climbing in mexico

Search
Go

Discussion Topic

Return to Forum List
This thread has been locked
Messages 1 - 12 of total 12 in this topic
el boracho lopez

Trad climber
mexico
Topic Author's Original Post - Dec 22, 2008 - 11:57pm PT
we make many good climbins in mexico
Sir loin of leisure...

Trad climber
X
Dec 23, 2008 - 12:08am PT
you make good tequilia in mexico senor
ß Î Ø T Ç H

climber
Last >>
Dec 23, 2008 - 02:42am PT
Ah Mehico . . .
Juan Maderita

Trad climber
San Diego, CA
Dec 23, 2008 - 04:43am PT
"I had a Mexican camp mate in Camp 4 in the 70's. He actually used a wool poncho for bivys. Dont remember his name, a pity, he was cool."

Rokjox,
There were very few Mexican climbers in the early to mid 70s.
My amigos, all "chilangos" (from Mexico City), made a few trips to the Valley.

Any of these names ring a bell?
Sergio Fitch Watkins - later became a guide for Mountain Travel.
Enrique Salazar - Olympic gymnast, 1968 Olympics in Mexico City.
Enrique and Miguel Mosqueda - brothers, both strong free climbers
Pedro Diaz - first Mexican ascent of El Cap.

Sergio and crew were hardcore. Met them at Canyon Tajo around '74 or '75. After a 3-day bus ride from Mexico DF, they had hiked the 20+ miles from the highway with huge loads.
I remember them looking forward to using their thin string "fishnet" hammocks for the bivy on El Gran Trono Blanco.
Stephen McCabe

Trad climber
near Santa Cruz, CA
Dec 23, 2008 - 05:14am PT
On the few routes I climbed with Sergio and sometimes his partner, when one of us took off to lead I think Sergio would often say, "See you in the funny pages," and then laugh because the obituaries and comics were in the same section of the newspapers in parts of Mexico. Climbed well, good guy.
dickcilley

Social climber
A cova Dos Nenos
Dec 23, 2008 - 08:31am PT
Sergio followed me up that 10d at churchbowl tree in the 70s when my partner couldn't follow.I climbed with German Wing and his crew too.All good guys. Viva Mexico
Ghoulwe

Trad climber
Spokane, WA
Dec 23, 2008 - 11:06am PT
Hey Juan:

I haven't seen Sergio for a dozen years but used to see him pretty regularly when he passed through San Diego, and climbed with him on a few occasions in Canon Tajo and Mexico City. Great guy and seems to have made a good living as an international guide for Mtn Travel:(http://www.mtsobek.com/about/tripLeaders.htm);
He let me stay at his place in Mexico City a couple of times and even lent me his VW bus on a week-long solo trip to Orizaba. Saved me a ton of money in both car rental, motel fees and mordida (having DF plates)!

We also saw German Wing come through Canon Tajo with Sergio a few times - that guy was powerful!

Cheers,
Eric
bob

climber
Dec 23, 2008 - 11:12am PT
Isn't that Salma something or other? Good lookin gal


Bob j.
hooblie

climber
Aug 3, 2009 - 08:01am PT
i partnered up with sergio back in '75, and visited him in mexico city. i gotta believe that "see you in the funny papers" thing came from me. i said that to him and i remember him asking "what means see you in the funny papers?" i explained and he nodded and responded with "see you in alarma." which was a gruesome crime tabloid featuring stuff like gunshot wounds to the head on the front cover right at the newsstand. i was trumped for sure.

sergio loaded us into his no clutch bug, picked up the rest of his crew at and treated us to a day of basalt cracks way above mexico city. colonetle? maybe. the technique for driving with no clutch involved running redlights, bullying the traffic and hanging a quick right hand merge if outnumbered at the intersection. made for a pretty circuitous route across town.

my GF and he cracked each other up into hysteria over the simplest things and it was contagious hilarty even if i missed the joke.

he had a roof top apartment and reptiles ran loose on the roof surrounded by parapet walls including a gila monster. "bot thee moanester die." another round of hilarity, too anti-climactic, the monster doesn't just... die. he had no idea why she was laughing, but we all were convulsed once again. great fun, great guy.

also some pictures of sergio in canon tajo
Reilly

Mountain climber
Monrovia, CA
Aug 3, 2009 - 11:32am PT
About '75 I was working at the Evil Empire store in Seattle.
I got paged to come to the front desk.
"Reilly, don't you speak Spanish?"
It wasn't in big demand back then, especially in Seattle. These two swarthy gents were standing there. Even I could put one and one together. Turns out they were gearing up for a trip to the Big A in Argentina and had flown to Seattle to shop til they dropped! As we chatted it became clear some sugar daddy must have been behind them as they had come for 10 of everything from Bronco Nagurskis to jumars.

By the end of the day we weren't even close to being finished so I said "Muchas gracias, hasta manana!" They said they wanted to make a deposit on their growing mounds of gear. I told them that wasn't necessary. They insisted and then it became clear why the one had kept such a death-grip on his briefcase all day. He wanted to deposit it's contents in our safe instead of schlepping it back to their less-than-stellar motel at Sea-Tac. So then we had to spend 1/2 an hour counting out ten freaking g's in hunnerds, American of course.

The next day I took them to see Bill Sumner at the original Swallow's Nest to share the swag. Boy, was he happy to see them! At the end of the day the total came to about $14,500 (I had just bought a nice house for $18,500!) so they pulled another five g's out of the magic brief case. Turns out they had left that at their motel!

A couple of months later I get paged to the front desk again.
Two more smiling gents are there.
"Senor Reilly? Mucho gusto!" Mucho gusto indeed mis amigos! I could do no wrong for quite a while. Even Big Jim gave me a smile!
hooblie

climber
Aug 3, 2009 - 03:24pm PT
aye carumba, reilly
survival

Big Wall climber
A Token of My Extreme
Aug 3, 2009 - 05:21pm PT
El Boracho,

Bring on the pictures amigo!!
Messages 1 - 12 of total 12 in this topic
Return to Forum List
 
Our Guidebooks
spacerCheck 'em out!
SuperTopo Guidebooks

guidebook icon
Try a free sample topo!

 
SuperTopo on the Web

Recent Route Beta