Fitz Roy CLimbing - some time in Febuary

This was pencilled in as one of the sure fire highlights before the start of the trip. A 3 day pilgramage along the rediculously long and straight and still mostly unfinshed Ruta 40 through vast plains of steppe took us to the small frontier town of El Chalten full of trendy cafes, gear shops and parilla restaurants.

Fixing a puncture on Ruta 40 on the way to Fitz Roy

The Fitz Roy region is renouned for its bad weather including gale force winds and being so close to the pacific ocean lots of rain. However it appeared we had turned up in the middle of a wonderful Patagonian weather window as according to one climber there had been no rain for 3 weeks. SLightly unbelievable but the National park weather forecast said there was to be 2 more days of good weather before it closed in. After a bit of research and a chat with some guides we had an objective in mind, the needle of Guillaumet in the Fitz Roy range would provide some 50 degree ice before 12 pitches of rock climbing on the amazing patagonian granite.

As the walk ins are big in this area we took an early taxi to the trailhead and trekked along the Rio Electrico where we unhappily had to pay 70 pesos for entry into some private land outside the Glaciares national park. Oli saved the day on this one as none of us had packed any money. A steep trek lead up to the base of a small glacier where we made our base camp before scouting out the start of the route. As it turned out the next morning we spent the whole day climbing the wrong route and were amazed when after 12 pitches of climbing we were nowhere near the summit. Turns out we had started a good 400m below the start of the route. Some were dejected but we had found the start of the Fonrouge route on a ramp approached via a snowramp further up the glacier than we had gone today. Esther, a strong Austrian alpinist and myself were keen to give the summit another bash. SO the next morning at 6 we woke, prepared tea and cheese sarnies and stormed up the 50 degree ice field amist the rising sun to the start of the route. Together we moved very quickly and by 11 were at the 6b crux of the route just 5 easy pitches away from the summit. Esther lead the crux pitch really well with some jamming and laybacking and after losing the hotaches in my hands I traversed across a picture perfect slab of granite with the view of Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre becoming more apparent. Before the summit a long scrambling pitch up a slab and a ridge led to the twin boulder summit where we were able to celebrate with some chocolate and with the wind so calm were able to boulder on to the top of the twin summits and take photos of each others celebrations. We spent about an hour on the summit with the map studying the amazing vista of peaks and the huge Patagonian ice field.

A long abseil and boot ski down the now soft glacier took us back to camp where we celebrated with Pete and Oli who kindly cooked us spaghetti with tuna. Slept well in the knowledge we could lie in and leisurely return to town the next day.

Buitrera and the standing stone 15/2/2012 - 20/2/2012

Reluctantly left Bariloche behind and had a pleasant drive day throough the Argentine lake district before the scenery tuurned to the famed vast expanses of Patagonian steppe. On arrival at our campsite by the standing stone and a dirty river we got stuck ina sand ditch 5 metres short of the parking spot. We got digging again but consistent with the last two times we got stuck this strategy did not work. We were hapy enough as this time we had got stuck within easy walking distance of great climbing.

Errnie stuck again

Digging out the axle

On  the 1st day we went only to the entrance of the large gorge where the sector entrada hosted 7 great sport climbs from 5 up to 7b. On first appearance the honeycomb rock looked awful but on climbing it it was very solid and juggy.

Climbing at the alero cave

The second day the police turned up with a big truck and pulled Ernie out of the sand and we went to probably the best sector at Buitreraa. El Alero was a huge cave full of huecos, jugs and then a short headwall. There was some great unusual climbing to get out of the cave before romping up the steep but juggy headwall.

The entrance to the Buitrera gorge

Despite the bridge Dave and I decided to wade across poo river

On the third day requiring a rest from steep sport and a change of scenery Pete and I teamed up to tackle the impressive standing stone. We had little information on the route apart from a roughly drawn topo from the last hot rock expedition that passed through. Pete led the first pitch after we found a belay through zooming in on a photo of the crag up a chimney of discouraging rock. 3rd pitch was a stoonker on lovely rock before i lead up a nice chimney, supposedly the crux of the route (6a+ on trad). It then all turned downhill. The rock turned very friable and pete bravely led up and round a very unstable chimney while i had to dodge the dislodged rocks which hurtled back down the chimney. Although there were only 2 pitches left we took 4 pitches to weave our way safetly through the choss and onto the summit of the standing stone where we got good views of the surrounding desert and got to write in the summit book. An easy 5 abseils and we were relieved to be down.

