Climbing Manzano

[Cajon del Maipo, Chile]

in honor of holy week, i prepared a daypack and set out to meditate in central Chile’s finest sanctuary: Cajon del Maipo. 

 just an hour outside the city of Santiago, the canyon area boasts several glaciers, natural hot springs, and abundant rock for various levels of climbers.  in the summertime, it’s a popular escape for city dwellers to enjoy a weekend backpacking or camping... skiing in the winter months.  

this weekend, i was fortunate enough to travel with a group of Chilean climbers, new friends, who were eager to show me the ropes of a section known as Manzano. 

that morning, with the blessing of the resident gaucho, we made our way through paddocks of spotted horses, over a hurried stream (the only bridge was formed of a score of spilt logs, which were not unknown to catapult the absent-minded crosser), and up the mountain in a little under an hour.  we greeted several chipper groups on the way before heading to the far side of the face to stake our claim on a favorite route.  

the rock was begging to be climbed... cracks, nooks, holds as if set by professionals... and we were happy to oblige... barely making our way down the mountain as the last light escaped the sky.