cochamo

we just got back from 8 days in cochamo valley. quite an adventure and not too much climbing.

the hike in is brutal, a mud waller. most of the trail is in the forest/jungle since the place is a rain forest. horses are used by many to pack in gear, so the trail us very rutted and eroded and full of horse crap. we hiked in after a few days of sun still half the time were going through mud puddles, bogs, streams. what made the hike in worse, besides carrying almost double the normal weight with camping, climbing gear, and food for 8 days was we couldn't get a ride from town to the trailhead and had to hike an extra 3 hours on the road. it took us 9 1/2 hours to hike in.

the valley is beautiful with tons of waterfalls and huge granite walls. the refugio is amazing with a zip line and cart across to it. all the approaches and hikes are long, boggy, and wet through the jungle. on one approach i ended up knee deep in mud and Erick had to help me get out. views from the peaks (we did a day hike up to arco iris) were amazing.

we lucked out with 5 days of sun and only 2 days of rain. got in 4 days of climbing. we had limited gear and only one rope so were limited to short routes. plus we're really out of climbing shape. routes were very dirty, spent one day cleaning a small crag with brushes and nut tools that had just been bolted (we got to do the first ascents after the bolting), found lots of dirty and flaring cracks. did one 2-pitch route with a 5-star splitter crack for the second pitch. that made the trip worth it. met some nice climbers as well.

the area is beautiful but we think yosemite is more striking. climbing wasn't that great, rock quality varied a lot and many cracks were flaring. really glad we went and saw it and climbed a little, it was a fun trip but i doubt we'll ever return.

will try to post pictures from the past month soon.