Panorama Photo

The classical Torres del Paine, for once seen from a location other than the classical mirador.

I am not able to keep the touristic routes for too long... So, after the first day (12-01) inside the Paine park, I had already abandoned them, pointing to Campamento Japonés well inside the Valle del Río Ascencio. The following day (13-01) I climbed what was to became «First Illegal Summit» - the name was created only afterwards, since at the time I did not yet know that it was to be the first of three. That ascent is documented, for now, by N.18667, and in the future maybe also by other works, if and when the queue will allow.
So, at the end of the day I had packed my little discovery tour, while a party of Chilean climbers had remained stuck at Japonés, due to the strong winds who prevented them once more from undertaking the planned climbs on the hidden side of the Torres. They had just performed a little tour to the high Valle del Silencio, in order to stock some climbing gear at an advanced base camp. They are probably walking somewhere inside www.panoramio.com/photo/124420214 but we met only down at the camp.
The next morning (14-01) rose rather threatening. Two of the party chose to remain inside the little wooden hut, under food supplies dangling from the roof, against the guaranteed assaults of the rats. They passed the time studying climbing sketches, mostly lay down by climbers from my region. People that they knew for having met in Canada, during a ski-mountaineering holiday, and that I knew as well - for example, one of them was the father of a student of mine, and also the owner of the shop where I had bought, for example, the boots that I was wearing that day. People believe that the world is very large, but under some respects this is not true.
Two other guys, less die-hards, decided to go for a break at their home in Punta Arenas, just to return to the battlefield some day later, right before the expiry of their climbing permits. Actually, permits in the Paine last one month, both it is not uncommon that the weather keeps one stuck for the whole time. So, I headed downwards for a while with the two, before turning right for the classical ascent to the Mirador Torres. I was unpleased to reenter the touristic circuit, but the problem was dampened by the fact that, actually, there was nobody around, and www.panoramio.com/photo/124447474 illustrates why.
So, finding the Mirador deserted, I thought that I could afford to head up the moraine without being noted and maybe fined. In the late afternoon I reached a little flat spot with two huge rocks separated by a likewise huge crack where, with the aid of two stone walls, it was feasible to shelter a tent. In my records I called this place «Campamento Jesucristo», since the latter name was written with stones on the nearby terrain.
The night at Jesucristo was a fierce one and, in spite of all the protections, the tent was several times at the point of flying away. The next morning (15-01) I needed a true "Blitz" action to exit and dismount the tent, as the wind relented for a few seconds. In the ever changing Patagonian weather I enjoyed also some rare minutes of sun, www.panoramio.com/photo/124453549 but, when I reached the little granitic outcrop that was to become «Second Illegal Summit», as you see, the weather was getting again worse. This continued for the rest of the day, but at evening I was safely down at the main camping near the big hotel Torres, ready to sleep a decent night. Not before, however, the meeting with a wonderful fox behind the huge moraines that I used up to the last moment to be protected from indiscreet eyes. This one was, I think, one of the most secret climbs ever performed in the Paine!

11 HF, Canon G1X, 28 mm equiv, f/8, 1/500 sec.

Larger: http://bit.ly/2J3Kp11
Gps track: http://www.wikiloc.com/wikiloc/view.do?id=12060871