Pared piedra (The standing stone)

Start of the good third pitch

On a belay ledge above  Petes horror pitch

Mountaineers pose on the summit

That night we had the  culinary highlight  where stu and I cooked vegetable kebabs over the bbq and combined with Chris garlic bread made for a great but late dinner.
The last two  days involved exploring deeper into the gorge which rrevealed a whole load more climbing potential and we had to spend a day finishing climbing projects on El Elero which with all the quickdraws hanging off it had been made to look loike a christmas tree!

Exploring the deeper areas of the gorge

Some local wildlife

As we departed it was time to get really excited as our next destination was the world famous Fitz Roy range of mountains 3 days drive away.

Bariloche and Frey 31,1,2012 - 14,1,2012

What could possibly live up to the big granite domes of Cochamo. Well we were off to the world class rock climbing venue of Frey near the town of Bariloche in the beautiful Lake district area of Argentina. This meant crossing the border from Chile back into probably my favourite South American country. Seb had previously visited Bariloche and promised us great ice cream. Whilst our esteemed espedition leader sorted out the mules for our day trek up to Frey we had the opportunity to test ourselves on some of the local volcanic sport crags. Having worked out the stupid buses which refused to accept cash we climbed above beautiful lakes on solid rock. This was also an area with an excellent local scene with many local climbers joining us at the crags which was really enjoyable.

After three days we were all ready for the trek up to Frey. Having waved goodbye to Ernie and our driver who would spend the week fishing we started to trek along Lago Guturriez and up the valley to Frey.We walked past lovely waterfalls, through forests. After about 3 hours we emerged from the forest and saw the first granite spire marking our arrival at Frey. As soon as we arrived at the refugio the infamous wind hit us. OUtside the refugio we were able to sit nin deck chairs and watch climbers completing the climb up the aguja de Frey next to the refugio which filled us all with excitement. Having taken a number of detours I arrived at the back so thought I would not get the best of tent spots which was important in this windy place. However after a bit of poking around Steve and I found the best little spot in a hollow in the forest completely out of the wind. We had the afternoon free so made some home improvements making a small kitchen, a bench out of the granite slabs and cutting away some of the intruding vegetation.

Could not wait to get started on the first day. After the walk in the previous day I teamed up with Pete, a highly knowledgable and experienced climber and we went to the closeby Aguja de Frey and climbed the 90m 5 pitch Sifuentes Weber climb which followed cracks right up the centre of the spire. Absolutely brilliant climbing was had and then completed two more single pitch routes following the sun round the crag, amazing crack climbing.

The second day Pete and I decided to make the big walk in to the Aguja principal , the highest peak in the area at 2450m. We opted for the 150m 5+ route called Clemenzo. The first 2 pitches were most disappointing before Pete led a difficult and sustained offwidth crack which I actually had to jam on. My next pitch led to the summit via a crazy pitch up through a cave and along a supremely windy ridge. Had a bit of an epic getting down as we failed to find the abseil bolts so had to leave some trad gear behind and hope there were additional belays down the route.

After another day on two nearby needles called the Grandfather and M2 I teamed up wioth Canadian Mckay to tackle the second highest summit Campanille Esloveno. I wanted to go for something a bit more ambitious so chose the route described as the 'best route in Frey´ called Imaginate , a 5 pitch 6a+ up the North west face of the spire. A lovely walk over the col and into the adjacent glacial cirque and then up past the impressive Banana crag led us quickly up to the spire full of excitment. The climbing was amazing up huecos, big pockets, edges, hanging aretes and cracks with a belay in a  cave halfway up the route in a very exposed position. In addition the wind was extremely strong adding to the seriousness of the climb. At times on the aretes you could not move, just had to cling on and wait for a gap in the wind. On descent the wind made abseiling a nightmare as the ropes were blown horizontally across the crag leading to them getting stuck in many of the granite knobs and cracks.

