Climbing in The Enchanted Valley

Flew back to BsAs, partied with my friends for a couple days before heading down to Bariloche... the entrance to the Patagonia.

Valle Encantado is a sport climbing spot that is hidden on private land about 40minutes north of Bariloche by bus. You have to ask the bus drivers to stop at the ¨virgin¨ (a roadside alter) and you yell across the river to have someone come and pick you up on a small inflatable raft. Using hands or oars, row across the river to the main campspot... tons of tents in a small areaa of climbers from around the world - french, brazilian, argentine, canadian, american. All told about 30 people camped along the river near climbing.

Most days consist of an 11am wake up, 1pm climbing with whoever is around (for me this consisted of a kick ass Canadian chick about my age and 3 men from alaska). You work some of the 100 odd routes, eating lunch in the sun, bathing in the river afterwards, and drinking mate until the sun goes down at 11pm and it´s time to start dinner. The wine usually comes out around 1am and the party can go until 5 in the morning. I love it. And I improved a lot in climbing, leading my first 11A and loving camping for 16 days...