The sharp breakover makes this ledge on Rocotillo hard to leap. And no, the photo isn't flipped. This "Rover" is righthand drive.
Habanero Falls
Short and sweet. Yes, that sums up our Friday route. Of course, one has to appreciate a high degree of challenge to attach the adjective of "sweet" to Habanero Falls. Tucked into a side canyon and reached via one of several of the easier Chile Canyon routes, Habanero was originally called the Magnificent Seven due to the seven separate and distinct waterfalls in the canyon back when tire first met rock. The original name was dumped in favor of the chile theme, but memorable challenges remain.
First up is a deceptively difficult leap straight up 4 feet of vertical limestone face. The rock has been polished so smooth, and the lip so abrupt, that many vehicles find themselves buffing the face with their rear tires while skewered by the skidplate. The secret is to find a spot on the ledge where the edge offers a bit more breakover relief and then let the rear wheels hit the ledge with a little more mojo. A lucky bounce will have you up and checking out the next phase of the route.
Across a front-end-swallowing hole, around a corner and, whoa! Eyes fixed on the enormous ledge looming ahead and WHAM! You might just be distracted enough to find yourself trying to push solid rock with your bumper or pumpkin as you attempt to mount the tricky little ledge in front of the monster that has riveted your attention. A little repositioning, a bit of momentum, and now one is free to contemplate the final, and by far most challenging, difficulty on Habanero.
No name on this one, just a chance to point your hood at the sky and carefully, oh so gingerly, feel for some traction. We won't lie, there is an established "magic" line that works for most vehicles, but a mere inch or two literally means the difference between crawling and floundering. It always feels good to get to the top, acknowledge that the "line" is still there where you remembered it, and realize that there is a cold one with your name on it back at camp.
Soni Honegger made an appearance in a lengthened Scorpion. The extra length didn't help on this particular ledge, as it only exposed more underbelly to snag. | 
Find the right line on this big outcropping of rock on Rocotillo Rapids, and one can idle right up. Choose the wrong line, and you can end up on your lid. | 
This Scorpion had a tough day in Rocotillo Rapids. After numerous attempts at climbing the final obstacle, gravity won out. |
Patzcuaro's Revenge
Ah, Patzcuaro's ... or "pet squirrels" as some irreverently call it. Although Tabasco might be our personal favorite, nothing compares to running Patzcuaro's Revenge on the Saturday of the Chile Challenge. Home to the most difficult obstacles around Las Cruces, and center stage for a huge audience of gawking onlookers, Patzcuaro's is almost universally regarded as the toughest task of the Chile Challenge. The start of the trail is near a large dirt lot that is already filled with onlookers by the time the first tire hits the first rock on the trail. Patzcuaro's starts in a dark (and in the early morning of February, cold), narrow canyon where the vehicles quickly confront the first obstacle - Nemesis I. A steep climb to the left or a crack crawl on the right are the choices, and neither of them are easy, even for the drivers of the Chile Challenge. Our group on Saturday is typical for the event, with 42-inch tires plentiful and lots of tubing in evidence. Believe me, very few of them "cruised" Nemesis I.
As soon as the first couple of vehicles are through, the trail leader heads for one of the primo obstacles of the Challenge - Nemesis II. Situated in a large rock bowl at the bottom of the canyon, the site is crowded with onlookers eager to watch man and machine challenge both rock and gravity. Nemesis II is actually two parallel routes: the original route to the right and the "bypass" to the left. To the uninitiated public, both look supremely ridiculous. The bypass is so dug out from years of vehicular assaults, that it is almost as difficult as the original route. The original route is so vertical, that vehicles seriously assaulting it this year hooked a safety cable to the winch point beyond. As the original route necessitated a winch in 2008, we tried the left side and eventually succeeded in mounting the nasty climb intact and with winch unspooled.
This gorgeous, brand-new rock buggy strolled through the entry rock garden on Tabasco Twister. | 
The first of the ledges on Tabasco Twister doesn't look that difficult, but it has a pesky habit of grabbing and holding firm to the undercarriage. | 
Unlike most ledges, the last ledge on Habanero Falls seems particularly immune to differences in wheelbase or width. Almost everyone has difficulty in reaching the top without a rope. |