Climbing at Coliumo. Granodiorite Sea Cliffs!
I have made a few friends beyond my work and many of these are through the Club de Montaña RAUC, UdeC's outdoor club. There are a few who speak English and many more who don't. Weekly meetings are a forum for not just sharing trip reports and planning new ones but also giving focused talks on different techniques. So far I have seen presentations on traditional climbing, randonnée skiing that were informative and well structured...all given by students. It is great to learn the translation of all these different tools. One of the leaders in the group, Javier, is also a student in my class. Javier understands English and speaks a fair amount, but I do my best to practice Spanish and he is kind enough to oblige.
He invited me to go climb on the Saturday morning after the UdeC Ramadas and I was astonished to see the accumulation of trash blowing around Plaza Peru. Even more significant was the huge pile that had already been gathered and sorted by street cleaners and recyclers by 9am. After waiting for a few minute, we were on our way by bus to Tomé, then Coliumo. The climbing area is about an hour north of Concepcion and was heavily damaged by the Tsunami in 2010. The photos below are from a location about 2km inland from Coliumo.
The bus dropped us of about a 5 minute walk from the cliffs and I was surprised to see how nice the houses were here. This was my first time seeing a vacation spot for the more affluent of Chileans. Though the cliffs are not huge (mostly top roping with a few sport lines), the views are spectacular and I was entranced the whole day. Quality cracks, new anchors, sounds of birds and surf...it was a sensory overload. Javier, the Club and his brother we kind enough loan the necessary gear (rope, harness, webbing, shoes, carabiners, belay device) so that we could climb as we brought none of our kit from the states. First are some photos from Javier and I's day out. We spoke mostly Spanish and had a great time learning from each other.
This day solidified one thing for sure...Chileans are ultra-kind. They always bring extra food and always offer you some. Though one can be forgiven for not bringing something to share (especially a clueless gringo)...you will not be forgiven for turning down the generosity of others. Next time I will bring more that a sandwich for myself!
Javier and I held our lunchtime feast in an abandoned sea-cliff architectural masterpiece. Strange to see something so artfully designed and painstakingly constructed in a remote location just left to the elements (and hordes of kids with spray paint). Abandoned buildings in downtrodden corners of cities or decaying industrial centers makes sense but to see an elegant vacation home in a prime location withering away under the salt air felt somehow post-apocalyptic.
After a rough day climbing at the beach, we had to wait here for the bus. Tough life. While we were waiting I learned a valuable lesson about semi-rural Chile. There are many ordinary looking cars that drive around with a loudspeaker on top. As I cannot understand the garbled amplified Chilean, for little while I suspected that these folks were evangelicals or political supporters. Javier clarified that they are simply neighbors out selling fish, produce or eggs that they might have gathered or grown. Instead of going to the store, the store comes to you! Seems like a localvore fantasy. What a wonderful Friday!
He invited me to go climb on the Saturday morning after the UdeC Ramadas and I was astonished to see the accumulation of trash blowing around Plaza Peru. Even more significant was the huge pile that had already been gathered and sorted by street cleaners and recyclers by 9am. After waiting for a few minute, we were on our way by bus to Tomé, then Coliumo. The climbing area is about an hour north of Concepcion and was heavily damaged by the Tsunami in 2010. The photos below are from a location about 2km inland from Coliumo.
The bus dropped us of about a 5 minute walk from the cliffs and I was surprised to see how nice the houses were here. This was my first time seeing a vacation spot for the more affluent of Chileans. Though the cliffs are not huge (mostly top roping with a few sport lines), the views are spectacular and I was entranced the whole day. Quality cracks, new anchors, sounds of birds and surf...it was a sensory overload. Javier, the Club and his brother we kind enough loan the necessary gear (rope, harness, webbing, shoes, carabiners, belay device) so that we could climb as we brought none of our kit from the states. First are some photos from Javier and I's day out. We spoke mostly Spanish and had a great time learning from each other.
This day solidified one thing for sure...Chileans are ultra-kind. They always bring extra food and always offer you some. Though one can be forgiven for not bringing something to share (especially a clueless gringo)...you will not be forgiven for turning down the generosity of others. Next time I will bring more that a sandwich for myself!
Javier and I held our lunchtime feast in an abandoned sea-cliff architectural masterpiece. Strange to see something so artfully designed and painstakingly constructed in a remote location just left to the elements (and hordes of kids with spray paint). Abandoned buildings in downtrodden corners of cities or decaying industrial centers makes sense but to see an elegant vacation home in a prime location withering away under the salt air felt somehow post-apocalyptic.
A few routes run up the different sides of this fin of granite with bolts at the top. It is amazing how quickly the steel degrades in the salt air but we checked that everything was solid before committing to the routes. I'd love to come back here and spend more time. here is the view from the top of one of the routes. I guess a one-bolt rappel is ok here.
After a rough day climbing at the beach, we had to wait here for the bus. Tough life. While we were waiting I learned a valuable lesson about semi-rural Chile. There are many ordinary looking cars that drive around with a loudspeaker on top. As I cannot understand the garbled amplified Chilean, for little while I suspected that these folks were evangelicals or political supporters. Javier clarified that they are simply neighbors out selling fish, produce or eggs that they might have gathered or grown. Instead of going to the store, the store comes to you! Seems like a localvore fantasy. What a wonderful Friday!