Coba pyramid closed to climbing?

[fm11709]

Originally Posted by king smith

I read the an older lady fell and died on the great Kukulcan pyramid at Chichen Itza and that it was closed for investigation, but do not know the date. Was that recently? Is it closed?

I dont think it was recent - its been closed to climbing for a while.

[krazzy]

just a observation,, when i was there this week i too used the rope to come down, i am in shape etc, but did notice many walking forward down, which i feel is MENTAL,, I am not scared of heights but I tell ya it is steep, no supervison at all, and if someone has not falllen(which I would be amazed) yet,, someone surely will, and then it will be asta valista baby for them,just my opinion and i might be wrong ,,,,,,except the alta valista baby part if u fall

[Gryn]

Originally Posted by king smith

I read the an older lady fell and died on the great Kukulcan pyramid at Chichen Itza and that it was closed for investigation, but do not know the date. Was that recently? Is it closed?

No, it wasn't recent. I was there is November 2006 and Kukulcan's pyramid/El Castillo was already closed to climbers at that time. If I remember correctly, you could climb it earlier in the spring of 2006 but it was closed by the time I arrived. And I remember reading the stories/rumors of an old lady's fall/death which prompted the closing back then too.

So yes, it remains closed. And as far as I've read there are no plans to reopen it to tourists climbing and deteriorating the site further.

Hopefully the pyramid at Coba remains open for climbing for awhile yet. I will be there for the first time in a few weeks and look forward to being able to get to the top of it.

[fm11709]

Wait until you see it up close! Just thinking about it scares the crap out of me.

[Gryn]

Originally Posted by fm11709

Wait until you see it up close! Just thinking about it scares the crap out of me.

LOL. Well, maybe instead of climbing I'll bring some knee/elbow pads so I can cling to the side while crawling up

[fm11709]

I'll see the top when they set up a block and tackle to get me there (after an hour or so at an open bar at the base).

[bigdogmom]

Haha, we're also planning on going to Coba... I wanted to climb it, but I AM afraid of heights!! Was thinking if I could make it at least partway up, I could come down crawling on my butt...

BTW, the BF and I are in Playa next week (1/30 - 2/6) and seriously considering renting a car and driver for a day to do Coba and then a beach... Anyone interested in coming along and splitting the cost? We're nice peeps, not axe murderers or anything...

[blueton]

I also don't like heights.

However, Coba really didn't bother me that much at all as it is an incline of steps and not just a vertical drop.
If it was a vertical drop then it would have been an entirely different matter.

(Once after caving in the UK they decided to abseil off an old very high viaduct - no way I could do that as it meant stepping of a vertical edge and then nothing but an arch! I got dizzy just looking).


Also, when I saw the excursion flyer for Coba it looked terrifyingly high a bit like this:




In fact it was much more like this:



(that is some impressive camera angle illusion in the first one!).

In the above image it is clearly NOT any way near vertical, and my attitude was if slip I will just fall a couple of steps (as opposed to dying if it were a sheer drop) so it really wasn't that bad even for someone like me who is scared of heights.

I had a brief moment when I stepped up onto the top platfrom but that was all. Actually it felt worse on the top as sense of height was much greater there.

There was more a feeling of being near the edge here and the initial stepping down again was also momentarily scary until on the steps again.

I actually much prefer coming down (gravity is on your side so it's not so tiring!!).

In fact I practically ran down, facing forwards and standing up, near to the left hand side so I could just pass the others coming up and down.

It's not so bad..

[MayanNut]

Coming down? To each his own! I guess it just depends on your center of gravity, balance and comfort level of heights....

[Jesus]

There is a trick to climb pyramids.

Walk in zig-zag pattern, like 7 steps to the left, then when you reach the left edge, change direction and walk 7 to the right.
It works best for climbing down, as you don't get the feeling of walking into the void.
Good luck and enjoy the view up there.

[blueton]

Originally Posted by Jesus

There is a trick to climb pyramids.

Walk in zig-zag pattern, like 7 steps to the left, then when you reach the left edge, change direction and walk 7 to the right.
It works best for climbing down, as you don't get the feeling of walking into the void.
Good luck and enjoy the view up there.

yeah that's what i did

[fm11709]

If I ever managed to get to the top at Coba (very unlikely, we'll see next week), the only way I could get down would be to liquify myself and pour down the steps.

[Mush]

The hardest part of climbing both Chichen Itza (2002) and Coba (2008) was just getting over the lip to start coming down.
Cheers !

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[fm11709]

Oooh - my stomach is doing funny things just looking at the pics!

[Softy57]

I and my son's girlfriend will be in Playa 2/3 to 2/10 and might be interested in a Coba trip, tho would like to show her a cenote that is underground also, and then a beach sounds great....Paraiso near Tulum or Xpu-Ha or any number of others. I am afraid of heights too,but have climbed over 1/2 way up Coba in 2005 and again in 2006 with my grand-kids and significant other! Once above the tree line I am happy. Sit & rest,LOL.Have you looked at the tours thru this site? We took both thru Playa.info and had a blast. Snacks and other goodies provided and knowledgeable people as guides. Heather and Mitch Rock. We could probably only go Fri. as we will be chillin' on thurs. LOL P.M. me if interested