Rab Presents: Picaflor | Chasing a 1000m Big Wall Free Climb in Chile 

I have only been to Yosemite once but I read every book I could find about it before I went, and although I loved it there I couldn't help feeling that the things I had read about were just history now. In Cochamó I felt like I found that same spirit of adventure and possibility that the early days of Yosemite had and it was a fully spiritual experience to open a route there. The rock is steeper and more compact, the walk ins are way harder, there is no cell reception and noone can watch you while you are on the wall so it is not for the faint hearted. You have to be tough in every way to survive there but when you get back to camp the people are wonderful and supportive and you are soon ready to head out to the grey high seas again. That valley will always hold a special place in my heart ❤️

Cheers Cris! It was such a riot having you up there w us, thanks for the shared psyche. Hope alls well with you!

yeah! thought the same, some chilean music too - great video, greetings from argentina

thanks for noticing !

I get the impression they were blessed by editing.

+1

Did u ever find out what the song was?

The first ascent team placed some bolts, we added more in certain key spots for free climbing :)

Thank you! Filming was an endeavour in itself for sure. I spent 2 weeks w the team on the wall climbing and shooting, ascending the same ropes they used to work in the route :)

Canon R6 :)

Me. I bought 125 bolts to use on the first ascent (including 2 bolt anchors at every station). That still leaves a lot of space, it's a big old route. The Rab team will have bought a few more to make the new pitch and I said I was very happy if they wanted to add a couple wherever it was needed to make the free climb possible. All the bolts I bought were stainless expansion bolts imported by Daniel and Silvina at Refugio Cochamó. There is a fairly widely held belief there that you can use pegs if you need to on first ascent, but you never leave them in situ and should consider placing a bolt for the next ascent.

No it's an incredible and impressive super close attempt at a first free ascent which is an equally valid thing (if not more so by some measures). I did the first ascent and I love what these guys did. They don't claim it as a first ascent so if that's what you thought you need to watch it more carefully.

that is free soloing

@@don4015 In that case, why is this called "free"? How is it different from not free?

Free climbing means you aren't aid climbing. Aid climbing allows you to use means other than your hands and feet. This could be pulling on cams, nuts, using hooks and ladders attached to them to get through hard sections. Alot of routes are climbed mostly free and you have to aid a few sections unless you're really good. Free soloing is no rope or aid. Soloing means by yourself but you can aid sections, alot of people have soloed el cap only one has free soloed.

Crux pitch is about 900m off the floor and needed to be found and bolted as it was a deviation from the original blank bolt ladder, makes sense why it couldn't get tried on lead til later in the trip. Personally I would have seen it as perfectly valid to aid the short bolt ladder, free the rest and call it a win - Hayden went the extra mile to get the pure free ascent. Kudos to everyone involved 😀

“Prendidos” not “perdidos” haha

@@jaronpham5283 nooo man, is "Perdidos". He say this because its raining and everything is wet so they cant go on. 7:40