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Most Potrero
rock in its natural state has a crust of loose flakes, spiny agaves,
and cactus - features hardly attractive to climbers. However, on
the single pitch sport routes these will have been more or less
cleaned off by the route's authors and the multitudes that have
followed. The quality of the rock degrades however with elevation,
and many popular multi-pitch routes remain peppered with often treacherous
loose blocks, creating a potentially dangerous situations for the
climbing party and (typically) for the crowds of climbers and partying
Mexicans hundreds of feet below. Often the risk is redoubled by
the fact that these long routes are near the easy end of the spectrum,
typically attracting folks with little experience of climbing on
chossy rock. Accidents due to loose rock happen in the Potrero with
regularity every year and there have been several fatalities within
the last decade. Also regular are rattlesnake and hornet encounters,
especially very high on the routes! We cannot overemphasize that
care should be exercised when climbing here. Helmets should be worn,
other parties should not be followed, and popular walls located
under multi-pitch routes should be avoided when there are parties
up there. Many inexperienced parties are gung-ho to try their first
multi-pitch routes here, mislead by their ostensible "sport"
nature. Fatigue after many pitches of climbing, and inability to
follow the route (it does not take much to venture onto very loose
terrain here) have led many into dangerous situations. Please bring
and wear a helmet and be careful!
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