Article and Album: Climbing Patagonia

The first note from Janet who is in Patagonia for 9 weeks or so….. e-mailed 01-19-08 Hola muchachos/as: Just down from a fantastic few days up and around our camp at Piedra Negra, which even included a day of climbing! Kirsten and I have a history of unplanned bivies here…mostly by her choosing/insistence (which is a whole ‘nother story of its own)…so I got smart this time and insisted we start at 1 am to ensure we spend the following night in our tent and not shivering on some ledge. Our plan was to climb the ‘sit start’ to the Comasana-Fonrouge (600 m, 6b) on Aguja Guillamet (the northern most peak of the Fitz Roy group). The ‘sit start’ part is about 600 additional meters of easy simul-climbing on a sharp ridge leading directly to the base of the route. The ridge had fun 5.2-5.7 climbing and we moved well in the dark, arriving at the start of the Comasana-Fonrouge around 9 am. Some of the cracks on the upper route were icy because it was the first good day after lots of bad ones—but still passable. It stayed warm and sunny through the afternoon, with a few clouds rolling in as we booted up the final snowfield to the summit that evening. We rested the next day and tried to climb the two days after that, waking at 3 am to approach climbs before sunrise…but stormy-seeming conditions kept us from even starting. We did hang out for magical sunrises before turning back for camp though. Some images are attached from the climb and those gorgeous mornings—enjoy! The meteogram is showing 4 more promising days of good weather this coming week, we are very excited! Chow, Jnut PS I got a haircut from Ceci and now have bangs—haven’t had them since I was like 5 when you used to cut them for me, mom! x

From Janet in Patagonia, e-mailed 02-14-08 I feed out another arm length of rope to Zach and a smile comes across my face. I’d momentarily imagined standing on the diving board summit of Mermoz. Realizing the prematurity of the thought (I was sitting at a belay only a few hundred feet up the wall), I pushed it away before the vision in my mind’s eye was clear. ‘Tranquilo’ is not the word I often associate with climbing here in Patagonia. I spent an entire season here injured once, cloaked in fear and anxiety yet wondering why I wasn’t enjoying myself. Then there were the many predawn approaches that revealed wind and ominous clouds over the ice cap as we got started climbing. Not to mention the week of perfect weather Kirsten was sick for. Icy rock; windy conditions; parties already on the route…few alpine climbs truly fall into place seemingly effortlessly. Back in town after Kirsten departed for home, I ran into Zach, who was having a similarly trying season but had extended his ticket in hopes of one last chance to pull things together. As if on cue, a good weather forecast came. Logistics for us going climbing together were tough though, as each of our climbing gear was stashed in separate valleys. The route we decided on was where my gear was, so among the borrowed gear Zach gathered was the pink ‘princess’ helmet. We fueled up on day old facturas and instant Nescafe at 2 am and the four hour approach was shortened by a frozen glacier, which had us taping up before sunrise. The climbing was of the highest quality and our dynamic was good, as if we’d been climbing together for years, though this was our first time tying into the same rope. Half way up a climb I’d been dreaming of for years, I gazed out over the expansive Patagonian landscape and sighed at the relative ease an effort can unexpectedly take. Some people have their amulets to wear or refuse to change their socks; my superstitious ritual is to prevent my mind from moving too far ahead when things are going right. Knowing that the possibility is real to actually stand up there is what starts the imagination, and that possibility is almost as sweet as reaching the summit itself. I gently pushed the vision away again and came back to the moment, still smiling.

Here are some photos from the past few weeks climbing with Kirsten and Mark and Maddog and Freddie and also of that day on the Red Pillar with Zach. Homeward bound in a few days, its been a great trip!

Update from KC on February 14, 2008 – “I think this is J’s last Patagonia letter….. Hopefully she’ll be safely home soon!! I added an email I got from Robyn too. 🙂 KC” “Hay, You know that slideshow I told you I was going to tonight? Not only did the gal know Janet she is Janet’s Climbing partner Kirsten!!! The first slide she put up was “a picture of my climbing partner Janet”!!! There were lots of pictures of Janet since the Kirsten was taking the pictures. She talked about the routes they took, and the weather etc. She just got back from Patagonia and said Janet was still there and just made it to the top of a another big climb. She was presenting this to the Alaska Alpine club, there were about 50 people. I was so excited. Only in Alaska – I was definitely there on a whim and hit the jackpot! I wish you had been there. Can you pass this on to her?” Robyn

February 14, 2008 Linda