Have you ever found yourself in a place/experience that is so perfect, you are dreading the day you have to say goodbye? That was this retreat for me. You wake up and go outside to see this, like, colossal aggregate of limestone spires just grinning down at you while you get (so amazing) coffee. Then you meet up with your retreat group for yoga in a room whose spirituality I swear only Britany can enkindle - esp. when you have people from all walks of life with different skills/abilities/goals/intentions. Next, you GET to go climb with her and Erik at a crag they've scoped out. The retreat groups are small and there's plenty of opportunity for you to get their undivided attention and support. They watch how you move on the wall, how you belay...I thought I was a decent climber but the bottomless well of knowledge of these two combined...?! Whoa. Example: my climbing partner and I hadn't been leading outside for a hot minute. We went into the retreat convinced that our max was ~5.10a. Even then we weren't sure we wanted to climb at that level, with it being in a new country, new crags, etc. But with the derived boost in confidence and know-how, we started pushing 10d's/11a's by day 3...or was it day 2? I can't remember. The construct of time seemed up on a cloud somewhere. Anyway. That being said, this isn't boot camp. You're not expected to ascend grades or climb your hardest. If you want to be pushed, they'll push you. On the other hand, if you want a relaxing getaway that happens to offer yoga and climbing, in a place that has dangerously smooth tequila and melt-in-your-mouth guacamole, and causes you to think your life's stress might be on an entirely different planet that you lived on once...or if you want a salty sweet combination of pushing yourself and relaxing, you should probably sign up. Like. Now. Go sign up now.

Let me preface this by saying that taking your first trip to El Potrero Chico can be very intimidating and potentially problematic. Having someone to prep and guide you through this endeavor can be a great benefit. Elevated Adventures did a great job of preparing us for this situation and helped ease through what could have been some uncomfortable or concerning issues. As it was a retreat, we also were able to fully relax and enjoy the event rather than worrying about logistical details such as where to get food, water or other essentials. The retreat itself was masterfully designed to allow a nice combination of yoga practice, team-building and world-class rock climbing all under the careful curation of our guides and hosts. As I don't have a lot of experience with these types of outings (retreats), I have little to compare it with, but my fellow, more experienced participants all were very happy with how the event was hosted. If you've also never climbed at El Potrero Chico, you've got to add it to the list. This is not really a very tourist-friendly destination so having this hosted event definitely helped ease some of the anxiety and would allow me to confidently repeat it sometime on my own. Although not absolutely required, having Spanish speaking skills is a big plus. With regard to Elevated Adventures as hosts for my potential future adventure travel plans, I would enthusiastically join them again in a heartbeat and am eagerly awaiting their future events!

Amazing trip with skilled professionals. If you are willing to get out there and do some discovery inward and outward, this trip is for you. And you can't beat the climbing out in the Gorge! I look forward to seeing this group again!