Climbing - Patagonia - Chile
Torre Norte
Febuary 2008
The East Faces
View from Main Park Enterance. L to R - Torre Central, Torre Norte with its 2 main summits, and then __
The Team
Dave Turner – a world class Big-Wall expert/guide
About Dave Turner
Myself – world class Want-to-be-a-Climber/apprentice
photo by Dave Turner
The Climb - Briefly
Via a Westside scramble and a few easy roped pitches, we reached the notch between the North and Central Towers. From there we followed the Monzino route that zigzags its way up the ridge. The route is rated at V 5.10a, and took use 9 ½ hours round trip from our camp located 500 meters from the peak's faces. Our Patagonia-Weather-Waiting-Room-Time was 9 days.
The West-Face
High Camp View - the 2 summits on the left are that of Torre Norte, the tallest being on the right. Towering over them on the right is Torre Central
Logistics
From the town of Puerto Natales we took a morning bus to Torres del Paine National Park. At the ranger station Dave extended his climbing permits. There we boarded a shuttle van to Hosteria Torres and hired 2 horses to haul all our gear in 8 K. Walked to Refugio Chileno, took delivery of gear and arranged for porter to haul in 50 lbs from there. We proceeded on with our backpacks to Campomento Japones and setup base camp. The following day the weather proved unfavorable to summit on, so we moved camp up near the top of a talus slope on Torre Norte. This took half the day, for we did a single carry which included all our climbing gear and 3 days of food. Near camp was a source of running water. Most mornings we rose at 4 to check the conditions and decide on going for the summit. Day 4 was cloudy so Dave made a supply-run to our coach at Campomento Japones and returned that evening. This guy can haul loads! We were set with 2 weeks of food and fuel, books, solar chargers for mp3-player, and more. Day 9, at 8:30 AM the weather looked promising so we went for the summit carrying a minimal of snack food, water, and clothing. After summiting we returned to our high camp before dark and slept the night there. Next day we moved to Campomento Japones. Day 11 backpacked out and took bus to Puerto Natales.
High Camp
Dave studies the peak Fortaleza (The Fortress) on the left and maps out a new route. On the right is Ecsudo (The Shield) which he recently soloed in a 34 day continues ascent on mostly overhanging rock.
Sunrise on Escudo
This, the most vivid fiery red light I’ve seen on a mountain was coming through the notches that separate the Towers.
Finial Pitch Marked - 30 Meters
On the Final Pitch
An enjoyable face climb rated at V 5.8. Left of me is my pack near the start of the pitchphoto by Dave Turner
Summit Joy
Sun, warmth, a light breeze, and a Top-Of-The-World-Experience.Our perch atop the 40 meter tall granite block that overhang on 3 sides was no wider than what you see and 5 meters long
The 2nd Repel
After a few repels we really got dialed-in, and about then we passed a team ascending, so to avoid potential rock fall from them, we rapidly fired off one repel after another. Dwarfed amongst giants, it seemed at times we were getting nowhere. It was mind-blowing. Utilizing a single 60 meter rope, 17 anchor stations were used to repel or belay climb-downs. The technical descent took 3 hours under favorable conditions. Dave’s expertise in getting us down safety and efficiently really showed – The Consummate Expert
Fellow summiteers - Mat and Winter
With them on the route at the same time we had safety in numbers. On their decent they had cleaned up some of the anchor station that had cord rubbish. I admire and respect these guys. They were hauling heavy packs as it were, facing a 20 hour day, and at anytime the weather could turn ugly, and still they took the time to stuff their packs full to make this the most climbed route of the Towers more pristine.
