37 in 27

January of 2015 4 hikers set out to hike 37 of Guatemala’s volcanoes in just 27 days.  This would be quite the undertaking to get up and down and then on to the next peak in that short amount of time.  This is remarkable not only because of the feat of climbing that many volcanoes in that sort of time but these four guys were doing it not for themselves or any sort of fame, but to raise awareness and money for four different developmental organizations in Guatemala that they each had a special link to.

Old Town’s own, Nico Marceca, Reinhard Prosch and Luis Galindo were supporting Niños de Guatemala, Integral Heart Foundation and Asociación Q'ukumatz.  Steve Cook was trekking for Habitat For Humanity Guatemala.

These selfless 4 some pulled together Guatemalan and International sponsors to help not only fund the trip but also to fund their respective projects.  At the end of the month they had managed to climb the 37 volcanoes with a day or two to spare.  Using their home base of Antigua and her four resident volcanoes as the grand finale the group invited folks to join on the Acatenango/Fuego overnight as well as “sold” spots to donors for famous Pacaya Volcano.  All said and done the group was able to raise a over $20,000 and plenty of awareness for their organizations.  

Good work lads and Old Town is happy to have been able to help out! For more information on the trek visit their website at: 37in27.com. Donations are always welcome and will go to a good cause. Visit their crowd rise page as well. 

Acatenango Volcano

Xela Climbing Trip

This past weekend there was a break in the rain and we were able to sneak in a trip out to Quetzaltenango to go climbing.  "La Muela" as its called or the "molar"  much like Devil's Tower, Wyoming or the infamous "half dome" is the core of an eroded volcanic complex.  

Whats left now is a jagged out crop of rocks with hundreds of trad and sport routes all over it.  Most of the routes are 5.10 or higher which makes for some advanced climbing.  Old Town Outfitters offers trips out to La Muela normally as a two day experience.  There's certainly enough rock there to keep you occupied.

La Muela is a pretty unique place to climb.  Not only because its in Guatemala, but as many of the volcanoes are Mayan sacred sites there are always groups of Mayan priests performing rituals and the base of the walls.  The sounds of the chanting resonates on the walls and adds an interesting almost erie aspect to the climb.  

We've got a similar rock climbing trip going out this weekend.  This one is head to Lake Amatitlan just to the northeast of Pacaya Volcano.  Its a super cool spot over looking the lake and with smoking pacaya in the distance its a pretty cool place to climb.  We'll be giving a bit of a sport leading seminar so stop on in the Old Town Outfitters office or get in touch via email us for more info.

Stay tuned to our online calendar on the Old Town website for more upcoming climb trips.  We have all the gear and more than 15 years experience guiding climbing trips here in Guatemala.
See ya on the rock!