EPC Multipitch Mentorship Camp

EPC Multipitch Mentorship Camp

Or call/text us at (916) 299-0711

From MP basics to advanced rescue — personalized coaching for every level.

From single pitch cragging up to 2,300 foot SPORT ROUTES. Margaritas or Topo Chico as soon as you hit the ground, walking to and from accommodations and dining, plus an international climbing community with easy travel logistics. What’s not to love?

Looking for our All-Inclusive Yoga and Climbing Retreat? Click Here.

Our El Potrero Chico Multipitch Mentorship Camp is just that, an opportunity for you to build confidence and gain independence in basic or advanced multipitch skills. If you are new to multipitch climbing, you’ll learn core systems on classic climbs before taking the lead yourself (if you want). Those with more experience will be sharing leads with our expert mentors immediately and will receive coaching that goes beyond the basics: self-rescue, efficiency, and advanced tactics.

Due to the insanely small group size, this is a very customizable trip. If you want to lean more toward guided ascents of challenging multipitches, we can do that. Want to focus more on skills progression and gaining confident independence for yourself? We can do that too. In fact, if you sign up with one other person, you will have a private guide to yourself, and we’ll design the PERFECT 4-day trip for you.

Along with the incredible climbing experiences, we’ll be enjoying the delicious food, meeting new people, and experiencing a BEAUTIFUL location with splitter weather in the middle of the winter doldrums.

Come join us!

Itinerary

Day 0: Arrive at your accommodations in Hidalgo (see Logistics tab below)

Day 1-4: Go Multipitch Climbing! The flow of these days will depend on what YOU want to do. But here is a possible taste:

We’ll meet up in the morning for coffee/breakfast before walking a short way into the canyon to our climbing objective. We’ll climb one or two 3-10 pitch sport climbs, chasing sun or shade depending on conditions. Every route in EPC requires rappelling, which will get us TONS of expert practice at one of the most dangerous parts of multipitch climbing. We might finish the day with a bit of ground school, dialling in a concept we explored on the wall. When energy fades, we’ll grab some food and libations, enjoy the company of other climbers, and make a plan for another incredible day.

We will usually have full or half days of instructional content without getting up on multipitches, but that is totally up to you. If you have never led on a multipitch before but want to, expect at least a half day of instruction. If you want to be an absolute self-rescue ninja, expect a full day of instruction. Again, we are super flexible and want to get you what you need to make your next trip to EPC an independent one.

Final Day and Beyond: Plan to leave later on our last day or the next morning. Or stick around for some bonus days of private instruction/guiding with us, or put your new skills to the test on your own! You will have barely gotten a taste of this place, even with 4 full climbing days!

Travel:

El Potrero Chico is a super easy place to travel to and play! Fly into Monterrey International Airport (MTY) and take an Uber or pre-arranged “climber taxi” (we can help!) directly to your accommodations in Hidalgo.

No need for a rental car, you’ll be walking distance to all the climbing and restaurants!

Consider Ubering to a grocery store (this HEB is well stocked) before continuing to your accommodations. Pre-arranged climber taxis will generally take you to the store and wait for you to shop as standard.

We’d recommend arriving in Hidalgo the day before the start of our climbing to maximize our time!

Getting home is much the same; you’ll arrange for a climber taxi back to the airport. (Uber doesn’t work going back.)

Accommodations:

There are TONS of options for accommodations. We recommend La Posada, El Cubil, or Rancho Sendero, though there are many other options! Each of these will have options from budget camping to glamping to private apartments; it’s up to you. These all have communal kitchens and are walking distance to the climbing. We do not recommend booking in Hidalgo proper as you will need a car to reasonably get to the climbing area each day.

Food:

There are many great restaurants all around (and in) the accommodations. There are gluten-free and vegan/vegetarian options too!

All the accommodations also have communal kitchens, so you can cook whatever you like! We find most folks will do their own breakfasts and snack/lunch foods and then eat out with the gang for dinner.

We’d recommend bringing any special/niche food items from home. Definitely stop at the grocery store on your way in to grab lunch foods for on the walls!

This website is a great resource for more logistics and information!

Other programs have no participation limits and try to sell as many spots as possible. Inevitably, the participants get stuck top-roping at a single-pitch crag, with maybe one day of multipitch climbing in their week-long stay. That’s not what EPC is all about.

At Vertical Pursuits, we are very clear about our ratios and participation limits so that you can climb a ton of awesome multipitch routes and get personalized semi-private instruction. You’ll leave with renewed confidence in yourself as an independent climber, and you’ll also probably need a rest day 🙂

Included:

  • 4 full days of Multipitch Climbing
  • AMGA Certified Rock Guide or Assistant Rock Guide
  • Technical Gear and Ropes
  • Endless PSYCH!

Not Included:

  • Airfare
  • Lodging
  • Food
  • Local/Airport Transport
  • Travel Insurance (REQUIRED)

Climbing Gear:

  • Helmet
  • Harness
  • Climbing Shoes (perhaps a comfy multipitch pair and a sporty pair)
  • Small ~15L pack
  • Water Bottle
  • Gri-Gri or similar
  • ATC or similar (for rappelling)

Clothes:

  • Sun Glasses
  • Sun Shirt
  • Sun Hat
  • Thin Pants for climbing
  • Solid Shoes for the approach
  • Warm Layer for Wind
  • Rain Coat
  • “Town” Clothes

Travel:

  • Travel Documents
  • Toiletries and Medications
  • Mexican Pesos or International Debit Card

If you are signing up alone please observe these prerequisites:

  • Climbing 5.10 in the gym
  • Fitness for full days on the cliff
  • No multipitch experience is required

Our 2-to-1 ratio means that if you sign up with a friend, you will have a private guide! You can come with any skill level and we will accommodate you.

