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Canadians Climb New Route in Patagonia

The new route follows an independent 600-metre line up Aguja Poincenot’s north face at 5.9+

Canadians Ripley Boulianne and Mateo Esposito have climbed a new route in Patagonia. Their trip was supported by the John Lauchlan Award. Boulianne and Esposito made the first ascent of The Power of Independent Trucking on Aguja Poincenot’s north face, a 600-metre ED- 5.9+.

“We’re stoked, it was an awesome adventure, the biggest adventure of my life so far for sure,” said Boulianne, who’s originally from Gatineau but now lives in Calgary. “Everything went well for the most part. We were surprised by all the wide climbing and it slowed us down significantly, but I think we climbed well.”

Boulianne and Esposito, who was born in Vancouver and now lives in Squamish, onsighted every pitch. Boulianne said, “It was pretty wild our whole line just went. I’m definitely biased but I think it’s a line worth repeating when the approach is in good condition and it could definitely be done in a day with the right tactic.”

Boulianne said the climbing is generally moderate, protects well and is characterized by lots of “blue collar wide climbing, the Steck/Salathe of Patagonia if you will.” When asked if they’d head back out for more climbing, Boulianne said, “I’m thinking of using the next window just to go scope out future objectives and learn more about the area.”

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