We had one final day on the old man, a very impressive needle giving great slab and arete climbing. From the summit of Esloveno I had spotted the beautiful old volcano Mt Tronador and Mckay and I decided to leave a day early and walk down to make an attempt at the 3450m mountain. After a cracking barbecue and some ice cream in Bariloche to boost energy we made an 18km walk in to the refugio at the foot of the glacier Alerce leading down from the summit.Apart from the return of the dreaded horse flies the walk up was pleasant switchbacks up through a forest before a lava flow ridge led up to the refugio. Tronador means the thunderer and having arrived at base camp we knew why. The wind again was very strong and we were lucky to be able to rest in the lovely refugio and drink great hot chocolate. Having found out some beta on the route and established we had a good weather window we got to bed early. Arose at 130 am and sprinted up to the glacier and found our way through an intricate web of deep crevasses and onto the ridge which led to the summit of the Argentine peak. After a steep snow plod and a short ice pitch we stood on the summit, well we laid down on the summit as it was far too windy to stand. Getting cold we made a quick retreat from the summit and back to the glacier where we were able to finally relax and enjoy some sarnies. We followed tracks back to the refugio in good time and spent the afternoon recovering by sleeping and eating. A good day before the walk down the next day.

This marked the end of our first patagonian destination and after a couple of days restocking in Bariloche we were off to the Patagonian steppe and climbing in a gorge by a big standing stone.   

Cochamo climbing 22nd - 28th Jan

So this was the venue Id really been waiting for. A chance for some super big walling and to test out any improvement in my jamming ability. This venue rivals Yosemite as one of the biggest granite walls in the world with walls reaching up to over 1000m meaning some climbs have to be completed over 2 days.

We stocked up in the small coastal town of Puerto Montt which was a bit of a dive, its main function being a hop off point for travellers taking the ferry down to the fjorlands of Patagonia. Still it was nice to be back on the pacific ocean and all the bobbing fishing vessels and seafood reminded me of my dear old Swanage! We spent most of our time here eating steak off the bbq and preparing bags for the trek into Cochmo valley. Despite government plans to build a road linking Chile to Argentina at present there is no road so instead a beautiful 3 hour walk up through forest and along the Rio Cochamo is necessary. As we were staying a while we hired some mules to carry our climbing gear up to the valley while we lugged up tents and food. On arrival the view took everyones breath away. Huge granite domes surround the lush flat valley floor where we set up our camp.
On checking out the camp we headed up to the refugio by crossing the Rio Cochamo. Someone had done a proper job of setting up a traverse on this river. The rope had a little basket hanging underneath it and via a two way pulley your friends could haul you across to the other side as you sat in the basket and enjoyed the view - magic!! The refugio was charming and a great set up for climbers with guidebooks to climbing all over the world. I knew id be ok if rain stopped play. The topo was also kept at the refugio, a huge folder full of ahnd drawn diagrams of all the climbs in the area.

On the first day Oli and I set off to climb the easy but classic finger crack Apnea (5.9) It gave great jamming (fist on the first pitch and finger on the second) and filled me with optimism for the remainder of our stay. As Oli topped out the mother of all rain storms dumped down on me and the rock. Fortunately the rock had so much friction it didnt really matter. In the afternoon we checked out the steep Pared Seca which stayed dry in the rain and did some fun sport climbing, nothing too memorable though.

The next day Oli and I trekked up through the jungle and past the huge Trinidad crag and into the Valle de Trinidad which had heeps of climbing and a team of Americans living under a boulder. We climbed the 5.10 route Tatonka which had a good write up in the guide but unfortunately after a 4 hour walk in was a big let down. Only 2 of the 5 pitches had any real interest and one was particularly dirty. Never mind, i had the real business planned for the next day. As Oli descended back to camp I stayed up under the intimidating 1000m of Trinidad and was joined by Tom and Dave. Together we planned to climb the classic 20 pitch 5.11 Bienvenidos a mi insomnia so named because the first ascentionist got no sleep as he felt intimidated sleeping under the big wall! We slept at the foot of the route. At 530 am with our headtorches lighting up the rock I climbed the first easy pitch. The first 3 pitches flew by as we moved efficiently. Then we came to the crux and I drew the short straw of leading it. A 6c offwidth crack was right at my limit and it took me far too long but I got up it without falling so was happy, probably my hardest sustained trad lead on granite. We completed annother 4 pitches before we decided we had to retreat as there was no way we would reach the top before dark. The last 2 pitches had also been very trying with the heat, swollen feet and those infuriating horse flies which in Toms words are the Devils work!! Slightly dejected we completed 6 50m abseils back down the face to our packs and the sanctuary of the forest.

