The signature ledge on Tabasco Twister was fronted by a deeper hole this year than in recent years. The author searches for traction in the near vertical on The Abyss.
Whew! Always a little pucker on that one. With Nemesis II behind us, we motored on to the rest of Patzcuaro's challenges. The most difficult climb has yet to come, about halfway through the 2-mile-long canyon route. This narrow cleft in the rocks, about one vehicle length in height, can be climbed, but it yields to very few. Only two vehicles in our string of 20 made the climb that day: a buggy whose rear-steer capability allowed it that little extra bit of traction, and a Toyota whose wheelbase shortened the ledge considerably. We were stymied in our attempts, in spite of having climbed it numerous times in previous years. One of the joys of the Chile Canyon trail systems is that Ma Nature rearranges the trails each year, and success one year doesn't mean an easier time the next.
And that is the Big Four from a driver's point of view. These four trails have been adding the spicy heat to the Chile Challenge for many years and are the major trail factors that keep the event one of the premiere rockcrawling stops of the year. We hope to see at least 350 of you there when we attend again next year.
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The lack of any approach on the Abyss this year had some vehicles trying a "throttle-down" attack. Notice the airborne wheels as this buggy skipped to the top. |  |