Climbing Placa Verde

Rundown:  Climbed a long multi-pitch route in Cajon del Maipo on a week day off.

Location:  Cajon del Maipo, Chile

Climbed 8 pitches of a ten-pitch climb in Cajon del Maipo called Placa Verde.  The green hue of the stone gives the climb its name.

Here's a little video clip of the climb:

 

Spent the night in a lodge in the valley before attacking the base of the climb before sunrise the next morning.

 

Scrambled up to the first pitch in the twilight.

Checked our gear one last time and left the ground, trying not to look too far down at the receding ground.

Climbed fast and efficiently.  Place Verde isn't very aggressive.  Easy climbing and big exposure makes it a lot of fun.

Miranda provided journalistic coverage from WAY below.  You can see her on the rock a couple hundred feet below.

The day was gorgeous, with a little cloud cover, not too hot.  Climbing double ropes and three people went surprisingly fast.

Condors circled waiting for us to succumb to the elements, but Gwen and Sergio and I pressed the climb.  You can see our size in relation to the pterodactyls.  We're center towards the bottom of the shot.

And up, and up, and up.  Took turns leading the fairly easy (5.7 - 5.9) pitches.  Bolts made for secures anchors, and good friends made for  easy belay stations.

You can just make out our climbing party center mid-frame here.

Skies turned cloudy and we got some wind.  Also didn't have enough sunlight for the last couple of picthes.

Bailed off the climb after the 8th pitch because of inclement weather and sunlight.  Great weekend excursion!