Pedra da Gavea | chossclimbers.com

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Pedra da Gavea.

A late wake up the following day followed by a slow breakfast, a slower coffee, and a day dominated by beach time and caipirinhas. Based on our friends’ food poisoning experience from some years ago (ceviche?), we had been extra careful till then: no fruits or veggies that might’ve been washed in tap water, no drinks with ice, and of course no ceviche or sushi. Now that all the relevant climbs were in the bag, we were off to the races: pre-noon caipirinhas? Don’t mind if we do.

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With the guys on the summit.

The next morning, Duda picked us up at 8 for a short drive and a long, steep hike (~780 meters in 3km) to a route on Pedra da Gavea. It was a hot, humid day and we were wastefully sweating out all of previous day’s cachaça. The Passagem dos Olhos (traverse) is a Rio classic for a good reason: easy climbing with absolutely breathtaking views of the city below. Though Shirley was enjoying herself, I was busy grinding my teeth in excruciating pain having developed bloody blisters on my Achilles tendons from the rock shoes. After the climb, we hiked up to the summit to take in more views of the city.

Photos

More inner city granite. Note the concrete support structures high on the wall (May 2019).

On the short drive to the Pedra da Gavea (in photo) trailhead (May 2019).

Jackfruit low on the trail to Pedra da Gavea (May 2019).

More jackfruit (May 2019).

Shirley on the steep and hot hike up to Pedra da Gavea (May 2019).

The short but steep trail (May 2019).

Shirley nearing the start of our route for the day (May 2019).

Views from high on the hike (May 2019).

Starting up pitch 1 of Passagem dos Olhos. This is the only vertical pitch of the route (May 2019).

Shirley starting up pitch 1 (May 2019).

Shirley and Rio (May 2019).

Leading the second pitch of Passagem dos Olhos. Just a bit of grass but the rest is indeed spectacular (May 2019).

Looking back at Shirley from the lead of pitch 2 (May 2019).

Typical fixed gear on the route (May 2019).

Shirley in the grass of pitch 2 (May 2019).

Shirley on pitch 2 (May 2019).

Shirley arriving at the 2nd belay on Passagem dos Olhos (May 2019).

Shirley starting the lead of pitch 3 of Passagem dos Olhos (May 2019).

The exposure and the views become better and better as you traverse leftwards (May 2019).

Views of Pedra Bonita (May 2019).

Shirley leading pitch 3 (May 2019).

Finishing up pitch 3 (May 2019).

Shirley starting the lead of pitch 4 (May 2019).

More pitch 4 action (May 2019).

Shirley leading pitch 4 of Passagem dos Olhos (May 2019).

Shirley entering the left eye of The Emperor’s Face on pitch 4 (May 2019).

Shirley at the 4th belay in the cave (May 2019).

Commemorative plaque in the cave (May 2019).

Shirley checking the topo at the belay inside the cave (May 2019).

Shirley leading pitch 5: a short lower out followed by a via ferrata (rusty one) to hiking terrain (May 2019).

Looking towards the end of the via ferrata (May 2019).

We did an intermediate belay stop (most for photos). Here’s Shirley midway across the ferrata (May 2019).

Shirley arriving at the end of the route. Pedra Bonita is in the background (May 2019).

Rio de Janeiro (May 2019).

A zoomed in view of Rocinha (May 2019).

Rocinha Favela from Pedra da Gavea (May 2019).

From the end of the route, you do a short 3rd/4th class scramble to reach the summit saddle/plateau. Here Shirley is hiking to a nice overlook on the summit ridge of Pedra da Gavea (May 2019).

Corcovado from Pedra da Gavea (May 2019).

Summit plateau of Pedra da Gavea (May 2019).

Shirley relaxing on the summit of Pedra da Gavea. Click photo for a quick video (May 2019).

With the guys on the summit. We had a great time hanging out together and things were organized impeccably. We could not have been happier with the trip (May 2019).