Climbing in Colombia


Being in a relationship with a Colombian has its advantages. One of which is frequent trips to the colourful, mountainous, beautiful and slightly crazy country of Colombia. Whilst exploring the country Pilar and I squeezed in a brief visit to the amazing Suesca near Bogotá and the beautiful sport climbing venue of La Mojarra near Bucarramanga.

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Suesca is a couple of hours from Bogotá and can be reached on public transport (like we did). Taking the Transmillenio public transit in Bogotá to Terminal del Norte where we picked up one of the typical Colombian mini buses (complete with catholic slogans and statue of Christ, and speeding driver) . We stayed at one of the many hostels close to the crag. Ours was the excellent El Nomada with a knowledgeable host full of info about the local climbing scene.We visited during the dry season (November to March) and the weather couldn't have been better!

The Hostel. Great place to relax

Suesca really is a Trad climbing paradise. Routes are up to 150m or so and there are plenty of them. The 2021 guidebook really gives inspiration and shows how much climbing there really is as Suesca. Page after page of awesome traditional lines weaving there way up the sculpted sandstone. Hanging plants are draped all over the crag giving it a vegetated appearance. There is however plenty of clean rock here.

Walking in

Rare hanging plants

With only a couple of hours to climb on our first day we chose El Paralela (YDS5.9, 70m ). The route is a wandering line up a huge protruding buttress. The first pitch was a bit scrappy. Pitch 2 a nice exposed traverse. The final pitch being typical sandstone crack climbing with excellent protection. 

Me at the base of the route

There is sport climbing Suesca, the best of which is in the higher grades requiring real strength and athleticism. The easier sport routes at Suesca, in our opinion, should be avoided due to the polish. I've never experienced such glassy rock.

Pilar setting on P1

 

Pilar at Belay 1

 

Looking back on P2

 

Me on the exposed traverse

 

Me on the crux pitch (P3)

 

Admiring the summit view

 

On our second day we went for a route called L.P (YDS5.8, 150m). This was climbed in 4 pitches.

 

The line of LP

Pitch 1 Me: 5.7 Corner and crack .( Felt UK VS)

Pitch 2 Pilar :  5.8 Corner and crack  (Felt Uk VS/HVS)

Pitch 3 Me: 5.7 Weird traverse with steep bulges (UK VS/HVS)

Pitch 4 Pilar : 5.6 Sightly easier but exposed (UK HS)


Pitch one groove

 

Belay stance one

 

Pilar on the steep P2

 

Me on some weird ledge shuffling

 

The exposed overhang

 

Pilar on the final pitch

 

Me admiring the view

 

The crag from the top

 


A pleasant walk down.

Suesca is absolutely awesome. Highly recommended as a venue in its own right or as part of a trip to Colombia generally. The vibe of the place is relaxed, the landscape beautiful, the locals friendly and the climbing great.

Looking at the guide


When visiting friends in Bucarramanga a week later we took the opportunity to visit the Colombian sport climbing mecca of La Mujarra. We stayed at the breath-taking El Refugio la Roca that has cabins that overlook the enormous Chicamocha gorge. This was a lovely experience - the cabins catch the morning sun giving a perfect spot for a relaxed breakfast with astounding views and exposure.

Awesome Cabin views

 

Waking up to a sunrise

 

Pilar on a weird lookout post

 

The walk in

 

Once the sun has moved off the cliffs its time to head down the steps to the crag (5minutes). The climbing is on steep sandstone and is well bolted for the most part. Polish can be an issue on some climbs but on the whole the quality of the routes is good.

Pilar warming up

 


 

 

Great back drop

 

The crag getting busy

 

A climber working a hard route

 

Climbing on hard sandstone is a nice change from the limestone usually found in Europe. It lends itself to more crack climbing and 3D moves up grooves and aretes. The rock is good quality (even when appearances suggest otherwise), however the occasional bees nest can be a hazard (nothing a bit of care and good vigilance cant solve).

Me in an awesome position

 

Me on something steep and juggy

 

Stripping a very steep route

 

 

 

Looking back at the hostel cabins


On the whole La Mojarra is a wonderful experience. We highly rated the climbing and the atmosphere. It isn't the biggest crag in the world and, when compared to the acres of bolted rock that is on offer in Europe, climbers might find it a bit limited for a dedicated trip in its own right. There is apparently some hard multi-pitch development on the opposite side of the canyon which could add some variety but on the whole it is a venue that is worth visiting as part of a general trip around Colombia (possibly visiting Suesca too).
Sunrise!

A smaller venue with a good amount of development is Puente Reyes. This enormous canyon has a mixture of traditional and bolted climbs (with stiff grades!) and a mixture of single and short multi-pitch routes. The rock is hard sandstone (like Suesca and La Morraja). The crag is close to the nice city of Sogamoso and is situated in pleasant countryside. Occasionally trucks full of cole rattle past on the nearby dirt track (not as intrusive as you might think) as there is a working cole mine close by.

I met up with the local climbing community who meet on a weekend to try my hand at some of the sport routes. The climbing is top quality but grades are Colombian stiff with some wild boulder problem dynamic moves.

Topos can be found on-line. Definitly worth a visit if in the area.

 

A nice arete Climb

 


The crag overlooking the river

 

A Hard 5.11a


 

Me on hard 3D moves