In August 2018, Tomás Algañaraz (18) and I (23) arrived in the little town of Chochís, east of Santa Cruz de la Sierra on the eastern side of Bolivia. This place has plenty of potential for new routing. There are not a lot of cracks, but there is a lot of room for hard, multipitch bolted routes.

The main tower of Chochís is called by locals La Muela del Diablo (The Devil´s Tooth), and there are a handful of routes, the majority with bolts. There is also a sport crag call El Portal.

Tomás and I found a beautiful line on the southeast face of La Muela—the only line with a majority of crack climbing. We spent a week opening, cleaning, and freeing this spectacular route.
It’s only four pitches long and doesn’t get to the summit, because the last part is really sandy and grassy. However, except for the first pitch, all the pitches are steep and super high-quality rock (110m total, 5+,7a+, 6b+,7b). The second pitch is a mix of gear and bolts, and the two last pitches are entirely on gear.

The gear you need is a 60m rope, six sport quickdraws, three long slings, cams from 0.3 to 4, TCUs, and a rack of nuts. There are a few bolts that may be too short for the sandstone, so keep an eye on that. The belay stations are bolted, and all the route has been cleaned and is ready for free climbing. But pay attention to the bats inside the crack—they shout at you when you jam your hand!

We called the route Operación Zancudo (“Wasp Operation”), because we battled with them all along the route.

Chochís is an incredible spot for warm free climbing in an exotic place: cheap food, no climbers around, and easy access. Very near the tower is 350m wall, super-steep, a big challenge for future trips.

— Martín López Abad, Argentina

Editor’s Note: The first known ascent of this tower was in 2011 by an international team that climbed a buttress on the west side (see AAJ 2014).