HAS YOUR CLIMBING CHANGED AS A RESULT OF BEING IN PATAGONIA?
CAN YOU GIVE PATAGONIA NEWBIES A TIP?
I have certainly learned a lot. A big wall in Patagonia is different from anywhere else. The extremely unpredictable weather, long periods of waiting, and very long approaches. All these factors have definitely contributed to me greatly improving my mountaineering skills within a short time.
If you are pursuing an objective in Patagonia, it may take some time, but you must never lose hope. You have to wait, be patient, believe in your project and always be ready for the moment when the signs are favourable.
Everybody who has been to Patagonia and has left their footprints in Torre Valley and experienced the mountains in one form or another, is part of the great Patagonian story. It is not important who was first, but what you were able to experience in these mountains. I am happy to be able to say that I was able to experience everything. From the most beautiful moments on a summit to epic experiences. However, my climbing has not been changed by these mountains. Since I was a young boy, my main motivation was my longing for the mountains. And these mountains leave so much room for the craziest ideas. There is only one thing that has changed. During the first few years I looked forward to seeing the mountains, while today I look forward to meeting all my friends in El Chaltén again.
For me Patagonia is the perfect place to slow down! At last you have time to do nothing. And this is a great thing! Things you were never aware of suddenly become important. Here you learn virtues such as patience and finding inner peace. But when the weather clears, then you need to get energised, and you have to do that at the drop of a hat! In Patagonia it is always the now that is decisive and not the tomorrow, because by then you have usually already lost.
AND PATAGONIA? HAS PATAGONIA CHANGED BECAUSE OF CLIMBING? Patagonia has seen positive development from tourism. We hope that the Estaneias survive and that visitors from all over the world experience more than a boozy evening looking out of their hotel windows. You haven’t experienced Patagonia without the wind in your face. Time is running out for the inhabitants of El Chaltén. Ever since the road from El Calafate to El Chaltén was paved, the village is drowning in tourists in the high season. The biggest problem here is definitely logistics: disposing of waste water and garbage. The community needs to do something quickly, but there isn’t really a solution in sight at the moment! It is difficult to assess the developments. Anything can happen. Although tourism is developing rapidly, I hope that the mountains can retain their wild beauty and dignity. For me that means no houses or buildings outside El Chaltén. Patagonia must not be allowed to degenerate to a kind of Mont Blanc with a cable car up the mountain.
WHAT WAS YOUR MOST INTENSIVE EXPERIENCE IN PATAGONIA? The exposure in the middle of the Hielo Continental: whiteout, snow, soaked to the skin. That was an incredible feeling. While writing the book “Torre: Scream of Stone” I kept on zooming back to Patagonia. It was a good time. When Walter Saxer and I were researching for the film “Scream of Stone” (directed by Werner Herzog), we were squatting in one of the shelters on Laguna del Torre – wood and plastic, rain above us – when a young man entered, dug his ice axe into the crossbar of the tent and held out his hand to me. I looked him in the eye first, before taking his hand: he had no fingers. He introduced himself as “El Loco” – his hands had frozen on Cerro Torre. That is Patagonia. The greatest moments were the asado barbecues with friends at “Don Gera” where we always celebrated the end to a successful season. We always celebrated because we never left Patagonia as losers. The saddest moment was when the park rangers together with a headstrong climber tore down the historic hut in Camp Bridwell. For me it was the summit of Torre Egger. That was definitely one of the greatest highlights of my climbing career and my life as a whole.
