Cochamó, Pared de Profetas, Otro Dia Otro Largo. In March 2009 Francisco Parada and I established a new route on the Pared de Profetas, which is the right side of the main wall in the Valle de Paloma. The three-hour approach follows the path cut through the jungle, past the left side of Pared Seca, and finishes with a kilometer of slabs (not recommended in the rain). Our route begins with 400' of 5.9 on Genesis (a shorter route), and then traverses right for 100' under the dramatic, sickle-shaped roof to reach the main chimney system. From here we climbed another six pitches (plenty of offwidth and chimney) to the summit. We used a combination of free and aid. The whole route can go free (5.11?), but free is another story when you have to clean the crack before every move and gear placement. This will be an excellent line with more traffic and cleaning.

The route has bolted anchors. For gear: 2 60m ropes, double set of cams (micros to #3 Camalot), three #4s, and one or two each of #5 and #6, and one set of nuts. Take every offset piece you own (cams and nuts; everything is flared), an ice tool (for cleaning, and the occasional mud- packed-crack placement), and gardening tools. Descent: eight double-line raps. The next-to-last rap (the 7th) begins on the right side of the roof pitch and the last anchor is a full 60m below— watch your ends!

We named the route Otro Dia Otro Largo (Another Day Another Pitch; III/IV, 1,500', 9 pitches, 5.10 Al) in honor of the time and hard work required. We thought we would move faster, only to learn that cleaning packed dirt, grass, moss, and plants from 600' of offwidth and chimney is slow. The route took five days over two-plus weeks (lots of rain), with an epic nighttime decent on summit day through waterfalls and rivers.

This route put the first in first ascent for me. It was my first trip to South America, my first time aid climbing, my first aid lead, hammering my first pin (that one pulled, but the second was better), placing my first bolts (by hand drill), my first FA, and the biggest route I’ve ever climbed.

Lessons: Cochamó is raw adventure climbing at its best. Always carry gardening tools on lead. Everything is on—tree roots, bushes, everything. Be prepared to climb through dirt, moss, plants, flowing water, and chossy rock on marginal gear. And most importantly, get down before it rains.

Clayton Laramie, AAC