hang close to your break, don't party or drive at night. I've travelled a bit and i;d say mexico is the most dangerous country ive been to
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tradmanclimbs
Ice climber
Pomfert VT
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Nov 30, 2015 - 06:07pm PT
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The article speculated that they may have tried to camp/ sleep in the van on the side of the Hwy.
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Mtnmun
Trad climber
Top of the Mountain Mun
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Nov 30, 2015 - 06:36pm PT
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My friend, camping in Baja, had a man come charging into his Van with a machete. Luckily the shot gun he had with him intersected the culprit before he could do any damage. No shots fired just fuc@#ng quick thinking.
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east side underground
climber
paul linaweaver hilton crk ca
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Nov 30, 2015 - 06:47pm PT
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seems they landed in sinaloa at 10;30 pm and left imediatley for guadalahara.....bad move... never never drive at night and never bivy , find a trailer park or hotel......a shotgun in mex? pretty bold I assume they had a hunting permit get caught with a firearm in mex = prison. the check points on the roads are looking for guns....... edit : such a bummer I've meet a lot of travling aussie surfers some of the coolest folks you'll ever meet , they were from west oz and maybe didn't really understand how dangerous mex can be
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Contractor
Boulder climber
CA
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Nov 30, 2015 - 06:55pm PT
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Mtnmun-
If you take a gun to Mexico, you're 1,000 times more likely to have a Federal test his cattle prod on your testicles than have your friend's alleged Dirty Harry moment.
I've surfed in Sinaloa (flew into Culiacan). I had a baaaad feeling about that place.
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dirt claud
Social climber
san diego,ca
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Nov 30, 2015 - 07:18pm PT
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Condolonces to family and friends, I hope the bodies found in the van are just two other f*#ked up cartel guys.
My new bride and I went on a 3 week honeymoon to Mexico last May. We visited Guanajuato, San Miguel de Allende and then traveled by bus and car to Tabasco stopping in DF on the way, and finished off in Playa del Carmen. I was surprised to learn from family how bad it really is down there in certain areas. At this point it's pretty much stick to the main areas that have a lot of security presence unless you know someone to travel with down there that knows the area.
We went to Palenque one day and after my cousin parked his car we were walking away and I see this dude put his wind shield wipers up. Later he tells me that he had to pay him to protect his car or it or we would get F&*d up when we went to leave. It was only 10 bucks, but that whole area is controlled by cartels. The guides, kids selling stuff and tour buses are paying the cartel somehow. Not all ruins or other cool sites are like this, but The Chiapas/Tabasco area has a lot of cartel action.
My other cousins rich neighbor was kidnapped all movie style. He has a few guards and high wall around his big house. A lady is driven up in fancy car, dressed the part and the guard lets her in. She is walking up to the door and he comes out with his daughter on the way to take to school. The lady calmly tells him he needs to go with her now or 2 cars carrying men with guns will shoot the place up. He is not seen for a month and after paying the ransom is returned but leaves town like many people with money are, unless they can afford a lot of security. I could not believe the security my cousins had to have and still knew they would probably get broken in to. I heard many more crazy stories from my family, hell, one of my own cousins now ex-girlfriends Dad was kidnapped. They paid he was returned, but not before they through him out the side of a moving truck with his hands all tied. He was found a couple day later and still alive.
This is not most towns in Mexico, but if you are going to travel like these guys, and in less well traveled parts of Mexico. Do your research.
We will go back, we had a great, I love my people, had a great time and got many awesome deals on killer rooms and ate like royalty. It obviously helped a lot that I, or I should say, we have family there. But as long as you research where you are going and don't travel back pack or road trip style through shitty areas, you will be fine. There are a lot of unknown beautiful areas of Mexico that just are not advertised as much or are just now becoming more wisely known, many awesome climbing areas that are unclimbed. Guanajuato, San Luis Potosi areas is very nice as well as the state of Veracruz. In Yucatan we used the city of Merida as home base and traveled by car around the peninsula seeing ruins, cenotes, caves, etc..as safely as I person can drive in Mexico ;). But we never felt in danger. As always, be smart, don't drink to much and get caught somewhere dicey, and try and talk to the locals as much as you can. Even those that seem like they don't speak English, do. They know they will have more opportunities speaking English so many try even if they are not in the hospitality industry.
Edit:
As much as it really is a bad idea to travel with a gun, knife, etc.., in Mexico. Many Mexicans have guns. They would rather live and explain or pay someone off than get taken out by a thug.
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drljefe
climber
El Presidio San Augustin del Tucson
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Nov 30, 2015 - 07:49pm PT
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Really heartbreaking for the friends and family of the surfers.
They certainly knew, their families too, about the dangers of transcontinental driving, especially through Mexico.
Hard to say what went wrong, it could've been anything- wrong place wrong time, they could've done something wrong, who knows. Even the most savvy experienced Mex travelers have had problems.
I traveled a lot in Baja when there was a lot of sh¡t going down, lots of old dogs saying they'd never go back, lots of hype...much of it deserved.
Usually the deeper you go, the safer it is, no matter where you are. Country people are better than city folk.
"Bad roads bring good people. Good roads..."
Keeping a low profile is crucial though.
One thing I've always believed was "don't be scared", even when you're in a sketchy zone.
Predators smell fear.
Activate my cloaking device and just cruise.
deep Yucatan solo
RIP traveling surfers.
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Mtnmun
Trad climber
Top of the Mountain Mun
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Nov 30, 2015 - 07:50pm PT
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My friend was the strong man in the Mexican circus back in the early 70's, that was not a recent story.
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T2
climber
Cardiff by the sea
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Nov 30, 2015 - 07:56pm PT
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Agreed Jefe' Those are solid words
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zBrown
Ice climber
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Nov 30, 2015 - 07:57pm PT
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I used to frequent Baja. I don't know the stats, but I wouldn't go there now.
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drljefe
climber
El Presidio San Augustin del Tucson
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Nov 30, 2015 - 08:09pm PT
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Common sense, low profile, smiles, and respect only go so far when you're deep in a narco zone, though.
F*#king sucks.
Most of us will agree that Mexico is one of the most beautiful places/culture/people.
Horrific sh¡t happens everywhere.
We still paddle out at sharky spots...
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guido
Trad climber
Santa Cruz/New Zealand/South Pacific
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Nov 30, 2015 - 08:15pm PT
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We said Adios to Mexico many years ago. Too many bad experiences after years of cruising and fun.
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ontheedgeandscaredtodeath
Social climber
SLO, Ca
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Nov 30, 2015 - 08:17pm PT
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How awful. I used to drive and bus around down there all the time in what is now crazy narco land, often doing all the stuff you are not supposed to do. Not now! It's a shame cause it is such a great country with great people.
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blahblah
Gym climber
Boulder
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Nov 30, 2015 - 08:27pm PT
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Very say outcome.
I wouldn't assume that the surfers knew how dangerous Mexico is. I have heard with my own ears an adventurous Canadian female (who had traveled extensively in MX) say how much safer MX is than the US!
For all we know, the surfers heard the typical media hype about how dangerous the US is (we do have a hell of lot of guns) and heard about how gun ownership is illegal in MX, gunned it through the US to get away from all the right-wing gun-owning whackos ASAP, and let their guard down in MX.
And of course a crime like that could happen in the US too.
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rottingjohnny
Sport climber
Shetville , North of Los Angeles
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Nov 30, 2015 - 09:04pm PT
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That kind of crime could happen In America...? Packing my bags for Mexico...
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