The Cuban government’s approach to climbing has been ambivalent. This is the current situation. Visitors are free to climb, in Viñales and elsewhere. The government has put the Cuban climbers on notice, however, that they are not to climb in the Viñales Valley, and if they do climb, they face imprisonment.
It is beyond us to explain why the government would permit foreigners to climb, but threaten Cubans with imprisonment if they climb. When the Cubans directly confronted the officials for a justification, they were only told, “foreigners eat ham and cheese, and you don’t and I don’t.”
For at least seven years, the government has been pondering whether it will “authorize” climbing, and perhaps until it is “authorized”, it is not considered an appropriate activity for Cubans. At least that is the generous explanation.
Paul Laperrière, Más Tarde, 6b+
All sports education, facilities, and operations are conducted by the government. The focus is on those sports that are part of the Olympics, and Cuban athletes have won international competitions totally out of proportion to the country’s size. An individualistic, non-competitive, lasse faire sport, thus far, has not fit within its highly successful, but structured East German-Soviet era sport model.
Since climbing is a recent development, Cuba does not have any explicit rules on climbing. Specifically there is no rule or requirement that says a permit to climb is necessary. The first joint trip of Cubans and Americans to climb in, in 1999, was actually escorted by a lawyer from the ministry responsible for environmental protection and Cuba’s protected areas, national parks, reserves, and refuges (Centro Nacional de Areas Protegidas, Ministerio de Ciencia Tecnologia y Medio Ambiente). He confirmed that permission to climb was not necessary.
The visiting climber should be aware that because the government controls so many activities, officials often begin with the assumption that official permission to do anything is required. At times a visiting climber has been told that a permit is required, but then, that a permit was unavailable; it is unavailable because climbing has not been authorized. If this happens, don’t argue, just move on to another climb.
Tatto on Jusnir (Turbo), watching a climber on Romeo y Regleta, 5.12c/7b+
Call it circular or a “Catch 22″, the bottom line is that no visitor has been stopped from climbing.
The lack of official authorization has not stopped the government from publicizing some of the Cuban climbers, promoting climbing in Viñales in the International Edition of Granma, the official newspaper of the Communist Party, organizing climbing festivals, and displaying photos of climbing in the new Visitor Center at National Park. Even school children in Viñales are participating in climbing programs in the Park.
The Cuban climbers had taken this ambiguity in stride. Just another of the paradoxes they face every day – until 2009, when the government informed them that they were not to climb in Viñales. If you hook up with the Cuban climbers you may get to climb in the areas outside the valley that they are pioneering.
