The initial plan was to go ice climbing in Chile, but just four days before the flight my partner Marta Alejandre seriously injured her knee. I suddenly found myself searching for something to do with my motivation and time.

I decided to go to El Gigante, outside of Chihuahua, since it’s adventurous, easy to get to, and I know it well. In 1998 I was lucky enough to make the first ascent of the wall with Luis Carlos Garcia Ayala, establishing Simuchi (1,000m, VI 6c A4), and a year later we returned to establish the wall’s second route, Yawira Batú (750m, VI 6b A4+). [See AAJ 2003 for Garcia’s feature article about the climbing history of El Gigante and elsewhere in the Parque Nacional Cascada de Basaseachic, as well as companion articles in the same edition about other climbs and controversial rappel bolting on the formation.]

Carlos couldn’t come this time around, so I teamed up with 24-year-old Tiny Almada, a strong climber from Chihuahua. Once in Basaseachic, Oscar Cisneros and a couple of others helped us with logistics and carrying equipment to the wall.

Starting on October 8, we fixed the first three pitches of the route, then set off with 12 days of food and water. On day six we were hit by a large rainstorm and forced to stay in our portaledge for the next three days. We stood by and watched as the river below and the nearby waterfall swelled; it was beautiful to feel the strength of nature and witness the transformation of a canyon that feels as if it belongs to another era.

When the storm ended we started climbing again. Above, we found the best pitches of the route. We topped out after 11 days on the wall on October 18. We called the route Tehué (700m, 21 pitches, VI 7a A3).

The route takes a line up the center-left side of the wall and climbs the first pitch of my route Yawira Batú. Additionally, it shares seven pitches with another unknown route that appears to have been established recently. The bottom section of the climb was dirty and contained loose rock, requiring slow aid climbing. The upper section, on the other hand, breaches clean, high-quality rock. We used a variety of clean gear, bolts, and pitons on the climb.

Cecilia Buil, Spain