Desmochada - South face
5. El Facón
700m 7a+ A0
Bean Bowers (USA), Ben Bransby (England) and Jvan Tresch (Switzerland), 5/2/2004.
Description. The route starts left of center of the bottom section up chimney (5+) that leads to three pitches of moderate to hard splitters (6b) that lead to a big ledge. Traverse 60m (easy) to the right directly below the overhanging prow. Climb a couple hard crack pitches to reach the crux, shallow, rattly fingers in an overhanging dihedral (7a+). The next pitch sports thin hands through a dead horizontal sickle roof (6c+) that exits via a Harding Slot-like pod-chimney that ends in fists (6b+). Above that a rope-stretcher off-width (6c+ A0) to hands (6b+) leads to easier terrain on the upper southeast face where an icy slot (5+) and an unprotected icy off-width (6a) lead to the two final pitches (6a). 16 pitches total.
History. Theirs was the second ascent of Desmochada. They named the route El Facón which means “gaucho’s knife,” for the cutter nature of the rock and for the way their bodies felt the following day.
Approach. De Agostini to Niponino to Polacos. From there head north, past the Poincenot couloir and choose one of many ways to go up. You can scramble up the first right leaning ramp at the bottom left of the buttress or walk up the couloir around to the left that leads to two short pitches (4) . Both alternatives are involved. The couloir has some rockfall danger.
Pro. Camalots to #5.
Descent. Rappel via The Sound and the Fury. Once at the ledge traverse to the west end of the ledge where a bolt and a piton mark the rappel line. Make one rappel to the south, then 5 more raps to the west to reach ground. From there the easiest descent is down the couloir to the north, making two 30m raps (slung horn and then a single bolt) to a ledge right above it, followed by one 60 meter rap into the couloir itself (fixed piton).
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