In the morning we got a ride to the trailhead, from where we expected a 5 hour hike to the valley, aka. La Junta. Thankfully the hike turned out shorter since our packs weren't too heavy, and the tree cover provided a welcome respite from the heat! However, the horse flies (tabanos) were out in full force!

We had booked one of the two private rooms at the refugio, figuring that with our short stay this will provide the most comfortable and optimal setup (and after all, honeymoons are supposed to be about splurging!) We enjoyed meeting Daniel, Sylvina, their son Zen and the rest of the crew, all of which were really friendly and awesome. Did I mention they cook amazing dinners? It was hard to think about leaving the comfort of the refugio at all, but the impecable-looking granite was calling!

One thing we did not appreciate or realize prior to coming was the length of hiking required to reach most of the climbing. The walls were a good 3-4 hours away from the valley, on very steep and narrow (almost bush-whacking at times) paths - making day trips a tough proposition. It turns out most people hike in and bivy the day before climbing, and this is something we did not anticipate or have the gear for. We heard one of the best routes is "Al Centro Y Adentro" in the Amphitheatre area, which also has a slightly shorter approach than Trinidad.. so we decided to give it a go the following day. Rated 5.11c, I'm not sure what exactly we were expecting, but we were assured the 5.11c moves can be easily pulled through on bolts if the need arose... the majority of the route was supposed to be stellar 5.10 crack climbing, which is exactly what we were looking for.

So we woke up at 5am, and had breakfast at the refugio that was prepared for us the night before, before beginning the slog up. I'm not sure how much elevation gain the trail has, but it was a definite butt-kicker! We were definitely feeling a bit tired by the time we reached the bivy spot, wondering what exactly we have signed up for. From there, it's another hour up a talus-filled gully (also steep!), which culminates with a "squeeze chimney boulder problem" shortly before the base of the climb is reached. When we got to this spot, we were totally exhausted, and negotiating this crux may or may not have required quite a bit of grunting and swearing. :) However, we did negotiate it, and now were there, staring up at some amazing granite!

The climb has 12 pitches, 9 of them are 5.10, and 3 of them 5.11. The first two were fantastic, a lot of 5.9 climbing with some 5.10 cruxes thrown in; the third pitch was first crux, a 5.11b bombay chimney roof followed by a fist crack (having a single #4 camalot made that part very memorable). At that point, the sun hit the wall and created a total sweat-fest, with the tabanos coming out at full force. Climbing meant we were unable to swat at the $@(*%&!@ tabanos, and at times you just had to ignore them... until they bit a chunk off of you, that is! The 4th pitch was some spectacular 5.10d liebacking followed by a short face climbing section, and then we were staring at the real deal, pitch #5, the 5.11c slab crux of the climb. I must admit, it did not look like I imagined it... yes, there were bolts, but only 4 of them, in over 100ft of climbing, with basically zero options for other gear. How exactly would one 'pull through' it? Well, I was determined to at least try. After an hour long battle with the pitch (but we did get past the cruxy face!), we looked at the time of day (well past noon), and evaluated how much energy we actually had left. We also knew we have to rappel the entire route and repeat the 3+ hour slog down to the hut... all things considered, we admitted defeat, and bailed. Of course, the rope got badly stuck and I had to re-climb pitch #4 - glad not to be doing it in the dark completely exhausted!

The rest of the day down was uneventful, and I kept motivated thinking about the 2 pizzas we had ordered to be made for us when we returned... well, they were totally amazing, what can I say!

The next morning we woke up at 5am and decided to try it again... no, we actually just slept in. :) Feeling fairly trashed from the excursion the day before, we weren't motivated to go too far, and we soaked in the river, read the Cochamo issue of Alpinist, talked to other climbers, and generally didn't do much. In the afternoon, we recouped enough energy to think about climbing again, and went up to the only 'crag' close to camp, the 2-pitch Zebra wall. Daniel, Sylvina and Zen were actually planning on going there as well, for Zen's first multi-pitch climb! When rappelling down, we took some pictures and were mesmerized by the 8-year old's crack climbing!

Since this was our first trip to Patagonia, there was a lot more we wanted to see and do, so the following morning we had to hike out. We surely wished we could have stayed longer, Cochamo is such a fantastic spot!

Next: Bariloche/The Frey

	Cochamo streets	They had awesome salmon indeed!

	Cochamo	Cochamo playground

	Piggies cruising around town?!		Elliptical trainers with a view? Cochamo water-side..

	Hanging out in Cochamo by the water

			Starting the hike to Cochamo - La Junta

		Horses are how everyone gets around in this valley	Deep troughs from all the horse traffic and muddy conditions

	Lots of neat bridges making the trail quite easy!	Lots of water everywhere, and all safe to drink - nice!	Our first view of the granite, after emerging from the forest. Spectacular!

	Trinidad on the left and the left side of the Amphitheatre on the right		Gorgeous wildflowers

	The first wall on the left	Another beautiful meadow!	That's how one gets across the river.

			Almost there

		The gorgeous camping area. Trinidad and the Gorilla in the background/left

	Our sweet room for a few days!	That's what I call a room with a view...	The view from the refugio

	The main area of the refugio - beautiful

	Beautiful place to be a horse..	The river crossing cart for the refugio/trails to Trinidad and Amphitheatre

			Rio Cochamo

			All smiles at the beginning of the hike..

	The breath-taking Anfiteatro	Filling up on some crystal-clear water

		Pristine water	What a jungle..

		Melissa pauses while we contemplate the "squeeze chimney boulder problem"	At the base of the "squeeze chimney boulder problem" :)

	Spent. And we haven't even roped up yet!	Awesome rock

	Starting pitch 1 of Al Centro y Adentro

	Looking down pitch 1		Pitch 2 - 5.10d bulge to a weird offwidth above it

	And then an amazing 5.10+ finger crack. Pitch 2 is awesome!		Melissa coming up pitch 3. 5.11b "bombay chimney" move followed by a brief offwidth and then a #4 camalot crack from heaven for most of the pitch.

			My professional belay technique is showing..

	Pitch 4 - sweet 5.10+ lieback/dihedral

	On top of the lieback pitch	Looking down at the end of pitch 4 (some interesting 5.10 face climbing after the stellar liebacking)

		The 5.11c face pitch. It was very ugly..	Looking down at the 5.11c pitch from the last bolt. Pretty sporty, but then I suck at face.. this pitch demoralized us.

		Looking at our climb from the approach

	Hanging out at the refugio is way more relaxing than climbing ;) Reading the Cochamo article/history		The start of Apnea

	The second day was quite overcast, which was good as it wasn't super hot

	Melissa coming up the first pitch		The second pitch starts with a perfect hand crack and goes to amazing fingers on top

		About to get into the sweet finger crack	Trinidad

		Zen is one of the most psyched young climbers you will ever meet!	Zen makes liebacking look easy

	Zen and Daniel chilling out and bringing up Sylvina	Melissa cruises the 5.10d next to Apnea

		Anfiteatro	The Thinker

	Daniel styling Apnea	"Zen, you are making it look easy!" "Zen replies: Well, it is easy... for me." :-)

		And Sylvina finishes the climb for probably the first whole-family ascent of Apnea! :)

		Waiting for the bus in Cochamo. Of course, he was 30 mins late..	Our B&B in Puerto Varas

		Osorno volcano

		For some reason they love ellipticals in this place?	Fuel