UKC

Hi all,
I will have about a month to kick around Patagonia next February, woo!
I've travelled pretty extensively around there before, way back in 1999, but would love to do some climbing this time, perhaps the Monzino on the north tower of the Torres del Paine, or the Whillian-Cochrane route on the Poincenot, or something of similar difficulty if anyone has any recommendations?

However, I'm not sure if any of my usual partners will be able to come out and join me, and its not really the sort of place I'd be happy going with someone I'd not really climbed with much before. So I'm considering the idea of hiring a guide, despite normally much preferring to climb independently with mates. Does anyone have any recommendations? Any idea how much it would cost?

Thanks for any advice.

In reply to MikeR:

Bump.

Any accounts of the above or similar routes also welcome.

In reply to MikeR:

You might try the following two guys, both fun to hang around and IFMGA.

Jorge at Andescross.
jorge@andescross.com
http://www.andescross.com/andescross-uiagm-mountain-guides-mountaineering-t...

Fransico Medena(Pancho)
francisco@chilemontana.com
www.chilemontana.com

In reply to MikeR:

John Biggar of this parish used to offer guided climbing on the Torres del Paine on his website

http://www.andes.org.uk/index.asp

though its not there any more so i dont know if he still does it. might be worth contacting him, he may have local contacts who he could recommend even if he's no longer doing it.

best wishes
gregor

In reply to MikeR:

Hi Mike.

No idea about guides I'm afraid, but I did (most of) the Monzino back in February, great route and place. Recommended.

Feel free to email me if you have any specific questions.

Tom

In reply to Removed UserOwenDay:

Thanks for all the recommendations. The Guillaumet Spire on Jorge's site looks pretty good too.

In reply to Tom Last:

Hi Tom, thanks for replying. I'm off to bed now having just finished a night shift but will send you a message later. Cheers.

In reply to MikeR:

I'm from argentina and climbed a few times in el Chalten and Bariloche.

Bariloche is easy, mostly sport climbing, there is a guide, and you can find partners relatively easy.

Chalten you've got a sport climbing guide and there is a new guide for the fitz roy and adjacent peaks which is amazing. I'm not sure about hiring a guide to join you, but as you said... you need to be careful. Is definitely not like a climbing day at Pembroke.

Another thing is... that area is super turistic... so expect prices to be very expensive, even more than what you would spend here in the UK or Europe.

If you want to buy the guides just let me know, I can help you find them.

Juan

In reply to MikeR:

Forgot to mention in Bariloche you can also do trad en Frey, amazing place... been there in Feb and really recommended. is not as extreme as el Chalten and still very beautiful as you are in the middle of the Andes mountain chain.

In reply to juanbrein:
Hi Juan,
Thanks for the advice, and thanks a lot for the offer to help with guidebooks. The trip still in very early stages at the moment with nothing concrete planned, but if I decide to get a guide for the area I'll let you know, plus a Fitzroy guide would look very cool on the shelf!

I spent a good few months travelling around Patagonia back in 1999 although never made it to el Chalten, but I expect it will have got a lot more tourist since then.

In reply to MikeR:

Try emailing Rolando Garibotti for El Chalten and Frey. He has written guidebooks for both areas and he can sort you out if he's not available himself.

His email used to be rgaribotti@yahoo.com in 2011.
http://www.patagonicas.com/rolando-garibotti/

In reply to MikeR:

You can also find some ideas about the climbing there if you check my trip reports from 2007 and 2011. I've done the easiest routes in the area but not any major ascents. http://www.patagonia.fi

As for Fitzroy I'd say you'll need to be fit enough to do the Nose in a Day if you wish that. The easy routes there are 500m+ D/TD and comparable to any major route in Chamonix (Frendo Spur, Gervasutti Pillar, Chamonix Aiguilles traverse, Jorasses traverse etc). Technically they may be easier but the weather and the walk-ins add up.

In reply to adnix:

Thanks for the suggestion, and for the link to the trip report, it gives a good sense of the amount of hiking involved. Unlucky falling ill during one of the two spells of good weather.

I'm reasonably fit at the moment, but could always be fitter. It'll give me a good source of motivation for some serious hill training over the next few months.

Looks like I might have found a partner to join me out there anyway.

In reply to no_more_scotch_eggs:

I don't offer the Torres guided trip anymore. For locally based guides I can recommend Jorge Kozulj at Andescross or Merlin Lipshitz. Another guide who worked for me, Pere Vilarasau has guided down their a lot, including things like the supercanaleta on Fitzroy. However he's not based down there, I thijk he's back in Catalonia now.
Send me a personal message or email if you'd like me to put you in contact with any of them, but note I'm out climbing in Peru another ten days yet and gonna be off-line for the next 4 or 5 days.
John Biggar
ANDES

In reply to Andes:

Thanks for the recommendations. I've hopefully found someone to come out and join me so hopefully won't need a guide, but I'll be in touch if he can't make it.

Have a good time climbing in Peru.