Read the full stories with all athletes in the iPad® ISSUE 10 Aguja Mermoz “Vol de Nuit” (450m/90°/M5+/A1)
Cerro Torre “Ragni” (600m/90°/M4) Cerro Torre “Torre Traverse” (1,600m/90°/6b+/C1), attempt, reached top of Aguja Standhardt and Punta Heron Aguja Guillaumet “Brenner-Moschioni” (300m/30°/6b), solo ascent
PATAGONIA
Cerro Torre “Torre Traverse” (1,600m/90°/6b+/C1), Punta Heron, “Torre Egger Traverse”
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Cerro Torre, winter ascent via “Ferrari” route Thomas Huber, Tibu, Stephan Siegrist and Dani Arnold
Aguja Rafael Suárez “Anglo-Americana” (400m/40°/6c)
Fitz Roy “Supercanaleta” (1,600m/80°/5+)
“Festerville”, Aguja Standhardt (400m/90°/6c) First ascent “Notti Magiche”, Torre Egger, west face (1,000m/7a/A2/W14)
Torre Egger, new route, attempt at the west face 12
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Aguja de la Silla, first ascent of a new route. Sudden deterioration in weather with Thomas Huber, Mario Walder, Hansjörg Auer, Much Maier. Cerro Torre “Ragni” (600m/90°/M4)
Luis has seen a lot of things happen here. He has seen policemen who have become Rastas, hippies who have become businessmen, gauchos who have become climbers. It is the cosmopolitan mix in this small melting pot in the middle of nowhere. No wonder that the locals communicate using a colourful mix of Spanish, English, German, Italian, Portuguese and many other languages. Luis reckons that has a lot to do with the weather, which can change so rapidly and distinctly in El Chaltén. When Luis arrived here, there was no infrastructure: twelve hours of electricity a day, a few gauchos, gravel roads and lots of wind. Now there are taxis, good restaurants, Wi-Fi and lots of wind. In fact, the wind is one of the few consistent factors down here. “The wind is your boss,” says someone who should know, who has actually seen people with 35-kilogramme backpacks be blown ten metres through the air. “Patagonia is wind”, says Luis. He also says: “The extreme weather helps you to feel more human again. Part of nature.” Luis has always felt part of nature, even without the Patagonian wind. He was always the outdoor type. Kayaking, swimming, cycling or competing in triathlons. And climbing. That is because when you live here, you have to go climbing. It is not only about
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Fitz Roy “Tehuelche” Aguja Standhardt “Festerville” with Much Maier, Mario Walder, Hansjörg Auer. Storm front forces retreat. Aguja Guillaumet “Trollo y Trollin” (500m/75°/M6+), combination of two routes (five new pitches)
the big walls; around El Chaltén there is also excellent potential for sport climbing and bouldering. The annual Boulder Festival at the beginning of February is one of the highlights for Luis because it is about having fun. They stay up all night, bouldering and slacklining to a backdrop of sound and drinks. Then there is the “Piolin de Oro”, the prize awarded for the best alpine performance on the granite walls at the gateway to El Chaltén. Things get serious at the gateway to El Chaltén. It is only 22 kilometres from El Chaltén to Cerro Torre. “But,” says Luis, “it is not just El Chaltén you are leaving. With every step you take you are getting farther away from civilisation. When you are right at the top you can even see the village. But if the weather changes from one moment to the next, it can seem as far away as the moon.” Luis was right on top once. On Cerro Grande, to be precise, with his buddy Andy Schnarf. People in the village were slightly surprised at that. Of course Luis goes climbing, but on big walls? Pragmatically, Luis regards himself to be neither an alpinist nor a climber: “I have many objectives and dreams in my life. Climbing is only one of them.” Another is photography. Another is music. His band “Siete Venas” has just released its 3rd album and that keeps Luis busy with performances, promotion, videos, graphic design and so on. Whichever walk of life he
2014 … and many more projects in 2014
chooses, Luis wants to keep learning. Day by day. In his opinion, he has already learned the most important thing in life: “If you can’t find happiness in your heart, then you won’t find it anywhere. But when you have found it, then your life takes on a different dimension. Then it doesn’t matter whether it is raining or not, whether you have money or not, then you are happy.” And Luis found happiness in El Chaltén.
LISTEN TO “SIETE VENAS”
11 2011