sparverius Posted August 19, 2010 Posted August 19, 2010 Trip: Argentine Patagonia, Frey and El Chalten - Various Date: 2/15/2010 Trip Report: This TR has been long overdue. Having just finished my master’s degree and a long-term relationship, I figured it was a perfect time to head to Patagonia this past winter. I couldn’t find anyone willing to make the trip with me, so I was hopeful that I could find partners on the fly once in Argentina. My first stop was Bariloche and the Refugio Frey. I hadn’t climbed much all winter and needed some low-commitment, but challenging climbs to get my head back into the game. The climbs are clustered around Laguna Toncek and Refugio Frey, which are about a three hour hike from Cerro Catedral Ski Resort. Granite spires abound here and dot the ridgelines above the lake. There were many climbers and finding partners was not a problem. I hooked up with a group of three Americans fresh off of an adventure race in Tierra del Fuego as well as Ryan from Yosemite and Sophie from Belgium. With them I was able to climb some of spires around Frey. My favorite was Objectivo Luna, an eight-pitch masterpiece on the El Cohete Lunar tower. It has a combination of splitter cracks and face climbing on solid granite. Torre Principal I was out of food after a week of great climbing and perfect weather and headed back to Bariloche to catch a flight to El Chalten. I met a bitter American climber at the hostel in Bariloche who had spent much of February in Chalten and didn’t climb a thing. He told me not to waste my time there. I continued south with guarded optimism. We had rare views of the Cerro Torre and Fitz Roy groups as the bus approached El Chalten. The area was at the tail end of a two week good weather window. Many climbers who had suffered through bad weather earlier in the winter were able to climb their objectives recently. The prime weather held, but I struggled to find partners. Hanging around the Chocalateria one windy afternoon I spotted a note from someone looking for a climbing partner. I tracked down Victor from Brazil at his hostel and we were soon planning a climb over beers. We opted for the Founrouge Commezana route on the west side of Aguja Guillamet. We started up the route on a windy but clear morning. Eight marvelous pitches later, we topped out on the summit ridge as a storm was blowing in. We decided to descend, but would have to endure gale winds and a classic Patagonian ass-kicking during our rappels. What had taken 4 or 5 hours to climb took us twice as long to rappel. After enduring a mix of stuck ropes, verglas, and a near disastrous rappel error, we stumbled to our tent in the early morning hours under calm and starry skies. Victor hitches a ride back to town Bad weather and a minor injury forced us to hang around town for a week. We found great distractions in the rodeo, whiskey, and sport climbing. Victor’s friend arrived from Brazil, having postponed his trip to see Guns n Roses in Sao Paulo. After a few days of sport climbing in strong winds, we departed for Aguja De La S, the smallest of the Fitz Roy group. It snowed on us as we approached the legendary Rio Blanco shack, but soon the clouds revealed an ice free De La S. We pushed on to a cave situated above the lake and below the glacier. The weather improved as we settled into the cave, listening to the rumblings of the Rio Blanco glacier calving off into Laguna Sucia. We climbed up scree and polished slabs early the next morning and were traversing the Rio Blanco Glacier as the first rays of sun lit Poincenot. A steep (50 degree) 500 foot snow pitch leads up to the start of the rock climbing on the Austrian route on De La S. My Brazilian friends were not accustomed to snow and took their time up the unnerving slope. We climbed 3 pitches up a crack and gully system to the true north ridge. None of them were harder than 5.9, but Victor masterfully led an awkward and blank traverse. Once the gully was cleared, the climbing improved, as did the views of the Torres. The last four pitches to the summit were fine golden granite at about 5.8 to 5.9. The stuff of alpine dreams. I was anxious the entire climb, always looking to the west and waiting for the shit to hit the fan. It never did. We did 10 double rope raps without incident back to the glacier. We traced our steps back across the glacier and down to the cave in the fading light. I was disappointed that team brazil had brought a box of oreos for breakfast the next morning, but we lounged in the cave drinking coffee, grateful for the perfect weather and incredible climb of the previous day. Oreos, coffee, and the jackson 5 Laguna Sucia and the mighty Fitz Lenga Forest Team Brazil Back in town we had a farewell dinner of steaks at El Muro and enjoyed the Chalten night life. I wanted to climb more with Victor and Tacio, but was homesick for the northwest and longed for good beer, fresh produce and friends. Quote
JasonG Posted August 19, 2010 Posted August 19, 2010 Man, that looks like some sweet, relatively moderate climbing. Who knew? Maybe I'll have to put it on the list . . .someday. Nice work! Quote
sparverius Posted August 20, 2010 Author Posted August 20, 2010 Man, that looks like some sweet, relatively moderate climbing. Who knew? Maybe I'll have to put it on the list . . .someday. Nice work! Jason, I think the N. Cascades have prepared you well for some of the stuff you'd encounter down there. Let me know when you want to head down there. Quote
Gaucho Argentino Posted August 22, 2010 Posted August 22, 2010 Awesome, Dude. I'm from Argentina, but never got to climb down there. Thanks for showing the awesome climbing we have in Patagonia !! Quote
sweatinoutliquor Posted August 31, 2010 Posted August 31, 2010 That is fucking rad dude... 'Bout time this report made it out to the web. Pretty amazing that you were able to just roll down there sans partner and get on some amazing climbs with what look like some good people. Nice work :tup: Quote
OlympicMtnBoy Posted August 31, 2010 Posted August 31, 2010 Nice job, looks like some fun times and a bit of luck with the weather! Quote
ryanhuetter Posted October 1, 2010 Posted October 1, 2010 (edited) What is up dude! nice work down in Chalten, looks like you had way better weather than I did on De la "s"! Keep crushing! And what is up with Brazilians and Oreos for breakfast? That's all my buddy from Curitiba eats too! Edited October 1, 2010 by ryanhuetter Quote
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