The next day was to be an enjoyable rest day. I had left all my climbing gear up at Trinidad the previous day as Oli n I planned a return to climb EZ does it, a slightly easier alternative to the summit of Trinidad. Unfortunately the weather forecast was not favourable so in the morning I ran up to the base of the crag and recovered my gear from a hollow tree where I had stashed it! On return we had  a lovely chilled out session in the refugio eating the best pizza and I poured myself into the Yosemite and Squamish guidebooks, venues im now super psyched to go to. In the afternoon we visited the famous water slides where a natural slide had formed into a lovely turqouise pool. My first slide was a shambles unfortunately. The water seemed to not want to carry me and instead dispensed me onto the dry rock where I carried on sliding down into the pool. Granite I can reasure you is not the best rock to slide down bare legged!

On our final day surprise of all surprises it didnt rain. Instead of bemoaning the unreliable weather forecast the whole group gathered at Pared de la luna and enjoyed a mixed day of sport and trad in a lovely setting with no horse flies just above the refugio.

The final day it did rain. This was not ideal as it was our packing up and walking out day. Everything got soaked. The trail which was a series of mossy grooves working its way up the forest had turned into a muddy deluge. As the others hopped from bank to bank in order to keep their boots dry I abandoned this tactic from the very start as my now holey boots had already let in enough water to soak my feet. So i just walked right through all the mud and the rivers. Part way down adrenaline surging I remembered back home it was tough guy time of year. In honour of the great race I decided to run down and get as muddy as possible. It was so much fun and made the whole experience a whole lot less drawn out and painful. I watched from the warmth of the truck and clean clothes as the other came in soaked to the skin!

The next few days the truck turned into to drying room for 14 peoples wet outdoor gear and was thoroughly unpleasant and smelly. It was only after two days the rain finally stopped and we could hang our gear outside and prepare for our border crossing into Argentina and a trip to surely another highlight - Frey!!

Valle de los Condores Climbing 13th to 19th Jan

A new venue that offered lots of climbing. Bouldering, trad and sport it was reputed to have it all. The drive in gave typically stunning mountain scenery and rock formations. We passed a workers camp at the top of the valley who were most welcoming and pointed us down a steep track towards a fast flowing river and lots of rock. As the track got steeper it also got narrower. The newer members of the truck screamed as parts of the road started falling away. The old timers like me and Huw just carried on reading. Halfway down the track our first driving problem for quite a while. A huge boulder had clearly fallen down the hillside and was just in the way enough to not allow Ernie through. Shovels out and all hands to the pump. Some suggested moving the boulder but instead we dug out the hillside to make the road wider and allow Ernie through. We really should charge the governments for all our road improvements! Boulder passed we made it down to a nice flat camp by the river with oceans of volcanic rock all around us.

No Stu, i dont think we can shift this with our bare hands!

First view of our camp for the next 5 days

In the morning our first mission was to negotiate crossing the river as the climbing was on the other side. We all had our heart set on establishing a tyrolean traverse whereby a rope is anchored to either side of the river allowing one to hang on your harness from the rope and pull yourself over. While the locals rode across on their horses and their dogs heroically swam acrossDriver Chris got to work on building our traverse. Believe it or not our only problem was we didnt have enough old rope to reach across. To solve it lots of random bits of tat were tied together to make it from one side to another.On the first crossing the line was nowhere near tight enough and chris ended up dragging himself through the water to the other side, highly amusing. By this point several of us had got bored and found a suitable spot to wade across as the water was not so high. We went climbing while others faffed with the traverse!

This crag was bouldering and trad climbing. We potentially led some previously unclimbed routes as the records available are very incomplete and the lines were quite dirty. I completed an overhanging corner crack with a swift bit of laybacking and jamming and then 2 other climbs at about Very Severe also very dirty. On return I felt a bit disillusioned with the crag and was not sure how to spend 5 days here without a lot of cleaning. On the plus side the boulderers had come back with favourable reports on the quality and quantity of the areas bouldering.

Me climbing the mossy but good overhanging crack up the detached flake

The next day shock horror I had a rest which was my first at any crag since Hatun Machay back in September. It was an enjoyable and productive day. Washing clothes and body in the beautiful river and going on a run to check out the other crag on our side of the riverwhich no one seemed that bothered about. How glad I was I went on that run. Line after line of quality looking sport routes, about 30m high on perfect rock. There was also locals climbing a 7b so I chattted to them in my best possible spanish and got lots of beta on the crag. All grades were here and they told me it included ´the best route in Chile´ which was quite some statement. The overhung line of flakes aand big roof traverse to finish did look pretty impressive to be fair though. I vowed to retrurn the next day fresh from a rest day and with all my gear. The locals were very hospitable, they gave me mate (kind of tea drunk through a straw) and some of their pasta meal and we chatted about climbing (in English!)

