Climbing in the Torres Del Paine-Published in NZ Climber Issue 44 Winter 2003 Aricle shortcuts to:
Sitting hunched under a bivy rock we nibble yet another Mother Earth bar. The wind immediately around us eases for a minute and in the brief respite from the high pitched whining and buffeting, a deeper, altogether more disturbing sound takes over. It is the sound of a primeval force, roaring and cracking through the Towers above us destroying all that is not granite or ice, a wind so strong that the thought of being caught up high in it chills my soul. We grimace at each other before crawling back out into the tempest and heading up towards the approach couloir. We need to retrieve our rope. This is Torres Del Paine, Patagonia- the kingdom of the wind. We've managed to climb the North Tower and two thirds of the Central Tower. Two days of climbing in the three weeks we've been here, and both of those in gales that made our knees knock. We consider ourselves lucky, a Slovenian team has been here for ever and is up to their fifth attempt on 'Taller del Sol' on the North Tower, backing off a few pitches from the top each time in blinding hurricanes. Last summer an American team trying a new route on the Central Tower managed 40 hours climbing in 50 days! So why do people bother? Patagonian summits are frustratingly elusive beasts and therein lies their allure. Sure you'll get more climbing in on the beaches of Thailand, not to mention better food and you'll stand on way more peaks after a few good coffees in Chamonix, but for all that the Patagonian massifs seem to suck people in. Steve Schneider, who must be able to go wherever he likes, has been going to the Towers of Paine for years, finally linking the three Towers in a single incredible traverse, two seasons ago. As for me, from the first gob smacking view of the distant spires, the Towers have weaseled their way into my psyche, worming in under my skin to fester away and form what some may call an obsession but I call focus. After only one trip, during which we spent way more time reading soup packet labels than climbing, I'm desperate to go back. Torres del Paine National Park lies in southern Chile, just north of the infamous Cape Horn of maritime legend, and slightly west of the Southern Patagonian icecap. The compact Paine massif is all the more striking due to the approach being from the south east where the barren, flat pampas and gently rolling hills stretch out into Argentina. Ancient glaciers have carved the landscape into a mystical scene of soaring granite walls and spires, rearing above wind whipped lakes and backed by the chaotic glaciers of the icecap. This incredible scenery has overcome the atrocious weather to ensure that the trekking route that circumnavigates the massif is famous worldwide. However the weather has, in turn, overcome the superb world class climbing to limit the number of hardy souls that come to catch up on sleep, read loads of books and, if their incredibly lucky, get some mountaineering done. A major bonus for us hard working Kiwis is that unlike so many climbing areas around the world, the best climbing season coincides with our summer. A months summer holiday is enough time to sneak in a trip to Paine, even if you will require a bit of sun-lamp action on your return home. The main climbing areas are focused around three valleys. The Valle Ascensio leads up to the three Towers of Paine, the most common objectives in the park. The Valle Bader and the Valle Del Frances provide access to a huge amount of granite including the incredibly beautiful Cuernos Del Paine, the Horns of Paine. Unfortunately these are capped by a chossy black slate that, although it makes for great photographs, is not classy climbing. However these valleys do provide various shorter, moderate free routes. The Towers themselves provide most of the entertainment for visiting climbers. The east faces of all three towers are colossal, in the Central Towers case, rising twelve hundred meters above the Torres Glacier. These plumb vertical walls all have several aid routes on them and are big wall undertakings of the bowel loosening variety. The first ascent of the Central Tower's east face took two months in 1974 by a team of South Africans who fixed ropes all the way to the summit. Route names such as 'Eye of the Storm' and Wolfgang Gullich's 'Riders on the Storm' give an indication of prevailing conditions. On the western side things are a slightly more user friendly although the routes are still full on alpine walls which would be difficult even in more moderate climes. The North Tower (2600m) sports numerous lines including the easiest and most popular in the valley, the south ridge. Climbed in 1958 by the Italians it begins with two or three hard pitches on which the Italians used over two hundred pitons. The route goes free at 5.10 with most of the climbing being considerably easier, however any notion of an easy tick is quickly dispelled when the wind begins to rise. Further around on the west face are a range of stunning lines most of which combine free climbing and aid. With ten pitches leading direct to the summit and going at around 5.10+, Taller del Sol is fast becoming a 'popular' route as it one of the areas few entirely free routes. Over on the crown jewel, the Central Tower (2800m), the voie normal is the first ascent route. Climbed in 1963 by a British team including Chris Bonnington and Don Whillans, the route is a stunner, rising steeply above the col between the Central and North Towers. Eighteen pitches of fantastic rock go at around 5.11 and A1. Various harder lines split the huge north, west and south faces of this wonderful peak and very few of these have been done all free or in a single push. The South Tower, although the highest at 2850m, is probably the least climbed. The north ridge provides the line of least resistance although with twenty pitches up to 5.11 it is a daunting task in anyone's book. Patagonia isn't the ends of the earth that it once was. There are various traveling options for getting to Torres Del Paine, all of which involve ending up at Puerto Natalas, a dusty frontier town that is the launching pad for all trips into the park. The most romantic way is traveling by ship through the fiords of Chiles west coast. Get yourself to Puerto Montt where you can catch one of the Navimag ships for the four day cruise to Puerto Natalas. Costing around $500.00 this has to be one of the most spectacular boat voyages anywhere and gets you well trained for sitting around chewing the fat and drinking beer. Alternatively if time is short or you're busting a gut to go and sit in your tent, you can fly from either Santiago or Buenos Aires to Punta Arenas and catch the bus for a few hours north to Puerto Natalas. Driving south through Argentina would be a journey of biblical proportions. From Puerto Natalas to Torres Del Paine National Park is a two hour bus trip and there are loads of buses every day. From the road end a very pleasant four and a half walk will see you at Campamento Japonese, the basecamp for the Towers.
