Frey in a Day 2, Climbing!

Frey, March 26, 2009
This time I went to Frey in a day with my friend Pablo, with the goal of conquering some adventurous trad. multi-pitch climb! Above, I am atop the 2nd pitch of some unknown route I´m calling Visteme!

Pablo and I, atop Pitch 3, about to lower and downclimb in the coming darkness! Great feeling to be in Patagonia with a friend, atop a long climb with the sun setting on the nearby towers!

Small panorama of Pablo working Pitch 1.

Pablo, exhausted but with me at the anchor system built after Pitch 1, Laguna Toncek and Refugio Frey in the distance! Unfortunately, I placed one piece of pro, my Omega Pacific pro #2 ¨too well¨ such that, after setting the next anchor system, Pablo could not remove it. After fifteen minutes of trying, I used my studies for rescue systems to tie off Pablo and lower myself to his postiion and try and rescue not Pablo but my euipment! Sadly, it´s still there now. It wouldn´t budge a nanometer! Oh well, better safe than sorry! Not again! I´ll be more careful for now not to wedge a piece of equipment into a stuck position! Lesson learned! Now, onwards and upwards on this adventurous climb that may very well be a FA, if not a first climb in a lot of time! It´s not even in the guidebook for all of Frey!...

Panorama of Pablo working the 2nd pitch, navigating some little plants in the cracks. In the background you can make out the other Torres and the agoyo leaking from Laguna Schmoll, directly across the way.

Pablo climbing Pitch 3, by far the easiest pitch. I only placed two pieces of pro the entire pitch!

Pan of Pablo climbing pitch 3 - or should I say hiking?!

Here´s Pablo with the two ropes (one hauling/rescue rope; one climbing rope) atop our 3rd pitch! Success in sight!

I had to capture something of the sunset on Frey from Pitch 3!

Pablo breathes a sigh of relief on top of his first trad climb, and his first multi-pitch - what a day!