Cerro Catedral 2: now the big ones!

Very brief stop in Osorno en route from Bariloche to Valle Cochamo. Don't have time for many stories since we gotta run to the hardward store before it closes, but trust me there are lots of good ones! 



Sunset, with Torre Principal visible (the biggest one, duh)

Me starting up La Vieja (see last post!)

Just another resting spot...

And up the chimney he goes! Interesting second pitch, starting with some great steep 6a+ climbing, but then you just get devoured by that offwidth finish. Woohoo!



As I mentioned in the last post, we decided to stay in Bariloche for one night. Unfortunately all the hostels were full (seriously) so we had to get a double in a hotel. What a shame!

 

Campanile Eslovena. Very impressive spire, and almost 200m tall.



At the top of 'Campanile Eslovena' with view of the Torre Principal in the background. Taken by our nice Brazilean friends.



Third pitch of 'Lost Finger' 6b. AWESOME! (others climbing it after us)



Lost Finger again.

From the top of Torre Principal, with Monte Tronador and Puntiagudo in the background (you can see to Chile!)

From Torre Principal, looking back at the laguna and refugio.



A #6 camalot, compared to our largest piece of gear. Pathetic...

Hanging out at the refugio. We did lots of this the last few days there!

Hiking back down to Bariloche.

All the buses to Osorno were sold out, so we stick out our thumbs. Literally the first bus that passed us by picked us up anyway!

The only seat left was up in the front with Carlos and Sergio.

Cerro Catedral, or, we made it to the refugio!

Just in town (Bariloche, Argentina) for the what was planned to be an afternoon, but now appears to be stretching out to a night, stocking up on food and paint thinner (no, we haven't developed any bad addictions, just happens to be the popular option for stove fuel down here).

We arrived in Bariloche last Monday from Osorno, and after scurrying about buying food and the afore-mentioned paint thinner (I had to go to 4 paint stores, not to mention a bunch of hardware and camping stores, before I found one that actually had it in stock!), we took the bus up to Villa Catedral, a small ski village at the base of Cerro Catedral. We started the hike up at around 9 pm, thankfully still in the light. Our excitement to get climbing got us up to Refugio Frey, our base camp, at around one in the morning!

Convenient wind shield and incredible view.

 There are a bunch of flat tent sites scattered around the hill above the Refugio. We found ourselves an empty one, and after some minor site improvements we installed ourselves quite comfortably. Our first day there we got on 'Sifuentes-Weber', a classic 5+ (French grading system) four pitch route going up the middle of the spire Aguja Frey, right next to the refugio. Real fun! After a couple other short routes we headed back to the tent by headlamp, confident that there was gonna be lots to keep us busy here for the next while!

View of the hut (look closely), campsites/tents and Aguja Frey on the right

Next day we went to a couple other spires, M2 and El Abuelo, that both had some cool routes. However they definitely made us realize that the approach and just finding the route can be a big part of the challenge here. Took a bit of a slower day after this, taking in some single pitch routes closer to camp.

Ross leading up 'Plantitas Denigrantes'. 6a

Can you guess what this climb is called? Ross is diving right in.

Then to La Vieja, a beautiful isolated spire further away from camp. As we approached the base, we say a party of three on the same route we were planning on heading up.

Our fourth day of climbing, nearing the base of 'La Vieja'.

Lucas, Muriel and Julien going up 'Del Frente' 5+.

Turns out it was a French couple (Muriel and Julien, they were sure to introduce themselves mid-pitch) who had hired a guide, the very friendly Lucas, to take them up. As I was at the first belay, bringing Ross up, Muriel insisted I smile for all the photos she was taking of me. Ross got to introduce himself as they were rappeling down and he was nicely runout on the last pitch. Friendly, to say the least, although Julien didn't seem very impressed with the idea of a hanging belay. We planned to exchange emails so we could trade photos, but so far haven't been able find each other. Where are you Muriel!?!?!

Saturday morning was delivery time. At least we did have advance warning so it wasn't the helicopter that woke us up. A pretty exciting transfer though, as someone on the ground had to unhook the hanging payload and then hook on the stuff to be taken back down. Mostly empty kegs and bottles of Malbec I think.

Supplies!

 Last night before heading back to town we feasted. Appetizer, main and dessert!

Empanadas de queso.

That's all for now! Going to stay in a hostel in Bariloche tonight, then back up to the mountains tomorrow. Still have got some of the bigger spires, including the 'Principal', waiting for us.

Family time

After the dusty and dry Cajón del Maipo it was nice to be back at my uncle's house in Santiago with the pool. Here is Ross, sporting some pretty sleek trunks.

Note this swimsuit was marked XL. Makes one wonder...

Next destination was my grandmother's apartment by the beach where we passed Christmas. The day after arriving we headed to the nearby driving range to get our golf swings back in action. Well, for me it wasn't really getting it back in action since I never had one in the first place, but anyway. A quick call from my uncle confirmed an 8:00am pick-up for 18 holes on Christmas Eve.

 Expert swing. 

 I really sliced that one...  

A great dinner (turkey and all) and running around handing out presents made Christmas Eve lots of fun. But even that late night didn't deter my uncle from insisting on another round of golf the next morning. At least this time he was generous enough to let us sleep until 8:30am.

Light appetizer before lunch at 'El Chiringuito' in Zapallar.

We had a seafood lunch after golf, and then the next day were heading back to the big city. After climbing at 'Las Chilcas' on the way back from the beach, we took a night bus (semi-cama of course) to Osorno, about 1000km south. My grandmother (on my mom's side) picked us up at the bus station and took us straight to the family farmhouse near Cancura. The weather was still hot and sunny, so we didn't complain about another pool waiting for us. As well the garden was full of raspberries, chard, peas and all sorts of other treats.



 We took a tour of my uncle's dairy farm. He has about 600 cows there that live outside all year round, eating grass and also the occasional turnip!

 Chew that cud. 

 The twice daily commute from milking to feeding. 

The beach at Lago Todos los Santos. Nevermind the tabanos.

Next was the loop around Lago Llanquihue, where we drove partway up Volcan Osorno to check out the refugio and ski center. As well, took a dip in Lago Todos los Santos, a beautiful but chilly glacier lake below the volcano. After scooting around Llanquihue, we headed for Valdivia where we spent New Year's. A great dinner with my dad's cousin and her daughter--who happened to be traveling nearby--was followed by a night out at the discoteca with my cousin.

At the discoteca.

After a late wake-up, we drove back to the centro to try and get some lunch. We managed to find a nice little restaurant on the costanera, and incredibly there was also a market going on New Year's day. Clearly the sea (lions? I dunno!) had enjoyed the previous night. There were about 10 of them sunning themselves next to the market, waiting for scraps.

Sleeping off the New Year's hangover in Valdivia.

Tomorrow morning on to Bariloche, Argentina, for climbing in Agujas Frey and other spots! Hopefully no more earthquakes (like the 7.1 we just had as I was writing this) while climbing!