Cave and Wainwright on Fitzroy

Andy Cave on Route

Adam Wainwright reports...

After a wet summer and a terrible start to winter with seemingly months of endless rain, I was pretty skeptical about swapping the Welsh winter for the infamous Patagonian climate. However, mid January saw Andy Cave and I stuck in Buenos Aires for two days, waiting for lost baggage. Things could have been worse though, as BA is a pretty good place to be stuck with great food, coffee shops, bars and a tour guide in the form of Kevin Thaw.

Eventually another flight took us to El Calafate, followed by a bus journey to El Chalten – the gateway to the Fitzroy and Cerro Torre ranges. A newcomer to the area myself, I had always been put off Patagonia by the endless tales of appalling weather; weeks spent whiling away time in snow holes only punctuated by occasional rises in pressure allowing odd pitches to be climbed, before the infamous winds brought play to an end and often forcing harrowing retreats.

For us, things were to be different. We stepped off the bus in glorious sunshine and a clear view of the spectacular rock towers that dominate Chalten’s skyline. Looking up my old friend Rolo Garibotti revealed another shock, as the forecast was exceptional for the next few days. Indeed Rolo was frantically packing for his successful traverse of the Torres. Such weather caught Andy and I somewhat off guard. Just off the plane and we needed a plan, and we needed it fast. It didn’t take long to decide upon Fitzroy’s Supercaneleta; a classic mixed route to the summit of the highest mountain in the region. Climbed a week ago by a French team and needing a few days of good weather, we hurriedly packed and were soon walking on the 8 hour approach, round the back of Fitzroy.

The end of a long walk, with stunning views of Fitzroy’s huge west face, brought our first view of the route and with it a shocking realization; as the previous few warm days had melted out the approach couloir. Our topo stated ‘1000m of 50 deg snow’ as an approach to around 20 mixed pitches to the summit ridge. However, all we could see was 150m of snow leading to 850m of mostly rocky gully bed to a prominent tower, where the topo stated the ‘real’ climbing started. The route was clearly not in condition. That night things deteriorated further as a snow cave under the route melted and collapsed on us overnight. The next morning with temperatures not even close to freezing we debated options sat in soft snow and sunshine. Clearly we needed to be rock climbing, but we hadn’t brought rock boots or much rock gear, and so it was with heavy hearts that we set off walking back round to the front of Fitzroy.

A long day saw us at the Paso Superior, starting point for all routes on the front of Fitzroy. Leaving our gear stashed we walked back to town for rock gear, boots and more food. A short storm then blew through the range but with good weather forecast once again we were soon walking back to our stash; our sights now set on the Franco Argentinean route.

An early start saw us crossing the bergshrund and climbing a terribly loose gully to the Col de Los Italianos. From here an easy ridge led to Fitzroy ‘proper’. Splitting the climbing into two blocks, Andy led off as I followed jumaring with a pack. The morning sun was soon warming us and melting the snow above, and it wasn’t long before beautiful granite corners had turned into waterfalls with the easier broken sections being somewhat dangerous due to loose rocks. Planning on a speedy ascent we hadn’t taken bivy gear to cut weight to a minimum, although come mid afternoon this was seeming like a poor decision as much climbing remained. In fact darkness saw us on the easy mixed ground leading to the summit.

Topping out around midnight, out of nowhere a cold wind sprang up, and we spent a while hunting around the summit blocks looking for a sheltered spot to spend the night. Settling on an accommodating boulder we passed two hours building walls to keep out the wind, leaving four hours to lie shivering dressed in everything we had brought to wear.

Carefully choosing our rock for the night to receive the morning sun, we cursed as dawn occurred over a low cloudbank, obscuring the sun’s warmth. Slowly we rose from our stupor to begin our descent as dawn played spectacularly with the Cerro Torre peaks below us and across the valley. Numerous abseils and a worrying trek back across the now warm glacier saw us back at Paso Superior in deteriorating weather. Indeed, the hike back to town the next day brought with it the first real storm since we had arrived in the area.

After this storm blew through, our time in the mountains was now drawing to a close. Another weather window saw a journey up the Torre valley, albeit without further climbing due to cold and cloudy weather. Soon after Andy left for a home needing a printer so the could proof read the script for his new book. I spent another few days in Chalten, bouldering and sport climbing in the valley whilst more typical Patagonian weather battered the high mountains. I now write this from Puerto Natales on my way to the coast of central Chile, and a rest from the mountains with sunshine, surf and fine wine being the only immediate plans.

Hasta lluego
adam

The expedition would like to thank the following for their support: DMM, Lowe Alpine UK, Mountain Equipment and Outdoor Designs.