Tim Slatton and the burros.Chattanooga is the capital of deep-south climbing, and the city is brimming with climbers like never before. The Scenic City lies in the center of a sandstone mecca known geologically as the Cumberland Plateau province. Locals have known about the nearly endless sandstone crags and boulders of the region for decades, and that’s why we’ve chosen to live here.
Lately, it seems the climbing world has taken note of our little city. Vertical adventure seekers from across states and from distant countries are making the pilgrimage to Chattanooga to check out the steep and aesthetic sandstone found here.
As local climbers, we’ve got it good here and we know it. Sometimes, I think to myself, people come from all over the world to climb in Chattanooga. Why should I bother to go anywhere else?
But, the spirit of travel and adventure runs deep in climbing culture. The desire to travel beckons. The desire to visit unknown places, to explore inspiring landscapes, to experience exotic cultures, to see unique geology and to climb new rock never rests in the heart of an adventurous climber.
And so, the four amigos decide it’s time to take a trip south – south of the border. Our destination is a limestone paradise deep in the mountains of Mexico named El Chonta.We are Andrew Miller, the banker; Cody Averbeck, the entrepreneur; Tim Slatton, the tower technician; and me, Michael Wurzel, the conservationist; and, of course, rock climbers all.