New 25-Pitch 5.12 A2+ in Chile’s Patagonia
The first ascent comes 11 years after one of the team's first attempt reached 3/4 of the way up the big wall
Patagonia is a big area at the southernmost tip of South America, shared by Argentina and Chile. The Chilean side has a lot of big mountains that many climbers in Canada haven’t heard about, including Cerro Huinay, which is in Fiordo Comau in the Region de Los Lagos.
Four Chilean climbers have just made the first ascent of the 1,300-metre north face of the peak at 5.12 A2+. Nicolas Gutiérrez, Pancho Herrera, Sebastián Rojas and Hernán Rodríguez followed a direct 25-pitch line.
The took a helicopter to basecamp to avoid the huge approach and then waited out heavy rains until a long weather window. They named it Futa Chao, which means Great Father in the local Mapuche language.
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