Frey

Frey was one of the first destinations we had decided on for our trip to Argentina. The mountain destination came highly recommended from a climbing friend, and is easily accessible from the town of Bariloche. After a 3 hour hike from the Cerro Catedral ski resort, we arrived to Refugio Frey. Within the hour, before even setting up our tent, we were off to climb “El Diedro de Jim” (Jim’s dihedral). Our introductory climb in the area was a perfect dihedral followed by a perfect crack in the granite face of “Aguja Frey,” the nearest spire to the hut. A perfect start to the week…

That first night was a bit windy and rainy, and the daytime started cold, so we decided to take a hike instead of doing another climb on day 2. We scrambled up a nearby col towards Laguna Jakob (which we will have to go to sometime) and were floored by the view in the other direction. The amazing vista included Cerro Tronador and Nahuel Huapi lake and was a sneak peek of the view we’d get from Torre Principal later in the week.

That night we met a pair of nice guys from Buenos Aires – one of the guys hurt his ankle, so we offered to climb a classic route to the top of Aguja Frey with his partner. So, the next morning, we casually started the Sifuentes-Weber-Meiling route with our new friend Bruno! Climbing as a group of three has a certain advantage where you get to hang out with someone at the belays while the leader climbs. We had an absolutely great time and we snapped some selfies from the summit.

The next day we got up early for our major objective – Torre Principal (Primary Tower). First climbed in 1943, the route is an absolute climbing classic. The day began with a gorgeous sunrise, splashing red onto the mountains, a good sign.

After a grueling 2-hour hike/scramble to the base of the route, we racked our climbing gear and started the “Normal Route.” We climbed past old iron pitons (and used them as protection!), soaking in the views and the history as we made our way up the spire. At the summit we let out whoops as we marveled at the 360-degree view of the surrounding area. The horizon seemed endless. One volcano we could see in the distance, across the lake – barely visible – we later identified as Lenín Volcano, 107 miles away! Cerro Tronador stood mighty as always, and we could hear the rumbles of falling ice, even from 20 miles away. Condors circled above and below, and we listened to the air flow over their wings – swoooooooshhh – while we snacked on bread and cheese.

Eventually, we had to leave, and we began our 4-hour journey back to the refugio. The day was calm, so the lake was a perfect glass mirror. As the sun set, the reflection of the spires on the lake was sublime. Feeling hungry from a day of view-hunting, we devoured a pizza. Thank heavens they make pizza this far from town! That night, the stars were absolutely stunning as well.

The next day we took it easy! We slept in, had a nice breakfast, practiced yoga, and set off to a much closer spire to try a far shorter climb. And the short climb was amazing! It was our favorite pitch of the trip – an incredibly aesthetic dihedral called “El Diedro” (who knew?) on the M2 spire. Afterwards, feeling accomplished and very satisfied by the quality of the route, we decided to relax for the rest of the day. We bought a beer from the refugio and took a swim in Lake Traful. That night was the last for a lot of climbers as the weather was about to turn, and we had a singalong as folks passed around a guitar.

After the fun times, the great views, and new friends, we were a little bummed to leave Frey. But we made a lot of great memories and those are forever!