Patagonia: Mayan Smith-Gobat tests her mettle on "Riders on the Storm"

"Riders on the Storm" is one of the legendary routes on Torre Central in the heart of Patagonia's Torres del Paine National Park. Rated 5.13 (7c+), the 1300 meter high face has a reputation for being subjected to extremely bad weather, so a clear window for climbing often proves elusive. Mayan Smith-Gobat decided that she wanted to free climb the entire route. Following an initial ascent in 2016 with Ines Papert, during which 34 of the route's 38 pitches were freed, the New Zealander wanted make another attempt, this time partnering with American climber Brette Harrington. The goal: to free the four pitches that had eluded her in 2016. Unfortunately, the weather had other plans…

Climbing "Riders on the Storm"

2016: the adventure begins

"I have always wanted to spend time in Patagonia, but fear of the terrible weather kept me away. I didn't want to waste six weeks sitting in a tent waiting for the weather to clear. However, when Ines suggested attempting Riders on the Storm, I couldn't resist. I was drawn to the beauty of this tower - Torre Central, and the incredibly direct line up the center of the wall. In addition, the route's history extremely compelling. It was first climbed in 1990/91 by two climbing legends, Wolfgang Güllich and Kurt Albert, and from then until 2016 it only saw four repeats. In 2016, Ines and I made the fifth ascent, and at the time I wondered why this route had seen so few repeats. This became all too clear in 2017…"

Just four pitches

"My goal this year was to climb the entire route free. In 2016, we reached the summit, but did not free every pitch. Four pitches remained. This is why Brette and I returned to Patagonia this year to climb the route."

Snow, ice, and bad weather

"When Brette Harrington and I approached Torre Central our hearts sank: the lower slabs were covered in ice and ice snow, unrecognizable from last season or from anything we had expected. However, our determination remained high as we battled through the snow-covered and unprotectable low-angle terrain. When we reached the more technical slabs, large sections of verglas slowed our progress, and free-climbing became impossible. We were forced to use every technique we knew to get through the ice-covered and often run-out climbing. Our goal changed to simply making it through the first half of Riders on the Storm in any style possible.

It took nearly four weeks, instead of two days like last year, of battling through terrible conditions to finally reach our objective - the crux pitches of the free variation Ines Papert and I had discovered last season. Unfortunately, the weather remained extremely unstable and although at several points we were ready to leave, we fought on for the entire six weeks in Torres del Paine. We ended up freeing two of the four pitches. The two remaining crux pitches are extremely hard and I we plan to come back next season..."

A healthy dose of success even when falling short

"Both Brette and I view this expedition as a success, even though we did not achieve our objective. We both learned how to aid and mix climb on terribly run out slabs. We were able to maintain our motivation even when each attempt resulted in a wet, cold, and miserable retreat. Through all of the frustrations and disappointments Brette and I were always on the same page and only rarely did our motivation seriously leave us."

Brette and I fighting our way up the snow-covered slabs at the base of Riders on the Storm. Still smiling in spite of the terrible conditions and slow progress..

Another early morning approach up the steep moraine to Torre Central... "Only to be disappointed yet again - our route was consistently coated in snow and verglas, making it unclimbable."

After a month we finally made it through the lower slabs; 600m of jugging led us to our main objective: the four difficult crux pitches that still remained to be free climbed.

Climbing with frozen hands and toes was our daily routine this year on Riders.

"Exhausted and trying to stay warm as we were engulfed by yet another storm, hanging 600m up the east face of Torre Central."

A lead attempt on the difficult pitches: Mayan on the crux sequence of pitch 17.

Mayan working out the powerful yet technical moves through the final roof at the end of pitch 17.

"Trying to come to terms with my disappointment after retreating from the wall for the last time as I sort and pack our climbing gear for the long hike out."