Winter starts in Balcarce

Gaby on top of Sierra de los Difuntos

June is when winter starts in Balcarce, although it's been a fairly mild season this year. Gaby and I have been getting out and doing some roped climbs together, including two trips to Sierra la Vigilancia and one trip to Sierra de los Difuntos. Nothing too hard on my part: a couple of new 5.11as that took me a few tries to send, one solid 5.11 repeat (first send this year) and the rest mostly short 5.9 and 5.10 sport routes with an occasional short gear route thrown from time to time.

Paragliders on top of Sierra de lo Difuntos

One day we went to the area known as las Placas Naranjas in Sierra de los Difuntos and did seven routes..

Climbing on las Placas Naranjas

Higher up on the same route

Gaby on one of the best routes at the Placas Naranjas 

Sharing the mate

We also went twice to Sierra de la Vigilancia.

The T-shirt was an anonymous Christmas gift, so don't blame me

Gasby on top of Sierra la Vigilancia

My butt going up a generic 5.9 sport route

Gasby's butt going up the same route on top rope

Higher up the route

The route next door looks about the same

Matoco, a Himalayan hero, was teaching self rescue in el Nido

Gaby's butt from further away

Call it a rap

I've actually been keeping count and so far this year I have managed to redpoint (or onsight) 88 different routes, including a handful of 5.11s and one 5.11d. But does anybody really care?

Also I'm keeping up with the bouldering, which is definitely one of my favorite pastimes. Nothing too difficult lately, but I've been mixing it up a lot and sending the mods.

I did a new (for me) traverse problem in el Bosque. Not too hard, (maybe V2 or V3) but don't fall onto the tree stump

Heel hook

Gaby took some pictures of a classic V3 traverse problem nearby

The middle part of a classic V3 traverese problem that starts down and right

This part of the V3 traverse is juggy and pumpy

Grap the jug up and left and top out

Buster, the dog

I also bouldered a little bit at Techo Grande with Fede and Gaby. Techo Grande is situated on top of La Barrosa right above my house, but this was the first time I've been back there to boulder in a long time (7 years? 8 years?).

Fede working ther classic V6 problem, Asperix at Techo Grande

I'm back climbing the mods at Techo Grande 

Gaby making sure I don't kill myself

Bouldering there and back again

Daniel and Fede in the bosque

I have to admit, I haven't been very good about keeping this blog up to date. Here it is the beginning of July and I'm writing about stuff that happened in April. Anyways, back then, we had a visit by a climber from Australia named Daniel. At first I was a lttle intimidated. I mean, who would possibly choose Balcarce as a destination on a South American tour, unless they were some kind of mutant, badass roof boulderer who had stumbled on what La Barrosa has to offer, while searching the internet for some out-of-the-way place? Not quite: turns out Daniel was a regular dude and a recreational climber who had never really bouldered but had somehow discovered my blog and consequently settled on Balcarce as a place do a little climbing while touring South America.

Daniel and I  started out by sampling the boulders at the Costa Mosquito, but when that seemed a bit stiff for someone who had hardly ever bouldered, we settled on climbing some high (but mostly easy) face problems surrounding the classic V7 face problem known as Hanuman.

Daniel on an easy, but beautiful boulder face

Higher up on the same boulder

All and all, we climbed four easy (V0 or V1) beautiful and exciting face lines (only one of which I had ever climbed before) and worked out another very nice (and new for me) V3 line..

Big easy boulder problems

Last shot of Daniel (before my new camera went on the blink)

We also bouldered at Aracnofobia and did some routes in the bosque before Daniel had to leave for Buenos Aires.

In May, Gaby still wasn't bouldering much, but I did boulder with Fede. A couple of times we went to the area known as "El Huevo".

There are three easy but interesting roof problems on this little boulder located above el Huevo

One of the problems finishes straight up this short  crack 

There are actually a couple of  jams on this problem

Another boulder traverses out the bulge going right of the crack. 

.The problem finishes with a big move to a jug

Mica checked out the view

Fede worked on the classic V4 version of El Huevo

The V4  version of El Huevo starts from these good holds

El Huevo has a couple of big moves

There are three other versions of El Huevo: a V5 that starts a couple of moves down and right; a V8 sit start even further right and a V10 that traverses a fingery roof (out of sight) before linking to the sit start. 

We both did a V3 roof problem that begins from the sit start of El Huevo. 

Fede getting ready to heel hook on a V3 roof problem

Fede also worked a harder traverse problem that starts at the same place

Fede working a roof traverse

Fede working on a roof traverse near el Huevo

A few weeks later, I was back at El Huevo and tried El Techo de la Morsa, a beautiful V3 roof problem to the left of El Huevo

El Techo de la Morsa, Take 1

El Techo de la Morsa, Take 2

El Techo de la Morsa. Take 3

There are also some fun, easy problems at El Huevo, like this crack

A fun easy crack with a weird exit move on top

A weird topout with paragliders above

To the left, a couple of big moves lead to a funky traverse

More bouldering at El Huevo

Getting ready for a big move

Now comes a funky traverse

There are several problems, some easy, some harder, that top out here

Eyeing the topout

Hasta luego, baby!