Introduction

Morado is one of the most beautiful and emblematic mountains of Chile´s Central Andes. Its name was given by local arrieros because of the color of its impressive and dreaded South Face, which turns purple at dusk. Its image is downright surprising when seen from the South, specially from the Laguna de Morales in the Morado Natural Reserve.

The first absolute ascent was done by Sebastian Krückel and Otto Pfenninger, both belonging to the DAV (Deutschen Alpenverein) club from Santiago, on December 22, 1933, by the Yeso Route. To acomplish this achievement, they went into the Yeso River Valley, and then by the Cortaderas Creek up to the mountain´s Northeast Face. Then, overcoming scree slopes, rocks and snow couloirs, they reached for the first time the summit of this majestic mountain. Several years later, on March 4, 1942, Carlos Píderit and Jorge Silva Píderit, managed to reach the summit up the mountain´s East Face. This time, they accessed the mountain by the Morado Valley and climbed rock, snow and ice to reach its summit.

Morado´s South Summit(4490m according to IGM Chile) was climbed for the first time in 1934 by Tietzen and Juan Meslchner (DAV). Seemingly, they would have reached the summit by the Cortaderas Creek, in the Yeso Valley. It wasn´t until March 4, 1961, that the vertical South Face was conquered by César Vásquez and Juan Tangol, on their third attempt and in one of the most notable climbs (if not the most) of their times.


About the mythical South Face

Morado´s South Face is part of the Central Andes´ "rock trilogy", formed by Cerro Arenas´ South Face, Punta Zanzi´s North Face and Morado itself. However, the difficulty and commitment this last one demands make the other two look like simple sport climbs. The history of this route is intimately bound to that of dissappeared César "Chico" Vásquez, who attempted to climb it in various ocassions, not without accidents, and who finally climbed it, together with Juan Tangol, in the summer of 1961.

Those were the heroic years of climbing in Chile. The gear used then is today considered abolutely unsafe. Climbs were achieved more with courage and will than with technique and knowledge. Sure thing, the lack of awareness of the risks and main factors involved in climbing walls allowed these kind of climbs, for, as the saying goes, "he who knows nothing, fears nothing". It was the time´s style, and accepted by all. The key was not to fall, for testing the ropes and anchor systems used then, was almost sure to end in an accident. "Total system failures" weren´t unheard of, which meant a fall of the entire roped team.


Chronology of ascents of the South Face

1. Vásquez Route. César Vásquez and Juan Tangol. March 4, 1961.
2. Alejandro Izquierdo, Dagoberto Delgado and Germán Maccio. January 10, 1981.
3. Gino Cassasa (Chile) and Steve Brewer (USA). March 19, 1981. (Cassasa had made a previous attempt with Francisco Medina, only reaching the ice couloir.)
4. Buracchio, Montes and Thile, DAV, 1986.
5. Carlos Fuentes and Rodrigo Vivanco. 1994
6. Waldo Farías and Pablo Besser. February, 1995. First climb in a day and without pitons.
7. Carlos Pinto and Diego Vergara. February, 2003.
8. Felipe González Donoso, 1^st solo ascent, Dec 29, 2003