Climbing Aguja Guillaumet outside of El Chalten

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Well Folks it has been awhile since our last update so we have lots to tell about our latest travels. After leaving Coyhaique we were driven with the common goal to head south to see more mountains. We started south the day after getting out of the Castillo range, leaving behind dark sky and unforgiving rain. Or at least that is what we thought we were doing. To continue south our route traversed us across Chile into Argentina. As soon as we entered Argentina we encountered the strongest wind any of us had ever experienced. The wind reminded us of the storms on the Oregon Coast during winter when foam from the ocean gets blown up onto the roads and houses.
We drove and we drove. As we went south the terrain grew more and more desolate. Unfortunately so did the gas stations. (The only thing that brought us some excitement were the large herds of guanacos and an amazing puma sighting.) As we traveled south we almost ran out of gas twice. Joe’s Uncle Eric warned us the gas stations might be sparse so we had a gas container to insure that we would make it to the next station (Thanks Eric!!!) We pulled into El Chalten on the 29th of October in the midst of a storm. Excited to be done with driving we planned to leave the next day for a trip up into the mountains, rain or shine.
We planned a ski trip to the Southern Ice field which lies between Argentina and Chile. This ice field is the third largest ice field in the world following Antarctica and Greenland, respectively. We planned to bring the skis and tour around for a week. However after leaving the trailhead we encountered similar winds and torrential rains. We charged through the bad weather just barely making it to the base of the Glacier Marconi that would take us up to the Southern Ice Cap. Soaked to the bone we quickly set up our tent to seek shelter. After those first 15 minutes in the tent, the trip became a blur of three days of reading, rummy and raging winds. The night dragged on while the tent shook violently. In the morning the weather had not improved and none of us dared to venture very far from the tent unless it was necessary. Eventually water supplies ran out. Lucas ran out to refill everyone’s bottles when the wind picked up the river and brought it upon him. Returning soaked to the tent the crew continued not to venture very far for the rest of the day. The next day the weather had not improved. Stir crazy from being tent bound we ventured out during a small break in the winds to see our first glimpse of Fitzroy. After 4 nights we had had enough. Despite the aggressive rains we decided to abandon the ice field and packed up camp to to seek refuge back in town. As we left, the mountains laughed at us as we traveled back to civilization with our tails between our legs.
Bad weather continued to stick around for another week. Determined to get back in the mountains we decided to stay in El Chalten until a weather window presented itself. Choosing this, we cut out the original plan of heading even more south to Torres del Paine. Staying in town waiting for good weather in the mountains proved to be very fun. We made many friends, ate delicious meals and climbed everyday inside and outside. El Chalten has many sport climbing routes close by that allowed the three of us to stay in climbing shape. We managed to climb a four pitch route one day that was on a crag across the river from town. This climb was especially fun because it took us to the heights of where the legendary condors fly. These magnificent birds have the wing span of around 10’. After a week of messing around, a weather window presented itself to get back into the mountains. The three of us grew excited as we were itching to climb a spire in the Fitzroy Massif.
We decided to try our luck on Aguja Guillaumet which is a “lesser peak” of 2579 meters following the Brenner-Moschioni route up 350 vertical meters of rock climbing. We ended up leaving El Chalten in baby blue skies with smiles on our faces. After hiking for a little more than an hour we had completely lost the trail, and were neck deep in Lenga trees. Looking down on the valley floor where we had come from we located the actual trail up to Piedra Negra (Our bivy site). We decided to descend back down to the valley and meet back up with the actual trail. After getting on the trail we climbed straight up to the first bivouac area, a nice wind protected spot under a large granite boulder. To our surprise one of our friends from El Chalten was up there just coming back from climbing an ice couloir on Guillamet. He let us know that bad weather was coming and that he would be heading back to El Chalten the next morning. Stir crazy from waiting so much the three of us decided to stick it out for the bad weather in hope for a good weather window. This was a grand decision. After two days of waiting, the weather started to clear up. As the skies transitioned from grey to blue and snow turned into sun, we moved up to a higher bivouac. The next day proved to be clear but very windy. We continued to climb up to where the rock wall started (Paso Guillaumet) with the hopes of climbing the next day. After some time of stacking rocks we created enough of a shelter for the three of us to sleep in relative comfort in the high mountain pass. As the day grew on the three of us grew jittery with excitement trying to calm our nerves. We woke the next morning to clear skies and Joe’s singing voice for an alarm. The stars had aligned, we were in position, and there was only one thing left to do; climb!
The Fitzroy range has some of the best granite in the world. Perfect splitting cracks and flakes created fun climbing and allowed for easy protection. The route was one of the best routes any of us had done. Beautiful gold granite contrasting against the white glaciers and blue skies made for beautiful views. Morgan did a great job leading the whole route, while Lucas and Joe followed cleaning the protection. The team continued up all day climbing a total of 12 hours. When we had reached our goal we had so little light left we barely took a break to look around and instead prepared to rappel down. We decided to rappel down a different route called the Amy which goes down a steep mixed rock and ice couloir. It took more than four full rope length rappels to get off of the ramp and back onto the glacier. By this time the sun completely gone and the three of us had to continue on crossing the glacier in the night. We ended up getting into camp at around midnight. Tired, wind-burned, and hungry the team celebrated their victory with a large meal of beans and rice!!!!
The next day the three of us woke up early to try to get back to El Chalten. This involved crossing two glaciers. This proved to be quite a challenge as the snow on the glacier was very soft. Every step turned into a post hole that would sink you to your knees or waist. Navigating across the snow avoiding crevasses proved to be a full on task. Both Lucas and Joe fell up to their waist in snow to find that nothing but air lay underneath them for at least 20 meters. Snowbridge anyone!!?? With little food left, we decided to cruise off of the mountain and feast back in El Chalten. The hike took a total of eight hours. We all loved the faces that we got as we cruised past people with our 45 lb packs on and them with nothing but water bottles. When we walked into town we fulfilled all our fantasies buying ice cream, yogurt, and whatever other desires sounded great while up on the walls of Guillamet. As we went back to our hostel we were greeted kindly from all the friends we had made. The night turned into a festival of celebrating life and the mountains!
What’s next? Morgan is still stoked on climbing on the Massif. With good weather hanging around he decided to stay in El Chalten for another week to try his luck on other peaks. Meanwhile Joe and Lucas will head up to the Rio Palena in Chile to meet up with Joe’s family to go rafting. In a week Morgan and Joe will meet up in Bariloche, Argentina to climb while Lucas will be dropped off at Futaleufu to go kayaking. The three plan to meet back together on the third of December in Bariloche.

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