New 900-metre 5.11 Big Wall Routes in Chile
The unexplored valley holds a number of unclimbed big walls and is found close to the famous Cochamo
Cristobal Señoret Zobeck and Mike Sánchez made the first ascents of two big wall routes Valle Escondido, Chile, in March. The huge granite walls see have seen little attention from climbers in the past, but is found close to Cochamo Valley, a popular climbing location.
The two spent a few days in the valley, bivying below unclimbed walls, before getting a good weather window. The first of the two routes was on Cerro La Sombra, which they called Super Natural. They climbed the 900-metre granite line following an obvious line up blocks, in corners and past steep sections. They used a piton to aid past one hard section. It’s the first of likely many new routes to be climbed on this aesthetic wall.
The two spent a few days scouting for the next route, which ended up being on the previously unclimbed wall near La Sombra. They called that 700-metre 5.11 Gaucho Universal.
The valley reminds us of the Big Wall Belt in B.C., found in Daniels River Valley. In 2017, the Red Alert Wall was opened by the route Jungle is Massive VI 5.10 C2 1,290 m by Travis Foster and Drew Leiterman.
Red Alert Wall in B.C.
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