Kimmie Tu's Climbing Trip to Mexico

It had been a while since Kimmie Tu traveled internationally, but in November of 2021, she traveled to Mexico to explore Mexico City and experience new climbing areas. Kimmie went with her friend April Davidson, and they were hosted by their friend Alan Luna.

EXPLORING MEXICO CITY

The first adventure of the trip was exploring Mexico City. Alan showed Kimmie and April around the city, admiring beautiful buildings like Bellas Artes and Cathedral Metropolitana de la Cuidad de Mexico. They ended a lovely first day with Mexican food, cocktails, and watching the sunset at Terraza Cathedral.

CLIMBING IN JILOTEPEC

The next day, the crew drove 1.5 hours north of Mexico City to Jilotepec. Kimmie was hesitant to climb her best in this area because the rock there was volcanic with a mix of consolidated ash and cobbles, and she prefers climbing limestone. Despite being hesitant at first, Kimmie enjoyed the climbs because she thinks it is fun to check out new places and climb whatever looks interesting. They warmed up on some 5.10s and ended the day with a couple 5.11s. Of course, no rock climbing day is complete without good friends, tacos, and beer!

LOS DINAMOS CLIMBING & FOOD

The day began with brunch at Mercado Turistico where they tried lamb barbacoa and lamb soup. April enjoyed it very much, but Kimmie was not a big fan of the lamb. However, she thinks it is important to try the local cuisine and specialties wherever she travels.

After brunch, they hiked to the Segundo Dinamo crag. Kimmie and April warmed up with a couple 5.10s. The first one was a technical climb that they had to climb very slowly because the path upwards was not very clear. The second climb had a roof crux, which is one of Kimmie's favorite styles of climbing. After the warmups, Kimmie attempted to onsight a 5.11+ that had a steep crux with technical crimps. Unfortunately, she fell at the top of the route because she misread the direction of the route. While Kimmie was disappointed to have not gotten the onsight, she was happy to know the route would have been a quick redpoint for her.

To end the day correctly, they stopped at one of the restaurants at the entance of the approach path for some more delicious food and drinks.

CLIMBING AT THE CAVE IN CUEVA DEL PENITENTE

For their last day of climbing, Alan drove Kimmie and April to Cueva Del Penitente. They warmed up on a fun 5.11 outside of the cave, then climbed a 5.12b in the back corner of the cave. Kimmie was super stoked to climb inside the cave because she got to ascend the wall like a vampire, as the locals call it. She was able to get through the powerful first crux sequence, but ran out of energy for the crux at the end. 

Not only were the routes mega fun, but the local climbers were also very nice and welcoming to Kimmie and April! They enjoyed seeing a nice mix of women and men, and also got to see a ten-year-old boy leading and two teenage girls crushing some climbs!