Cochamó Valle Day 2

LA JUNTA: VALLE DE COCHAMÓ

DAY 2: La Luna & Wetsuit Bouldering

Thursday, Nov. 13th, 2008. It’s Day 137 on The Big Trip.

Last night we drew up plans. For the plans we need climbing gear from Daniel. Lo and behold, Daniel goes over the top to provide us with what we need. I wanted to check out the climbing wall nearby called La Luna (The moon) and also the boulder in the middle of the river that already has a few DWS (deep water solo) routes on it. For all of this, Daniel gives us the following: a set up stoppers, a set of cams, a set of quickdraws, a rope, a nice Metolius bag to carry all of this in, and a wetsuit for my DWS desires!

The sad part of this otherwise non-sob story is this: we got lost on the way to La Luna. I mean really lost. We were hacking and pushing and ducking (all with heavy packs on) through thick patches of bamboo mixed with pricklies. For a few hours! Only to give up and begin returning to the Refugio when I spot a bolt on the rock wall that we had passed by hours ago noting how dirty and uncouth it seemed for it to already have routes on! I am biting my tongue while swallowing my words for that!

Rejoicing takes the form of looking up each route and climbing one. I lead the route. Alisa topropes it. She mocks me because her arms don’t get pumped (tired and permanently flexed) on it, saying that it must only be a 5.9 or so. Later at the refugio we look in the comprehensive guidebook that Daniel has compiled over the years from climbers’ notes to find that we climbed Amber, a 5.11 a/b! Alisa’s first! That’s a great way to start climbing in Cochamó!

But first, before we return to the refugio, I have other “business” to attend to. Namely, the Roca Island. To do this we find a beach of white rocks from which we can spot the rock island. Sadly, it’s too far away for a starting point given the frigid quality of each and every lasting water molecule between the island and myself. So, we hop back up through the brush to the path and find a place further upriver that offers a more proximate approach that also happens to be shallower. I put on the wetsuit to find that it’s a knee-high, armless wetsuit – a muscle wetsuit. After readying myself for this stunt, I push myself into it, jumping as far as I can from the boulder to avoid the stronger and deeper part of the current that runs right by the boulder. When I hit the water, I steady my legs and try to hurry onwards knowing that each moment that I am in the water I am weakened.

I hit a patch of rocks that I can hop on, avoiding the water patches. At the end of this rock hopping section lies another small water channel that I ford to get to a would-be beaver-dam. From there I can hop onto the boulder without a problem. I wait for Alisa to run around on the path back to the white rock beach. From there she can watch me boulder and fall! While waiting I can’t help but notice that there are now clouds in the valley, some of which could very well contain globules of anti-fun. I pray for Alisa to hurry so I can get this boulder problem underway!
Soon I am climbing, and happy. That is, until I realize that my climbing will be short-lived thanks to wet, fungi-loved rock, wet climbing shoes, and an ever-closer section of the boulder traverse that is difficult for its small foot holds. So you can imagine me pretty accurately if you picture in your minds eye a person in a black wetsuit with yellow climbing shoes and bare legs and arms yelling, “I don’t want to fall” across freezing waters, hanging onto wet holds on a boulder in the middle of Valle de Cochamó, in the middle of granite peaks, in the middle of crystalline waters, in the middle of a fearful but enjoyed experience of uniqueness. Yup.

Splash! I’m hurrying to Alisa on the beach. My breathing is fast and my arm movements wild as I begin to feel the effects of the water particles ganging up on my senses, beating them senseless bit by bit. As a result in progress, my breathing slows and slows and I begin to feel like I might cry! It’s not that I am sad or worried but that my body might be! Luckily I make it to shore and stand up, exhausted! It’s time to retrieve our bags and my real clothes back at the shoreline takeoff rock and then return to the refugio for some well-earned dinner times 4!