In reply to chris_B:
Hi Chris.
I've climbed the Monzino - at least I've climbed past the difficulties, though we didn't top out.
The information here from others is good.
There are a few not insurmountable hurdles to climbing in Paine and it's a bit more expedition style than climbing in El Chalten as I understand it, though the trails to access the park are VERY busy in high season.
From Puerto Natales, you need to get a bus into the park to Hotel las Torres (there are a couple of points of entry to the park, but this is the one you want). From there it's about a 2-4 hour (depending on fitness/loads) walk uphill to Campamento las Torres, where you can camp (paying) if you wish (book in advance for this one) and where you have to show your climbers' permit before you're allowed entry to Valle del Silencio for the towers. From there as Adam says it's about 40min to an hour to Campamento Japonese where there is a rudimentary hut and campsites in the woods by the river. It's sheltered here, so if climbing on the towers for a few days or more then it's a good place to be based.
From here it's about another 3/4 hrs up the moraine to the base of the talus beneath the tower, there are a few bivi caves here (Bonington Cave) on the edge of a small snowfield. A better bivi (Whillans Box Camp) can be had at the top of the talus below the wall north wall of the north tower (Taller del Sol, etc.), the bivi didn't feel particularly exposed to rockfall and is used frequently. To find this bivi, look to the top of the talus beneath the tower and you'll see two spurs, one extending from mid way across the tower and one extending from where the tower bounds the gully. Head in a roundabout fashion up about 1000-1500 feet of talus towards the first spur that extends from the middle of the tower until you find the bivi about 100metres below where the spur becomes well defined beneath the wall.
From this bivi, cross to the next spur that bounds the gully. Cross the spur easily and drop into the gully (don't climb the spur, tempting as it looks it's a dead end) at about Scottish III if icy, or vdiff, maybe severe if dry. Try not to hang about in the gully.
The Bonington Whillans start from the gully part way up to the col.
For the Monzino, carry on to the mind-bendingly exposed col, from where a pitch of about HVS 5a precedes the crux pitch of about E1 5b. It's from here that we bailed on scary old bolts, but my pal (jammy git) went back the following week and finished it; he said the rest was piss.
So yeah, about 400m from the col. The 12 hours would be all told from the bivi I think, that would be very slow from the col.
The Bonington Whilans looks hard. I would imagine you'd end up having a very hard time if you were expecting an E2, especially if you haven't already done any other super massive remote alpine E2s and given that there's C2 (I think) on it for most people. It was a major achievement for some very accomplished Chilean climbers I know. It gave me more of a E4 kind of feeling Looking at it - but what do I know. You could always try to Monzino and see how you feel about it.
Permits are a pain. You have to contact Difrol which is the government border agency to get permission, otherwise you won't be allowed in the back country. It is best to give this a couple of months as previously mentioned. Basically write to them giving details of yourself, tell them you're an accomplished alpinist (better yet an accomplished andinista!
) and give them the dates you'll want to climb in the park - best to include the entirety of your trip. Write it in Spanish too, the permit doesn't cost anything btw.
You'll get sent the permit which you then have to get stamped at an office as you enter the park. Here it gets confusing. Basically you get dropped by one bus at the park administration, do the regular check in/watch safety video with all the hikers. Then you get on a different bus to a different administrative building where you speak to an officer who'll stamp your climbers permit (MAKE SURE YOU HAVE ALL ALPINE INSURANCE DOCUMENTS AND PASSPORT ON YOU AT THIS POINT!) then you get back on a bus back to the first administration from where another bus will take you to Hotel las Torres and the trail head. Also, some of these buses might be the same ones too and fro - it was confusing, but just ask around.
Puerto Natales is a fantastic town, genuinely brilliant little place. Next time I go I'll stay there and make short hits on the park I think.
There's plenty of other routes in the park, not much of it well documented (Google). Shark's Fin is apparently not as easy as everyone makes out, though I've not done it. Bader Valley is also immense and worth a look.
I'll try to find the Difrol link for you.
Hope that all helps and good luck!
Tom
PS, there's a couple of pics of the Monzino etc. on my gallery here.
Post edited at 08:51
