Papa Noel brought a few days of calm but humid weather to the Chalten massif over Christmas, with poor conditions for rock climbing, but good conditions for crampon climbing. Jon and I hiked into the Torre Valley on the 23rd, and on the 24th we passed through the Standhardt Col into the Circo de las … Continue reading Ragnivenas Attempt
Month: December 2012
Tobogan
Last week some calm weather blew into the Chalten massif, but with cold and snowy conditions. Jon and I hiked into Niponino with some loose plans to scratch around on something while wearing crampons. After hemming and hawing for a while on the Torre Glacier at first light on the 16th, we finally decided to … Continue reading Tobogan
Guillaumet Laps
For the past couple weeks in El Chalten my climbing has been mostly limited to sport climbing at El Calamar, Chalten's best crag. However, I have gotten a couple day-trips in to climb Aguja Guillaumet. When the weather forecast is marginal, and a day of approaching and camping in storm isn't appealing, a long day … Continue reading Guillaumet Laps
Cerro Solo and Cerro Torre
I have once again escaped to the Austral summer in Argentine Patagonia, returning as usual to the town of El Chalten. The nature of Patagonian alpinism continues to evolve at a rapid pace. The availability of reliable weather forecasts and route information (in particular, the publication of the massif's first guidebook, by Rolando Garibotti), combined … Continue reading Cerro Solo and Cerro Torre