By: Urs Moosmuller
I have been staying in Mexico City for the past few weeks experiencing the city and culture of Mexico. The climbing community here is pretty small and very friendly. Everyone is very psyched and there is a lot of climbing in and around the city. During one of the weeks I met up with some friends from the city who work for some big tv programs. They were interested in coming out to a cave called El Chonta and filming me on a route there. Arturo, Arturo, and Vachas have been living in Mexico City for several years and they are very talented videographers.
I have been staying in Mexico City for the past few weeks experiencing the city and culture of Mexico. The climbing community here is pretty small and very friendly. Everyone is very psyched and there is a lot of climbing in and around the city. During one of the weeks I met up with some friends from the city who work for some big tv programs. They were interested in coming out to a cave called El Chonta and filming me on a route there. Arturo, Arturo, and Vachas have been living in Mexico City for several years and they are very talented videographers.
From Mexico City you drive three an a half hours south west to a town called Taxco. Taxco is a beautiful city located on a steep hillside with a view of several massive valleys surrounding the city. The architecture is very similar to the Mediterranean and there are thousands of BW buses that are found on the small winding cobble stone roads. From here you travel east through rolling hills until you reach the Procopio’s ranch. The Procopios are a large family who own hundreds of goat and hundreds of acres of land. They have been very generous in letting climbers access El Chonta through their land without any cost. They do however provide donkeys to carry your gear up to the cave. The cave is hidden high up on the hillside in a small canyon and is completely invisible until you are a few yards away. The first thing you see when you enter the cave are hundreds of 20ft stalagtites that hang down from the ceiling of the cave. It is a breathtaking sight and you have to take a few minutes just to marvel at the crazy formations that the stalagtites create. One can see Goblins, Dragons, and serpents that seem to be trying to escape from the rock around them.
During the week days the cave is completely empty and very peaceful. When the weekend comes around several parties of climbers fill the cave with laughter and voices echoing throughout the whole cave. Deeper in the cave and at night, bugs and small critters come out. You can find Scorpions and thousands of different kinds of bugs all over the cave floor. At the deepest part of the cave there is a small tunnel where you can crawl even deeper into the mountain. We heard rumors of it going back several kilometers and there are several large caverns inside. Chonta is a once in a life time place to visit. The climbing is unique to each side of the cave. Massive stalagtites start on the overhanging left side and continue to the horizontal ceilings of the center. The right side holds long 45 meter endurance routes on pinches, crimps, slopers, and smaller stalagtites. Overall the cave is one of the best sport climbing crags I have been to!
Attached below is the result of the work of my friend’s filming and editing my send of Chonta’s hardest established line. Forty five minutes after sending the route I was able to send a 45m endurance 13d on the right side of the cave. One of my strongest days climbing! Anyway enjoy the video!
