PRINT: Rock Climb Sudafricana, Rio Negro

Sudafricana

5.10b/c, Trad, 230 ft (70 m), 3 pitches, Grade III,

Avg: 3.8 from 33 votes
FA: unknown
International > S America > Argentina > Rio Negro > San Carlos de B… > Frey > La Vieja

Description

Beautiful natural line up the North face of La Vieja with all gear anchors to the summit.

P1 (5.8): A varied and enjoyable crack system to a hanging belay under the roof.
P2 (10b/c): Pull the lieback roof into a wide squeeze chimney (helmet sized) with holds on the face to bypass to an enjoyable 5.9 protectable offwidth.
P3 (5.9): An enjoyable delicate traverse leads to face and an exposed arete to the summit with funky gear.

(Note: comments reference old description that listed 4 pitches, but book and best experiences do it in 3)

Protection

Double rack to #3, single #4 and an optional #6 if you want to protect the wide chimney immediately after the roof crux.

All gear anchors until summit. Rappel down the face.

Photos [Hide ALL Photos]

The crux undercling (P2) of Sudafricana. Photo Credit: Julia Cetnar.

Final offwidthy section before P2 anchor

Final corner section of P1 to anchor

Looking at the roof-lieback crux and its blind placements.

Climbers at P1 anchor just before the P2 roof crux

P3: Finished delicate flake traverse, starting on the exposed arete

The line: straight up to the roof, layback to off width to amazing hands.

Nice face climbing over orange granite on third pitch of Sudafricana.

North face of La Vieja, with Sudafricana marked. We did not encounter any obvious fixed gear for the second and third belays- your mileage may vary.

Comments [Hide ALL Comments]

Monty
Golden, CO

Great route! It's possible to link p1 and 2 easily with minimal rope drag. A #5 is not necessary but a #4 is nice to have. Jan 12, 2015

John Gassel
Boulder, CO

5.10

A really good climb. We had the #5 BD cam and it was handy to have for the wide sections, although not necessary if you're strong at the grade.

This is a pretty burly climb. The layback is powerful and the wide section following it is some full body climbing.

The spot where we belayed after P1 (see picture) was hanging and a bit annoying. Linking P1-2 or finding a slightly different spot (lower) might be a good idea. Jan 9, 2017

Chris Winter
Boulder, CO

5.10b

I'm not sure why this route is described as four pitches, because I think it is routinely climbed in 3 per Rolo's guidebook. P1 goes up the crack to a hanging gear belay under the roof. P2 turns the roof at the 6a+ crux and then goes up through the squeeze chimney and offwidth for about 30-35 meters until under the rightward flake traverse. P3 tackles the delicate traverse and then goes straight up to the summit.

It's a great route with a really cool summit. W/o a #5, the squeeze and offwidth are fairly exciting but not especially difficult. The offwidth has some face holds that can be used, although the climbing is just a bit tricky. Mar 4, 2017

Steve Annecone
Boulder, CO

Not sure a #5 cam would be big enough to protect the wide crack above the layback, crack seemed too wide? Felt a little committed going those 10 or 12 feet of 5.9 ish ow with gear below your feet, but a fall should be safe due to steep rock in there. Fun route! Mar 2, 2020