The phone rings…
– Hi, this is Sebastián. I got your contact because I was interested in climbing Cerro Dos Picos in Cholila. I know Diego Simari has been there and I'd like you to take me.
A few minutes later I was on the phone with Diego, telling him about the chance to guide Sebastián to the highest summit in Chubut. Diego, with his usual spirit, said: “Yes, let's go, mono, let's go all in…”
This was in early November. The days went by and our window was December 16 to 23. Simari took charge of gathering all the information he could from locals in the town of Cholila, plus details from an expedition by the Benegas brothers who climbed the south summit, and other accounts from climbers.
Diego had made an attempt in winter with a strong group of climbers from Bariloche, and the snow conditions did not allow them to get through the last névés of the south summit. So knowing that Dieguito had some familiarity with the terrain we were about to play on put me at ease. For my part, I took care of the logistics: food, transportation, etc., so that the day Seba landed we could head out to Cholila with all the gear.
As planned, on the 18th we set off with the car loaded with gear and food for a few days in the mountains. We were met by Lucas Biancotti, a local climber and explorer of those lands, who would accompany us to base camp and the foot of the route, carrying part of the gear and food for those days in the Río Blanco valley.
DAY 1
Early in the morning Petro came to pick us up in his pickup truck, which would take us as close as possible so we could walk less. After several kilometers we finished going around Lago Cholila and continued on a settlers' road that fords the lake twice and has several river crossings, which can endanger the truck if conditions aren't right. They say the rocky riverbed has swallowed more than one pickup trying to cross!
Anyway, after about an hour and a half we reached the last gate around 11 am. We set off with packs full of dreams and adventure along a cattle trail that led to the summer pasture on the banks of the Río Blanco. Heat, horseflies and eyes full of eagerness to explore got us to our base camp in about 7 hours. That same day Dieguito went off looking for the best way through, heading up toward the headwaters of the Blanco so we could leave early the next day for the big feat. Meanwhile, we set up base camp and made ourselves comfortable, enjoying some good mate.
Dieguito came back and said: – I found a good way through. Tomorrow we leave camp at 4 am. We exchanged knowing looks, drank all the water we could, ate, and it was off to the sleeping bag in our little fabric houses.
DAY 2
3 am, the alarm goes off. Everything started to run on autopilot: heating water, breakfast, coffee. The pack was already ready, and it was hard to get out of the sleeping bag, but in no time we were walking by headlamp with a moon shyly peeking out. After about 40 minutes we reached the headwaters of the Río Blanco.
From there we went to the right of a waterfall and, with a bit of scrambling, gained altitude, leaving behind a pristine blue lake like the ones you only find here in Patagonia. About 2 more hours and we were at the foot of the route, looking at the towers of the ridge with a question mark over them and 100% adventure terrain.
Dieguito set out short-roped with Seba, and I went unroped on a different line to avoid rockfall. After some scrambling and walking on super loose scree, we reached the base of the first tower.
– Okay, from here we go pitch by pitch – said the captain.
The first pitch went up a slightly overhanging wall where you could really feel the weight of the packs. We all made it. The second pitch was a bit easier and left us on a ridge of slab rocks delicately stacked one on top of another. Dieguito went to tackle a kind of chimney that was seriously rotten, and he climbed it very gently, then called down for us to pass through “levitating” so we wouldn't knock rocks loose. A few more pitches and around 1 pm we were at the base of the last tower, standing tall with somewhat better rock quality. We took the chance to have lunch and hydrate, then set off on what were, for me, the 3 best pitches of the route up to the north summit of Dos Picos.
Around 5 pm we reached the summit, shouting with joy: we were there after a whole day of adventure and onsight climbing. We spent about 40 minutes on top and started deciding which way to descend. We had somewhat confusing information about the rappels the Benegas had left, and we let ourselves be carried by the false sense of security that someone else had descended farther south. Downclimbing, we came to a wall dropping at 90 degrees into a gully (cañadón) where we could see snow and which disappeared toward the base of the mountain… After a while debating what to do, we went down the gully. Three rappels put us in the channel, and once there we had one rope fewer, so the rappels would be 30 m.
DAY 3
The gully turned out to be extremely long, with many overhanging steps of more than 10 m. All of Dieguito's ingenuity, Seba's perseverance and everyone's motivation meant that after 12 rappels, and having left behind a handful of pitons, stoppers and knifeblades with cordelettes, we touched solid ground around 5:00 am.
After roughly 26 hours on the wall, we ended up on a little ledge overlooking a lake (Lag. 51). I remember arriving at that ledge, settling in next to the guys, and falling asleep instantly.
I woke up cold, and we went to the lake in search of sun. We went down, laid out the gear on the ground and curled up for another hour of rest. Then we woke up and went down to camp, where Lucas greeted us with a big hug. It had been 33 hours from the time we left until we reached the tent, with tired bodies, souls full of life, and memories of every moment of that very long day. The hours went by and life was eating, hydrating, resting our heads somewhere and sleeping, waking up and repeating it all until we enjoyed the most delicious dinner in the world and then back to the sleeping bag.
DAY 4
A happy breakfast, we broke camp, and headed back to where Petro had dropped us off with his truck. It was extremely hot that day. Dieguito counted about 60 horseflies killed, and sweat ran down every inch of our bodies. We passed the crossing that took us to the banks of the Río Tigre, and without a second thought we dropped our packs and took a summit dip in the river. A few minutes later Don Petro arrived with the truck to take us back to Cholila and from there to Bariloche.
All that's left is to thank the mountain and its Apus for taking care of us on what was the second ascent of the north summit of such a majestic mountain; the friends who gave us information; Lucas for opening the doors of his home and playground to us; Seba for being the most motivated client in the world; Dieguito for giving it his all on every meter and teaching with his experience as a high mountain guide; and finally, that drive to keep exploring a Patagonia with many corners still waiting to be discovered.
If you want to live your own adventure, we have the team to make it happen. We always push upward so you can see your dreams come true, or from the high point ride down throwing powder with your boards. We are professional mountain guides and we dedicate ourselves to what we love most: sharing our passion while providing safety, and from there, pure happiness for those who hire us. And when it comes to exploring, we give it everything.
Thank you, mountain, for letting us go and return
Jeremias Palavecino – BC Cooperative
