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A standing-room-only crowd packed the Old Wilson Schoolhouse to celebrate the life of Armando Menocal. The June memorial brought together a who’s who of the climbing world, with people traveling from across the country to honor the civil rights lawyer turned climbing advocate.
Menocal helped secure protections for climbing on public lands — a controversial issue now codified under the EXPLORE Act, signed into law this January.
Famous for his gap-toothed grin and for launching a guiding career at age 56, Menocal joined the Exum Mountain Guides later in life. A third-generation Cuban-American, he was raised in Miami and remained deeply connected to his heritage.
He co-founded the Access Fund, a national nonprofit dedicated to protecting climbing areas and ensuring public access to outdoor recreation.
Peter Metcalf, founder of Black Diamond Equipment and a fellow co-founder of the Access Fund, remembered Menocal as a force for justice and inclusion.
“He was a visionary, always committed to those of his chosen community,” Metcalf said. “At his core was an undying belief in the power of access — whether to do justice or to the great outdoors — on behalf of all of us, the tribe, climbers.”
Driven by a desire to reconnect with his roots, Menocal first traveled to Cuba in 1998 and eventually split his time between Jackson and the island. He introduced climbing to Cuba’s Viñales Valley, where he became a beloved figure.
“He was the, you know, El Presidente,” said his son, Matt Menocal. “That’s how he was referred to, hush-hush because [of] the communist government and everything. But he brought so much to that community with all the climbing and all the people that he brought there.”
In honor of his legacy, the Access Fund has established a fund in Menocal’s name to continue protecting access to climbing on public lands.
