Possibilities were endless since we had rented a car. After climbing in the frigid temps of Arenales, we were heading back to Mendoza thinking we'd head to Santiago to meet up with an old friend Camilo. Unfortunately, it had snowed the night before and the road over the mountains was closed. Time to change our plans! We did meet some Argentinian climbers who mentioned La Frazada has some of the best sport in Argentina so we decided to take their advice.
 |
| The entrance of La Frazada and Embalse Valle Grande in the distance |
Luckily, I was able to scour the internet and find a rough pdf of where the climbing spot was and basic directions on how to get there. After off roading our little Chevy classic for a little while, we came upon La Frazada and it's abundance of climbs! Argentinian climbers must be all about safety because the path to get into the canyon was WAY over protected with via ferrata. We first showed up on a monday so no one was around. We were climbing all day by ourselves; it was great!
 |
| Via ferrata to get into the canyon |
The place was just like climbing in the Owens River Gorge near Bishop, CA. The rock was volcanic so there were tons of sharp pockets and edges for holds. Some of the climbing was definitely not obvious due to the large number of 'holds' dispersed throughout the walls. There were some cracks to climb as well but I was definitely wary of the cam placements due to the 'not solid feel' of the rock. All of the bolts were bomber.
The canyon had a creek running through it so we had a pleasant sound all day long while we were climbing. There was a bunch of sand though so we tried to keep the rope clean on our rope bags. We climbed here 2 days on, took a rest day, then 2 days more. During the 4 climbing days, we racked up a pretty solid list of climbs over that time. You can check out our complete ticklist of the entire trip here!
The surrounding mountains and landscapes really reminded me of Arizona with it's red and orange rock walls and desert shrubs everywhere. Us Californians are pretty lucky that we have some of the most abstract and cool landscapes super close to home!!!
In between our 4 days of climbing, we took a rest day and went to the oldest winery in San Rafael, circa 1880's! They still used the same equipment that was used at the beginning of the winery!!! La Abeja was actually making wine the day we showed up so we got to see everything in action; we were SUPER lucky. We also got a private tour of the entire grounds for free. We couldn't have had a better rest day activity.
After a week in San Rafael, it was time to head back to Mendoza for a few more days. Objectives on the itinerary: see the highest mountain outside of the Himalayas: Aconcagua, hot springs, and take a shot at some of the routes at Mendoza's local crags! Look for that post in the next day or so!
Alex and I are currently in Lima, Peru waiting for our overnite bus to Huaraz. It's a mecca of climbing; sport climbing, bouldering, and mountaineering, not to mention gorgeous!!! See you in Huaraz! :)
Chao,
Scooter
No comments:
Post a Comment