Rock climbing multipitch and big walls in Chile : Central zone

Chile is undoubtedly a world-class rock climbing destination that should be on your checklist if you're a climber. Throughout the country, you'll find endless areas for sport climbing, trad climbing, bouldering, and big wall climbing. That’s why, in this article, we aim to gather information spread across various sources to make it easily accessible for you.

The central zone is known for its stable weather, where despite strong winter storms, you can still climb at lower altitudes. In the summer, when it gets very hot, it's the perfect time to head to the mountains in search of higher altitudes for a more pleasant climbing temperature. You can also find a wide variety of rock types, including granite, basalt columns, tufa with pockets and slabs, conglomerate, and the characteristic andesite of the Andes mountain range.

Here, we will highlight some of the best places to practice multi-pitch and big wall climbing in Cajón del Maipo, located in the central region of Chile.

Cajón del maipo

Torrecillas

Torrecillas, located in El Manzano in Cajón del Maipo, is a multi-pitch climbing paradise. It offers over 300 climbing routes with excellent quality walls and various features, including slabs, overhangs, tunnels, and cracks, all on compact, highly adhesive volcanic rock. The routes extend up to 350 meters in length. Torrecillas is known for its long runouts between bolts, making it a place for intense and sometimes dangerous climbing, especially for those without experience in adventure terrain. Caution and experience are recommended, as this is not a suitable location for beginners. Access is through El Manzano, and climbing can be done year-round, with advantages and disadvantages depending on the season.

https://www.lacumbreonline.cl/blog/rutas-y-topos/guia-de-torrecillas-%E2%80%93-segunda-edicion

Recommended climbs

• Centro de masa 5.10c
• Tripi para 2 inf + hermanos macana 5.10b
• 5120 + Dueños de nada 5.10c
• Los Chupa Cuarzo 5.11d A0
• Maipo libre 5.12a

Best time to go: Year-round, but preferably in autumn from March to May.

Alfalfal

The Alfalfal sector is a true gem for climbing in Chile! Located in one of the valleys of Cajón del Maipo and surrounded by stunning granite walls, it is one of the best destinations for granite crack climbing. Additionally, the accessibility to the various routes is very convenient and close to the parking area. You'll find cracks of all sizes, overhangs, chimneys, slabs, and more! There are also routes with more than 8 pitches for big wall climbing.

To access to Alfalfal, you must obtain your permit at: https://permisos.bienes.cl/

The team of Grandes Paredes Chile did an excellent job creating the first digital guide for this traditional climbing sector. 

To access the digital guide, you must first fill out this form from "Grandes Paredes Chile."

forms.gle/xz1yABpwSsBbqnEg8

Recommended climbs

• Águila mora 5.11
• Buenos días señor litre 5.12a
• El Cuete 5.10+

En este link también podrás encontrar información sobre más rutas de multilargos en el Alfalfal:

https://www.wikiexplora.com/El_Alfalfal:_El_Techor

Las Melosas

Las Melosas is a fantastic climbing spot that offers single-pitch sport climbing, bouldering, and multi-pitch routes that reach the summit of La Aguja La Melosas, with some challenging routes.

ttps://rutag25.cl/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Las-Melosas.pdf

Recommended climbs

• El zorro y el minero 5.10c 6 largos
• Código Bushido 5.12b 6 largos

Best time to climb: September to May

San Gabriel

This place is located in Cajón del Maipo, named after its iconic Cerro San Gabriel. On its southern face, you'll find a massive granite wall with many high-quality multi-pitch and single-pitch routes featuring incredible slabs and cracks. Most of the climbing routes here are traditional or mixed.

El jote 400 mts 5.11- 7 largos

It’s a vertical and sustained climb where you follow an excellent crack system, encountering finger cracks, hand jams, fist cracks, chimneys, off-widths, and roofs. It’s one of the most classic wall routes in the central region.

In this link you can find more information about the climb

Decifrando el Jote

And here you can get a closer look at one of the iconic pitches of this great wall in Chile: the 4th pitch of "El Jote."

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C4_p5_0J_sR

Colombianos 450 mts 5.10a 10 pitches

This is one of the most classic and accessible big wall routes in central Chile. The "Colombianos" route is known for offering a vertical adventure where you'll need to apply your crack climbing technique and navigation skills. 

In this link you will find more information about the climb and the approach 

https://www.wikiexplora.com/Colombianos,_Cerro_San_Gabriel

Time to go: December to April

Punta Zanzi

The legendary Punta Zanzi is an impressive wall that captures the attention of any climber with its sheer verticality and massive size. It has three main sections: Hitchcock, Contra Fuerte, and Punta Zanzi. These walls offer a variety of routes with different grades and excellent cracks. Climbing here requires a high level of experience and extreme caution on the scrambles that connect the walls.

Punta Zanzi – El Valhala

Placa verde

One of the classic walls in Lo Valdez, its most popular route is "Los Miserables," which stretches for 400 meters and is rated 5.11a with 10 pitches long. Additionally, there are other routes available, such as "Maletín de Gasfiter" and "Gracias a la Vida."

http://www.aruficax.cl/outdoors/miserables.pdf

https://www.wikiexplora.com/Placa_Verde:_Los_Miserables

Placa Roja

Filo norte

It's a scenic traditional climbing route that offers an incredible view of the valley and the surrounding mountains. It is characterized by its easy difficulty level, and you can rappel down the route along the same ridge or descend via "Marea Roja."

