Fitz Roy Patagonien Mars 2011

[trolltind]

Det är nu 3 år sedan Johan och jag klättrade Torre Northe i Del Paine
Efter tunga förhandlingar hemma så ser det nu ut som vi kan komma iväg till Patagonien igen denna gång för ett försök på Fitz Roy. Om vi nu bara kan få tag i några välvilliga sponsorer
och en fungerande satellittelefon så hoppas jag kunna återkomma med lite rapportering från El Chalten vad det lider

 

[Christian Haarlem]

Med tanke på...

tidigare rapportering du har gjort, så ser jag fram emot att få ta del av denna rapportering! Lycka till!!!

 

[E9climbing]

Jag har Sat tel ni kan lana.

Sjukt avis pa detta samtidgt skulle inget gladja mig mer om ni far gjort det ni vill pa Fitz Roy.

 

[trolltind]

Sat

Tackar
Nu har man ju barn så mycket kan hända innan man kommer iväg, men nu finns det i alla fall en plan, Telefonen är högintressant då vi hade mycket problem med den vi hyrde förra gg
Kommer ni inte att behöva den själva i Himalaya??

 

[SampsaJ]

Det är nu 3 år sedan Johan och jag klättrade Torre Northe i Del Paine
Efter tunga förhandlingar hemma så ser det nu ut som vi kan komma iväg till Patagonien igen denna gång för ett försök på Fitz Roy. Om vi nu bara kan få tag i några välvilliga sponsorer
och en fungerande satellittelefon så hoppas jag kunna återkomma med lite rapportering från El Chalten vad det lider

El Chalten has plenty of internet cafes but if you want voice coverage sat phone will be nicer. There should be phone boxes in town but I never used them so I don't really know.

The current trend is that people camp in town and hike all the way up if weather forecast gets better. There are plenty of good forecasts in the internet. It's roughly 2 hours from El Chalten to Rio Blanco and 4 to 5 hours from there to Paso Superior. Half of the way between El Chalten and Rio Blanco is flat ground so the hike is really not that bad. From Rio Blanco to Paso Superior its pretty steep uphill most of the way. If you like more isolation the Rio Blanco high camp is quite nice, too. It's total relaxation from office work as there are no modern things to do.

In 2007 we flew to El Calafate and changed airport at Buenos Aires. Most internal flights use a different airport. You could book intercontinental flights to Buenos Aires and local flights from BA to Calafate if you want to save few krone. We paid 1000 euros from Finland to BA and 300 euros from BA to Calafate. Direct tickets retailed at around 2000. There is a bus between the two airports. Also, the internal flights never seemed to be on schedule so you might want to have plenty of time (8 hours or so) in BA for both ways.

There is a regular bus from Calafate to Chalten. There is a groceries store in El Chalten, too. Don't miss the steaks in Los Patagonicos restaurant. The lemon pie is quite nice, too.

 

[trolltind]

Fitzroy

Thanks for the info
The travel itinerary was about the same as Johan and i used to go to Paine,
but i think Chalten and the area around Fitzroy is a bit more crowded than Paine (there we were completely alone) so its nice to know were to go if we want some solitude=)
"Don't miss the steaks in Los Patagonicos restaurant. The lemon pie is quite nice, too."
I will remember that one and definitely try it!
Any good place in town were climbers go?like the black sheep in Puerto Natales?

Regards Hasse

 

[Maskinen]

Pà chocolaterian, cervecerian, Vaca muerta (boulder), Calamar (crag) samt Del Lago camping hittar ni säkerligen mycket klättrare.

Chalten har blivit rätt modernt och det finns internet och telefon överallt. Kul med fler svenskar. Förra àret var det jag och 10 norrbaggar. Hoppas starkt att ni fàr bättre väder än jag hade. Slutet av november - början av december har varit kanon de senaste tvà säsongerna.

Kan antagligen inte komma ivàg i àr och àr LITE smàtt avundsjuk...

Olov

 

[SampsaJ]

Any good place in town were climbers go? like the black sheep in Puerto Natales?

The internet cafe is a sure bet. The climbing in El Chalten is pretty much like climbing in Chamonix in summer with the exception that you don't have the cabin lifts. First thing in the morning you check the weather forecast and if it's proper you can start getting ready for hiking and climbing. Camping in Madsen campground is free and the hostels are at $25 or more. Renting a room could be possible, too. Bean Bowers might be of some help for that, he has a house in there. From what I've understood Roger Schäli has a house in there, too. If it wasn't him at least he knows which of the swiss guys has it. All the superstars like Huber and Glowazs were living in rooms while we were there. If you're planning March which already late in the season there should be something available. In 2007 everybody left before the end of February. El Chalten is luxury compared to life in the Torres del Paine.

In general the weather is a bit colder than Chamonix. Lots of wind unless you're very lucky with the weather. The ultimate bivy system for Fitzroy for me would be a belay jacket + synthetic full zipper pants + bd winter bivy or similar (optional). For Paso Superior you could consider having additional sleeping bag for comfort. Also, I bought a pair of Boreal Ninja Invernals for my next go. The Anthematten brothers who did 7 summits in two months used this system. They did all the satellites of Fitzroy + Cerro Torre so I guess it worked.

http://www.balmat.com.es/cgi-vel/TI...6d8fc7ffd57bdcf&W_REF=55694&W_PST=DES&W_IDI=1

In the sun it was ok to have only a wind jacket but in shade a mere gore jacket with some Merino layers below was way too cold. Especially while belaying. On our best push I didn't have a down jacket at all and once it was evident we couldn't get down before dark we decided to call it quits. Continuing through the dark would have been very cold and if the ropes would have gotten stuck it would have been a major problem with the wind.

 

[trolltind]

wind

"Lots of wind unless you're very lucky with the weather"
I could recall to that! Johan and i waited for over 3 weeks before we finally got our chance to climb Paine, at the decent the winds were so strong that the first man had to put protection gear in every 10 m or so when we rappelled of from the summit otherwise you just blow of from the face (it felt crazy) so we have had our share of the Patagonian winds. And yeas it was very cold even do we had down jackets under our gore-tex. I don`t know if the season is different at Fitzroy but at Paine mars is the end of the season the days are shorter and colder but the winds should be less a problem therefore we choose that period.

Thanks for sharing its god fun to read about your experience in Patagonia, i think that place leave a trace in everyones mind

Ps: What about your plan to climb Escudo?

 

[SampsaJ]

Ps: What about your plan to climb Escudo?

The plan is alive and kicking but we haven't still bought the plane tickets. I hope to do that within few weeks or so and after that it'll be true.

Which route you're planning on Fitzroy? Most frequented routes would be Franco Argentine, Supercouloir and the Casarotto pillar. Franco Argentine is relatively sheltered from the wind ultill the last 3 or 4 pitches. It goes a lot in dihedrals. Don't be too scared if it blows hard in the col after you've done the approach couloir. For the upper pitches a down jacket and insulated pants might be proper clothing if you're not too afraid of climbing in very windy conditions. With proper clothing we'd propably done it in a 30 hour push from Paso Superior. The conditions would have been far from ideal though.

 

[trolltind]

linje

"Which route you're planning on Fitzroy? "
This time we only have 3 weeks so it depends if we have some god luck with the weather
Dream route is Royal flush but Super Canaleta and Casarotto is on the list as well. All depending of the condition at the time and of course how god we are at the moment (i put my trust in Johan and that he will do all the hard stuff and leave all the icy crap chimneys to me)

 

[SampsaJ]

They say Royal Flush is out of condition a lot. It's either iced up or wet.
http://www.climbing.com/news/hotflashes/lineadieleganza/