Or call/text us at (916) 299-0711

stoked

Climbers!

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Misty Lawrence profile picture
Misty Lawrence
5 August 2026
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I had taken an intro to trad clinic through another company fairly recently, so I was apprehensive about taking another intro to trad course, but I was still hesitant to lead trad after the first course and a friend recommended Erik so I decided to go for it. I’m super stoked I did! The class was small, only 3 of us, so the course felt very tailor fit to our needs. Erik has a fantastic positive vibe, he’s incredibly supportive, and his instruction was very clear and easy to understand. After a bit of informative ground school much of the course was spent on the wall learning gear placement with his close guidance. By the end of the course all 3 of us led 5.6 and 5.7 routes. I have so much more confidence leading trad now, I highly recommend Vertical Pursuits!!!
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oliver symonds
2 August 2026
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We scheduled an intro to trad course to learn the basics and get familiar with the techniques. Even before the day of the course, Kevin and Erik were super helpful with recommendations and ensuring the day would be dialed in for us. On the day of the course, Erik was an excellent guide covering the basics and quickly getting us on the wall. My son was excitedly putting up trad leads well before the end of the day. It was great having a high level of instruction and mentorship, while feeling less like a guide and more like a coach. We'll be back for sure.
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Harvey Clarke profile picture
Harvey Clarke
20 July 2026
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Erik is a fantastic guide - he made trad climbing and multipitch super accessible for a full group of 4 climbers at once. Highly recommend these guys!
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Shari VanT profile picture
Shari VanT
14 July 2026
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One of the best, safest, and most fun guides I have climbed with! Highly recommend Vertical Pursuit’s!
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Michael Silvester profile picture
Michael Silvester
25 June 2026
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Erik is an outstanding teacher, guide, and all around great guy! I spent the day with him and one other student at School Rock on Donner Summit taking the Intro to Multipitch course and it was stellar! He has a great teaching style—knowledgeable, patient, and easy to learn from. He broke down complex systems into simple, understandable steps and made sure we felt comfortable asking questions along the way. What really stood out was how invested he was in helping us learn and build confidence. His experience and expertise were obvious, but he never made anything feel intimidating. By the end of the day, I felt much more confident with multi-pitch climbing systems and techniques. If you’re looking for a guide who is professional, approachable, has done laps on El Cap (including The Nose!) and genuinely passionate about teaching, I highly recommend Erik and Vertical Pursuits.
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Olivia Simon profile picture
Olivia Simon
10 June 2026
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I had a fantastic experience learning from Kevin at the Intro to Sport Climbing class. He is an amazing teacher - super kind and never made me feel dumb for asking really basic questions. The format of the class is awesome. You get time on the ground to learn skills and then get to apply them on the wall. Everything feels super safe and thoughtful. I learned a ton and think it's an insane value for the price. It's a whole day of instruction with no more than 4 people in the course, but my course only had 2 so that meant even more time on the wall and extra mentoring. Also, the communication with the Vertical Pursuits team was top notch. Kevin was kind enough to chat with me on the phone before I took the class to answer my questions and make sure the class would be a good fit. He was great about communicating location and timing the day of. And, he followed up after class with an email of everything we talked about + videos and resources for review. If you're on the fence, take the course! It's a great opportunity to learn from real pros and up your knowledge safely!
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Ethan F profile picture
Ethan F
31 March 2026
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Kevin brought me and a buddy out to sport climb for the first time, and it was a great time. He's a great mentor who's friendly, knowledgeable, and willing to answer all your stupid questions. He went above and beyond to be helpful, and offered resources even after our day of climbing. Highly recommend!
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Tim Blair profile picture
Tim Blair
30 March 2026
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Kevin was an awesome teacher and guide. Classes feel more personal because of the limited number of people. We took the trad class, learned how to place gear effectively, then put it to the test the same day. I felt incredibly safe and confident in my and Kevin’s abilities. Thank you for a great climbing day!
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Phoenix Morrow profile picture
Phoenix Morrow
30 March 2026
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Awesome time learning the basics of Trad climbing with Kevin. The small group helped me and my partner feel like we were able to ask all the questions we needed, and we were able to receive constructive feedback. The guides are very knowledgeable. Highly recommend.
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Melisa Hickman profile picture
Melisa Hickman
19 March 2026
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Vertical Pursuits is AWESOME!! I had a trad lesson with Kevin at Sugarloaf. Kevin was extremely safe, thorough, and encouraging. We had just the right balance of ground school and climbing. Before my day with Kevin I was afraid to try anything harder than a 5.7 crack and he helped me to bust right through that fear with his calm, reassuring guidance. I had the best day with him and I feel totally ready to push through my plateau.

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Kevin Heinrich

I grew up mostly in the North Eastern US but began traveling and climbing after high school and never looked back. I’ve been lucky to climb in over 10 countries and have done many first ascents on 3 continents. Now I mostly travel in my janky van in the Great American West with occasional trips abroad. I’m surprised to say I’ve been guiding for nearly a decade on rock, ice, mountains, and skis but now mostly focus on delivering highly personalized and precise rock climbing instruction.

It would be fun to list more accomplishments but I truly don’t think that’s what climbing is about. My goal is to be a damn good teacher of the skills people need to prepare for and take on some of the biggest challenges of their lives; not so they can brag about it on Instagram or in a website About page :), but so they learn about themselves, the people around them, and the world we live in.

I’m an AMGA Certified Rock Guide and have some expensive other bits of paper too. I pride myself in thinking hard about the skills I teach and how best to present them to you in a way that’s clear, concise, actionable, and appropriate for your skill level. Above all else I care. I care about you as a human being and hope we can get outside and learn from each other soon!

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