The next day I returned full of enthusiasm and warmed up on the easier lines before struggling up a glassy and slippery 6b+ arete (which im not great at). Warmed up, a rare dose of rock warrior flowed through me and I decided to hop on the beautifully named 31 metros de chocolate, the 7b I had seen the locals climbing the previous day. I got to the top clean onsight and actually felt rather disappointed, it was too easy and as it turned out the crag would turn out to be massively overgraded. Still Ill take it, my first 7b onsight, woop!!

Slow but steady progress up the arete

On my way to first 7b onsight

  I returned to this crag every day after and managed to onsight a 7a and complete two other 7bs including the best route in Chile. This amongst many of the other easier lines on this fantastic crag. A fantastic few days climbing after my initial pessimism.


After making progress through the Bond collectiob by watching On her Majesties secret service it was time to leave. On leaving we again had to dig out more of the road to allow Ernie up pass the big boulder. The time had come for us to make our way to the venue that had got me most excited before venturing out on the trip: Cochamo the yosemite of South America and our last climbing in Chile.

Cajon del Maipo climbing 7th to 12th Jan, 2012

 Up into the mountains we went without any real idea what the climbing would be like.In my role of climbing researcher i had failed miserably to find any decent information on climbing in this area. As per usual the drive into the mountains gave fabulous scenery. We arrive at a lovely campsite by the river with showers that were so cold youd be out suffering from hypothermia, it was like a return to the tough guy race.

Scenery on drive into Cajon del Maipo.

 We were based in a small town called Banos Morales which was pretty lively! It had a chocolate shop, some thermal baths and a tourist information office that looked like it hadnt been opened for decades.Everyone including small children rode around on horses and the place was full of dogs. It was quite charming.

The buzzing town centre of Banos Morales.

 The first day we all went to the crag we actually had a topo for. In my role I had been for a reccy run the previous night and it was quite easy to find the hitchcock crag. Right by the road and up some scree which the northbounders had moaned about in the new routes book.

Hitchcock and Punta Zanzi crags. Hot rockers strip off after the sweaty 1 hour march up the quarry road.

 Once up to Hitchcock it gave some lovely single and multi pitch climbing up edges on faces, great stuff and 5 routes on the 1st day was a good start to the week.

Huw climbing a Hitchcock 5+, lovely face climbing.

Me and Tom on the 1st belay of Psicosis.

Tom ´The Hamster´ Mackenzie about to pull over the roof on the 6a+

 The second day was to be a big day for Tom and I. Above Hitchcock on a crag called Punta Zanzi we planned to do a nine pitch E2 up a lovely system of cracks. We left the camp at 6am in anticipation of at least a 3 hour walk in and battled with the scree for hours. The problem was getting to the base of the route was probably more dangerous than the climb itself. To approach you had to traverse a sloping terrace of loose scree with a 200m drop below. I hopped across to the end of the traverse and waited for Tom and waited and waited. I retraced my steps and found him paused on a boulder in the middle of terrace. "Its a death trap" he shouted and that was that. We descended back down the terrace slowly and resumed climbing on Hitchcock.

Climbinga  great 6b+ at El Hongo crag.

 The next crag we visited was one I had found in the Chile climbing guide purchased (amongst other things in Santiago). The crag was called El Hongo and had only recently been bolted. Both Huw and I fell off a brilliant 6b+ roof in aid of cleaning the cliff of its remaining loose rock!! Its now cleaning up nicely. I managed to climb an excellent 7a through a roof (which is rare for me) on this crag on the final morning which filled me with happiness.

Alpine flowers and glaciated peaks on my ´rest day´ walk.

 After three days of climbing it was time for a break. I hiked for four hours up one side of the valley for beautiful views of sulphur lakes, and glaciers winding their way down 5000m peaks. That was in the morning. In the afternoon after a dip in the orange coloured thermal baths and lots of chocolates Becky and I walked up the other side of the valley where we planned to bivuoac in the mysterious hut marked on the map. When we arrived 3 hours later the ´hut´made me laugh hysterically. It was a wooden box at 3000m that looked like a dog kennel but you could squeeze a maximum of three people into it. After a delicious meal of noodles with tuna and a game of card we settled down into our bags for a nights sleep.

