All-woman team establishes 'Apollo 13' in Rio Turbio IV valley (Patagonia)

Patagonia is known for its beautiful mountains and rough climate. In the shade of iconic mountains like Cerro Torre and Chaltén lay other remote valleys with hidden gems.

After having heard the stories of the first ascensionists - Leo Viamonte, Seba de la Cruz, and other locals who ventured into Turbio IV Valley in Northern Patagonia in the 1980s - we were excited to explore this part of Argentina.

We were a team of five women from different backgrounds and nationalities, all driven by a deep passion for climbing and exploration: Belén Prados, Caro North, Fay Manners, Julia Cassou, and Rocío Rodríguez Guiñazú.

At the end of January we began our expedition. Two days of hiking and horse riding that included some treacherous river crossings brought us to "La Horqueta”, the confluence of the rivers Turbio II, III, and IV.

A little higher, deep in the rain forest, lies the hut Don Ropo, a rustic wooden building constructed and run by Osvaldo and Gabriel Rapoport. This was our starting point to access the Turbio IV valley.

From this point onward, we had to transfer all our loads from the horses to our own backs and hike another full day to reach the upper hut, Don Chule. From here on, we were required to transfer loads from the horse backs to our own backs and hike another day to reach the upper hut, Don Chule. After following small trails through dense forests and crossing two zip lines, we finally arrived at this quaint and welcoming hut. Built by members of the local climbing community, including legendary alpinist Sebastián de la Cruz, the hut served as our base camp for the next month. We were grateful to have such a luxurious shelter, especially on stormy days when rain hammered the valley.

We used the first days to explore the valley, look at different walls, check out the few existing climbs and repeat some pitches to get a feeling for the granite. We then decided to establish our bivouac at the Mariposa lagoon to try to open a new route up the hitherto unclimbed “El Cohete”.

We began opening our route ground-up and fixing a couple of pitches, but days with heavy rain forced us to go back to the hut for shelter. Fortunately, the rain never lasted more than two days and we seized every clear window to push our line higher. In between the storms, we also hiked down to get more supplies that the horses had delivered to the Don Ropo hut. This was also a great opportunity to be treated to Osvaldo's amazing “tortas fritas” and a wooden heated shower that he and Fede would heat each time we arrived. This welcoming, warm atmosphere made it hard to leave each time.

Our main objective on the wall was to establish a route that others would enjoy repeating - which meant hours of gruelling cleaning. Cracks were initially choked with plants and deep roots, slabs were covered by lichen, and while pushing our line further up into the unknown, we also worked hard on the pitches below to ensure the climbing was enjoyable. Lots of hard work shared between the five of us! While the first ascent involved some aid climbing, the cleaned pitches bow offer amazing, varied and sustained free climbing up to 7b+. We couldn’t believe the quality of the rock we encountered, coupled with the sheer variety of corners, cracks, flakes and slabs. It was a climber’s dream unfolding pitch by pitch.

Most of the route involved sustained climbing in the 6c/7a range on trad gear. We only placed bolts where necessary to avoid exposed sections. 600 vertical meters split into 13 pitches (most of them 50 m long) led us to the top of the Rock Pillar of Cohete. From there we were able to climb a further 650m of AD 4a scramble up to a snowy ridge and the first snow summit. More than a month of hard work, logistics and tactical choices paid off and at the end we created “Apollo 13 (7b+, 600m).

The route is equipped with 10 mm stainless steel bolts, two of them at each belay, and is equipped for rappels. As previously mentioned, we added bolts to some pitches to ensure that the climbing was both enjoyable and safe.The name Apollo 13 was inspired by the rocket sent into space whose oxygen tanks exploded—yet it managed to return safely to Earth. This mirrored our expedition: though we had our own "explosions," we all made it back unharmed.

Completing the route certainly didn’t mark the end of the adventure. Beyond the usual post-expedition tasks—descending and hauling out all our gear—we faced an added challenge: packrafting the entire Río Turbio down to Lago Puelo (Class I rapids). Navigating through these pristine landscapes proved challenging, but after one long day we reached the port where a boat picked us up and made the last lake crossing back to civilisation.

by Fay Manners