You do need a permit to climb in the park. To arrange this you need to get written permission from DIFROL, which is some kind of ministry for the border with Argentina, in Santiago. Don't believe anyone who tells you that you don't need this, trying to sort it out from Puerto Natalas takes days. Front up in Santiago with your passport and a letter from NZAC saying you're not a complete idiot (in Spanish). Once you've got that permission, you need to go to CONAF, the Chilean equivalent of DOC, in Torres del Paine National Park and fork out US$100.00 each for which you'll get a typed letter saying you can go and scare yourself silly. You can get almost everything you need in Puerto Natalas. Climbing gear is sparse so bring that from home or at least from Santiago where there are a few decent gear shops. Dehy food and muesli bars are also best brought from home if you want those. English books are very hard to find and expensive, bring lots! Bencina Blanca is the local white spirit which goes OK but seems to happily clog stoves.
Basecamp for the Towers is beautiful, sheltered under the Beech trees with plenty of room to spread out. There is a makeshift climbers hut called the 'Enclave de la barometer' however this may well be occupied so bring tents. Big tarpaulins with plenty of cord are great for making your humble abode a little more salubrious and can be bought in Puerto Natalas. Bring a spare stove to ensure that your basecamp time is well caffeinated and pack plenty of things to do while you're drinking your coffee,- books, walkman, chess and scrabble all take on a monumental importance by the tenth pit day. For climbing you'll need the means to get around in the approach couloirs so bring decent boots, crampons, and at least one tool. A pretty beefy rock rack is de rigueur. For the Bonnington/Whillans route on the Central Tower we took a double set of wires and a single set of cams with double ups in the mid size range. Something around a #3 Camelot or bigger was very useful. We didn't end up using any pitons although on some of the harder aid routes I imagine they would be useful. Sixty meter ropes were great and we took a 10.5mm and a 9mm. We also took an old rope which proved useful for fixing in the approach couloir. Etriers and jumars saw us through the aid pitches. Dress for nasty conditions in the Southern Alps. We did most of our climbing in full battle rig, with fleece, down jacket and shells on. Fingerless gloves may have gone out in the 70's but on Patagonian rock they are still the business. Information on the area can be hard to find. There is no guide book and for some strange reason the area isn't high on peoples Christmas holiday list so there is a limited number of brains to pick. The best place to gather specific route info, particularly route topo's is once you get to Puerto Natales. Adventure outfitters, Fortalezza Adventures and Bigfoot Adventures both keep files of up to date information. If you can't find them on the internet, you may be able to get contact details for Bigfoot and Fortelezza through a Hostel called Concepto Indigo which can be contacted at www.conceptoindigo.com . Route information is also held at the CONAF Park headquarters. Steve Schneider has written a fantastic article in Climbing Magazine (Sept 2001?) called 'This ain't Club Med' which is a great place to start and good book to get you in the mood is 'Mountaineering in Patagonia' written by Alan Kearney. Feel free to contact me at seanwaters@hotmail.com or Jo at jorian_leah@hotmail.com .
Back in basecamp we lick our wounds, one frost-nipped big toe and a broken pinkie sustained from a large rolling boulder in the moraine. The days slip by in a welter of tea drinking, chess playing and losing pull up competitions with our neighbors, the 'hard as nails' Slovenians. Above us the storms rage uninterrupted, guarding the mountain kingdom from all intruders as they have done almost uninterrupted since time immemorial. Our time frame is no contest for the immortal gales and all too soon we begin carrying our gear down the valley, destined for another adventure further north, on the high slopes of Aconcagua. We are disappointed but happy that we've given it our best shot during the only gap afforded by the weather. To step foot on a Patagonian summit is a rare privilege indeed. It is a place where your spirit can soar, or be crushed like an ant. A playground for those with a penchant for disappointment, a playground ruled by the wind.
|