Big Rockfall in Patagonia Scars Classic Climb
Patagonia Vertical has shared several posts about recent rockfalls in Patagonia
Climbers have reported that a large piece of rock has fallen off the first pitch of a relatively popular climb on the east face of Fitz Roy in Patagonia. Rolando Garibotti’s Patagonia Vertical reported the rockfall on social media after getting information and photos from several climbers.
“A 20-meter flake fell off the first rock pitch of Royal Flush,” Garibotti said of the 1,200-metre route. “The original first pitch climbed an incredible splitter to the left, that ended in a blank face and used in the last five meters the flake that fell. Now it does not connect anymore. Alternatively people used to climb the flake itself, which was easier but scary. Now one needs to climb a chimney (6c A0) that has several dangerous, unstable blocks, one of which has a guillotine like edge. It is not possible to climb it as a chimney because of the blocks that are on the left side, but it should be free climbable.”
The classic route was mostly first climbed in the mid-1990s by Bernd Arnold and his team. In 1998, three climbers made the first complete ascent to Fitz Roy’s summit after fixing ropes. In 2005, Tommy Caldwell and Topher Donahue freed the crux pitch but bailed due to conditions. In 2008 Jimmy Haden and Mike Pennings made the first alpine-style ascent.
Garibotti shared a message about rockfall in Patagonia, saying, “The word permafrost is a misnomer. Its degradation is occurring at the same rate as the loss of glaciers or snowfields, making our mountain environment more unstable day by day, and with longer and longer unfrozen periods, the heat has time to penetrate deeper, and progress becomes exponential.” Read more here.
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