Go back to EPC 2.1.
Go back to El Potrero Chico Again.
Super Nova.
P.S. As a plan B, we had a Southwest reservation for Vegas…thinking we’d get some safe climbing in at Red Rocks instead. Oddly the first story we saw when we got back to the US was that of a shootout on The Strip with multiple deaths. Shit really does happen.
Photos
El Sendero Luminoso pillar (Feb. 2013).
Shirley on the hike up to the Excalibur route on El Torro. The clean flat pillar above is home to the 15-pitch El Sendero Luminoso route (5.hard; Feb. 2013).
Some fun looking flora of El Potrero Chico (Feb. 2013).
Shirley on the approach hike to the Excalibur route – a new, 6-pitch 5.10c addition to the front side of El Torro (Feb. 2013).
Shirley leading pitch 1 (Feb. 2013).
Views from low on the route (Feb. 2013).
Pitch 2 of Excalibur (Feb. 2013).
Shirley enjoying the bolted crack (crossing myself here…may we be forgiven for enjoying this blasphemy ? on pitch 2 of Excalibur (Feb. 2013).
Shirley starting up pitch 3 of Excalibur (Feb. 2013).
Shirley higher on pitch 3 (Feb. 2013).
Some ahole following pitch 3 of Excalibur (Feb. 2013).
Starting up the crux (#4) pitch of Excalibur – I think I cut the pitch too short by belaying at the large palm tree above but the position was kind of cool (Feb. 2013).
Pitch 4 perhaps (Feb. 2013).
Shirley topping out on the 4th pitch of Excalibur – though we might’ve cut the pitch too short (rap anchor?). The palm tree stance belay was too cool to pass up however (Feb. 2013).
Shirley leading pitch 5 (Feb. 2013).
Views from the top of the route (Feb. 2013).
Shirley nearing the top of the route (Feb. 2013).
Shirley topping out on Excalibur…this is our pitch 6. El Bobo is below as is the main road leading into the Potrero (Feb. 2013).
Happy Shirley hiking out after Excalibur (Feb. 2013).
Las Estrellas ridges as seen from near the base of Excalibur route on El Torro (Feb. 2013).
Timewave Zero “formation” (a sub-summit of El Torro) with the Outrage wall (yellow, overhanging rock near the base).
Jungle Wall – the pointy gendarme at the center is the topout point of Space Boyz route (Feb. 2013).
Climbers high on the Space Boyz route of the Jungle Wall (Feb. 2013).
El Potrero Chico (Feb. 2013).
Heading to La Posada for some margaritas (Feb. 2013).
El Potrero Chico – the impressive front side is in the background (Feb. 2013).
El Potrero Chico on the morning of our final day. We woke up to drizzle and a socked in formations. Things eventually cleared up later on and we climbed some (Feb. 2013).
Hiking in late on our last day (after it stopped drizzling; Feb. 2013).
The base of Super Nova is socked in a fog/cloud (Feb. 2013).
Starting up the first and crux pitch of Super Nova – harder than it looked from below (Feb. 2013).
Almost there on pitch 1 (Feb. 2013).
Shirley on pitch 1 (5.11a) of Super Nova – this is the grade-setting pitch of the route (Feb. 2013).
Shirley topping out on the first and crux pitch of Super Nova (Feb. 2013).
Looking up into Virgin Canyon from low on Super Nova route (Feb. 2013).
Shirley leading pitch 2 of Super Nova – a well-polished 5.8 (Feb. 2013).
Leading one of the upper pitches – still in the runnel (Feb. 2013).
Somewhere low on Super Nova (Feb. 2013).
More views from Super Nova (Feb. 2013).
Super Nova (Feb. 2013).
Pitch 6 perhaps (Feb. 2013).
El Toro massif from high on Super Nova route (Feb. 2013).
I think this is pitch 7 (Feb. 2013).
Shirley topping out on pitch 7 (Feb. 2013).
Arriving at the top (pitch 8; Feb. 2013).
Shirley hiking down after our climb of Super Nova – the line is directly above Shirley and there’s party on midway up it (Feb. 2013).
Interesting desert plants of El Potrero Chico (Feb. 2013).
Hiking out after our last climb of the trip – canines, Cartas, and cliffs (Feb. 2013).
Go back to El Potrero Chico Again.