The Moai.
A nearly two-month stretch away from work and climbing a somewhat random sampling of Southern Hemisphere’s rock. We started in the lush, rainy but lovely Tasmania where the things we ticked were not large but very unique (sea stacks) and quite memorable (snakes). The upside of climbing in the “developed” parts of the world is that bits of nature are sometimes actually preserved. We then moved on to South America via a weeklong stopover at home which included a day of climbing in Joshua Tree. In Chile, we spent about 12 days in Cochamo Valley. On balance, we had a decent stretch of weather: a 3 days of sun, 2 days of rain pattern (+/-). Multiple days of sunshine are pretty essential there as the approaches are significant and the routes are long (& formations seep for a day after a good downpour). But a good day in Cochamo really bumps up the pitch count. We’d go back. From Chile, we bused over to Argentina’s Frey, home of mid-sized granite spire climbing. Funny how from afar things look like Shiprock at Smith but are actually composed of clean, solid, brown granite for the most part. Had excellent weather… on day one. This was then followed by 5 days of cold temps and high and sustained winds. The climbing was very good – even with numb hands and fingers: crisp cracks and some friendly faces. We’d check out other places before heading back to Frey though.
Stuffing
Candlestick tyrolean.
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Rapping off Dos Equis Wall.
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Bienvenidos a mi Insomnio.
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Chocolate Liquido.