From the opposite side of the valley pointing out the next days objective Dentro del Diablo.

Thermal baths dispensed with it´s time for chocolates before the big ascent!

Happy Christmas Toby! A cam as big as my head to help protect me on those big Patagonian cracks!

Trekking up the rib to the valley

Our luxury accomodation for the night (the wooden box)

 We woke up at 6am a bit dreary and plodded up to the ridge on the skyline which looked really promising. Of course we had no idea of any established routes in this area so the previous night had just picked a line and decided to go for it! When we got up onto the ridge it was fairly nightmarish. We scrambled up through and over ribs of the loosest rock ive ever experienced. Nearly every hold came off in your hands or under your foot, i certainly wont be recommending our chosen route. After dispensing with the disgusting ribs of choss we got onto a broader ridge of scree which lead us slowly to the summit. I was knackered, i hadnt felt good the whole way up. I regretted carrying the rope and climbing gear as the quality of the rock rendered it completely useless. We sunbathed and slept on the summit just under 4000m for a good hour before running down the scree slope (MUCH FUN) back to the bivvi hut for a dip in the river.

Early morning wake up in the box

Becky storming up the loose and nasty ridge

Summit just under 4000m - Woo hoo!

 With one remaining day  Huw and I went back to El Hongo to finish my little 7a roof and retrieve my quickdraws which had been in the rock all week.  Successful we went back down the quarry road enjoying all the waves from the friendly truck drivers but failing to hitch a ride to the campsite and then went back up the other side of the valley to check out one last crag. La Mina was a big disused quarry which Id been sceptical about visiting but positive reports from Steve made me change my mind. Glad I did, gave excellent climbing and was a nice way to end our stay in the Maipo. Lesson learnt, never judge a quarry!

La Mina - awesome sport climbing.

Huw finds time for some last day bouldering.

One last walk down through the tranquil village.

Our time was up , on our last night I enjoyed one last arctic shower and a glass of melon wine from some local chileans up visiting and some of the best beef ive ever tasted. The next destination was to be very exciting; the valley of the Condors.

Las Chilcas Climbing 2nd to 6th January 2012

 A new year and lots more climbing to come. Our first stop was just north of the Chilean capital Santiago where we had spent New Year. We were destined for a conglomerate rock climbing area called Las Chilcas. You could not miss it as the Pan American highway cut right through the middle of the climbing area. This was a single pitch sport climbing area on quality conglomerate, that means fun pulling on pebbles stuck in solidified mud!

View from up high. Las Chilcas and the Pan American highway. You can just see Ernie in the layby.

 The climbing was mostly steep and on pockets and rounded pebble holds.We spent four days in total in Las Chilcas where I managed to get a lot of mileage in doing 30 routes. I onsighted a lot of 6cs and 6c+ which made me happy but kept getting shut down on the 7as. It was not until the last day with no expectations that Steve n I managed to easily climb a lovely steep 7a.

Wonderful pocket pulling at sector Diabolico, me on a 6b+ called Capeta.

Jug!!!!

Train!!

Slightly weird climbing up a wedged boulder in a gully.

 Curoiously there was a man living under a boulder with his two dogs. I could think of better places to live rather than next to a motorway. A friendly man but his real gem was in the two dogs he owned which provided us with much entertainment. Black puppy was uber friendly, big dog got jealous if he wasnt getting any attention and jumped up and scratched. I usually ran away from him for fear of the dreaded rabies!!

Post climb attention from the dogs

 During the day the temperatures must have been close to mid 30s and with little wind and no shade it was impossible to climb. Unfortunately there were no nice water holes in this location so we had to find entertainment for about 4 hours in the middle of the day.

Mid day cards to alleviate boredom.

 Our stay was nearly up but on the last night Steve and I were hungry for more climbing. Due to the short drive the following day we were not going to leave until 10am. Opportunity. In the guide I had spotted a 6 pitch route called San Pateste, mostly easy but with one 6c+ pitch in the middle. At 5 am on the drive day Steve and I awoke from a sleepless night and trotted half an hour up to the big150 metre high cliff. To speed up Steve led the first two pitches in one before I led a lovely 6a up to the crux pitch. On joining me the curry from last nights dinner seemed to have caught Steve short and he had to make a dangerous traverse to a ledge on the right to relieve himself! Absolutely hilarious but i have not included the photos here. Steve fell off the crux pitch which was overhanging which meant I had to do it to get a clean lead of the climb. Luckily it was just my style of climbing and I managed to get through it. Victory was ours after another 6a. 4 abseils later and a sprint back to the truck we were back just in time for departure and a plate full of pancakes!!