In this link you can find more information about the climb

https://www.wikiexplora.com/Placa_Roja

Video where you can see in more detail the wall

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cz4hOdSuOHZ

Marea roja 5.11 , 8 pitches 200 mts

This is a high-quality, sustained sport climbing route. It is well protected and is characterized by its face climbing moves on the most vertical section of the wall.

https://www.wikiexplora.com/Placa_Roja:_Marea_Roja

https://www.mountainproject.com/route/114275264/marea-roja

Valle las Arenas

Fondo marino Wall

This is a vertical wall of sedimentary rock located at the entrance of the valley. As you climb it, you'll encounter marine fossils dating back thousands of years. Its verticality and the view of the towering mountains nearby are truly breathtaking.

The approach to reach the wall is approximately 1 hour from where Alto Maipo was located.

Nautilus

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El gran diedro del mai

It’s a very fun route that follows the most prominent dihedral of the seabed wall. It has a reputation for having poor rock, but the truth is it’s not bad at all. Both routes can be exited by walking from the summit.

• 200 mts, 5.9, 6 pitches
• Rack: Apline draws and double rack

Here is a link with more information about the climb

http://chilemountains.info/morado_kalkwand.htm

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Papi Birthday

This was a route we opened on the wall of Punta Camanchaca alongside Inti Mellado and Tomás Wenborne on November 1, 2020.

The route is named this way because we went to establish it in an "express" way with a 2-day itinerary to make it back to Santiago in time for my grandfather's birthday that night.

On the route, we only left one piton on the first pitch and a cord to rappel from a rock horn down to the gully leading to the summit.

Pitch 1: It starts in an obvious, vertical, and sustained dihedral. You arrive at a ledge where you can set up a gear anchor.

Pitch 2: Continue straight up and a bit to the right until you reach a large ledge where you can find a spot to set up your anchor.

Pitch 3You start with a traverse to the right and take the most obvious crack upwards; the crack is somewhat closed and vertical. You reach a ledge where a chimney begins and set up your anchor there.

Pitch 4You start by climbing an off-width at the beginning, then continue up the crack system that will lead you to a ledge where the route ends.

To descend, you need to rappel down to the gully behind the wall. From there, you can decide whether to head to the summit or walk down via the standard route.

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Cerro Arenas: Pared sur

El Arenas es uno de los cerros más icónicos de la zona, su imponente pared sur llama a escalarlo. Es toda una aventura entre compromiso, navegación y partes de roca mala. Una vez te montas a escalarlo lo mejor es salir hacia la cumbre y bajar caminando por la ruta normal.

Here is the beta for this wall:

Pitch 1: Climb the evident chimney that leads to a easy low angle terrain 

Pitch 2: It goes up the south-facing wall, but you can take a variation on the west wall that follows a crack starting with finger jams and widening to hand jams. This variation increases the grade to around 5.10c

Pitch 3: Follow straightforward the most evident terrain.

Pitch 4: Climb up some loose blocks until you reach a hand crack, then follow a fist crack that exits through a dihedral to the left. After exiting the dihedral, set up an anchor to the left.

Pitch 5: Climb over a block to the left, then continue on a slab that gradually eases off. To the right of the slab you'll find a piton.

Pitch 6: Continue to the right of the ridge until you reach a block with a sling ring where you can set up the anchor.

Pitch 7: Climb up an unprotected slab for approximately 20-30 meters. After that, there’s no protection until the anchor. Although the climbing is easy, it is delicate and requires commitment.

Pitch 8: Easy traverse to the left, set up an anchor in a hand-sized crack on the slab.

Pitch 9: It starts with a hand crack that narrows to fingers, then climbs over some blocks that appear to be loose. It ends just below an overhanging chimney.

Largo 10: Climb up the overhanging chimney and then continue up a dihedral to the left. This is where the route ends, after which you can walk to the summit

Para escalar esta pared es necesario poder navegar bien en la ruta ya que es fácil perderse, este topo no te asegura que irás por el camino correcto, por lo que es necesario tener harta experiencia y planificar bien esta escalada.

Approach

The approach to Cerro Arenas is one of the cruxes as it's easy to get lost and end up climbing in unnecessarily exposed areas. Here, we provide a marked line for one of the options, but keep in mind that it requires excellent navigation skills and you'll be venturing into a long, exposed approach that sometimes features poor quality rock.

La trepa parte caminando por el acarreo en dirección la derecha hasta encontrar un tumbado que te lleva hacia  ̈el brazo de roca¨ que conecta con “el gran triángulo”, en ese brazo de roca hay realizar una  travesía hacia la izquierda apuntando hacia una especie de chimenea con un bloque medio amarillento, se hacen unos pasos delicados sobre unas pequeñas repisas y se llega a un paso aéreo hacia la izquierda (debe ser un paso de 5to grado, fácil pero expuesto). Luego la trepa es fácil y evidente, hay que seguir hacia arriba tirandose de apoco a la izquierda. Calcular entre 4-6 horas desde que se parte la trepa.

For the descent from the summit, follow the normal route. Here’s a link with all the information about the route and a downloadable GPS track.

https://www.wikiexplora.com/Cerro_Arenas