Steve finding his way through the vegetation on the way to the route.

Looking down to Steve from the 3rd pitch (6a)

The bulging 6c+ crux pitch

We were on our way to the next stag of our jourmey. To the mountains of Cajon del Maipo, south of Santiago.

Los Arenales climbing 23-12 to 29-12-2011

 This period of time represented the last week Kirsty and I would have together and it would be a week of ups and downs. We restocked in the attractive town of Mendoza with its beautiful parks and got to see my rattle snake i´d been after back in Brazil, only in a serpentarium though! We only spent 1 day here but it was enough for the girls dorm to be invaded by bed bugs. To avoid the truck getting infected the girls put a huge effort into mass extermination of all bugs.

 On our way to the mountains we stopped at a service station for a quick pee break, I slipped out leaving everyone in the back asleep. Casually I strolled out of the bathroom to see the truck pulling away from the service area. Having had this happen before I thought it was Chris´s idea of a joke so I played along and ran dramatically in slow motion after the truck waving my hands and pleading they stopped. To my dismay they did not stop and I watched as the truck pulled onto the motorway and sped away! A passer by had seen my efforts to catch up with the truck and said momento roja camion si´´?! Óff he chased. I sat down to bask in the sunshine. Half an hour later i saw the truck trundling back down the other side of the motorway and I knew i would not have to sleep on a bench - all was good. The truck was escorted back to the service station by a police man on a motobike. I thumbed down the truck and enjoyed a good laugh with the others, charmed kirsty had not even noticed my absence!

Argentinian police escorting Ernie back to pick me up. No idea how the policeman found out.

Alysroo: Alys clearly getting very bored on another long drive day.

Me getting very excited about mountain granite climbing. Kirsty looking on sympathetically!

 The drive into the mountains was stunning and signalled a big dip in temperatures. Out of the shorts n sandals and into the mountain clobber. We set up camp by a raging river in the Cajon de Arenales. This would be the first time wed get to climb famous granite ajugas (needles).

 Our stay also corresponded with Christmas which would be very weird without the family but unique in such  a location. Although it was warm during the day it was cold at night so weather wise it wasnt all that different from back home. Much merryment was had on christmas eve before we opened our 5 dollar secret santas at 1201am on christmas day. I recieved a wonderful bow and arrow kit from steve which I was sure would prove useful in the future. The next day I was ill, very ill. I could not move and spent the whole of christmas day lying in the sun getting burnt and bitten by very annoying horse flies. I was gutted as I had been so keen on a christmas day climb. In the evening managed to eat a little bit of the Steak and cheesy potato dinner and a couple of crackers. Not stuffing myself on christmas day was completely wrong!

Christmas eve celebrations

Chris dressed in his best for christmas day dinner.

 The climbing did not start till both Kirsty and I had recovered from illness on boxing day. We lcimbed a lovely 3 pitch trad route and a 4 pitch sport route. For the 27th we decided to climb the classic Armonica. 8 pitches of wonderful traditional granite graded 6a. It involved an early start and a 3 hour walk in to the base of the route up some horrendous scree. The climb was wonderful on solid grnaite with lots of pure crack climbing which I am keen to improve upon before I reach Patagonia and lots of laybacking. It took us 3 hours to climb the 8 pitches to the summit and then another hour to abseil down the north west face where the rope kept tangling on ledges and getting caught up, urghh! A great day!

Kirsty scrambling up scree to Ajuga principal and our route.

Typical cracks found on Armonica needle

Taped up and good to go!

On the summit of Ajuga principal as the weather detiorated.

A chilled out last day climbing the 7 pitch classic Filo del Caballito

The last day was spent chilling out on a beautiful route which had a variety of chimney climbing, wall climbing and slab. Kirsty led the single sport pitch and I led the other 6 trad pitches finishing on a lovely alpineesque ridge. The descent was a bit more dramatic than desired as I ignored an abseil station thinking there would be another one further down the rope only to find the ropes 5 metres too short. I popped off the end of the rope and had to downclimb the last 5 metres to safety. Good job it wasnt steep as I was about 100 metres off the ground at the time, silly boy!

Overall a very nice stay in the Cajon with some fantastic climbing. It was now onto Chile and Santiago for New year fun!