With its narrow silhouette, the Puntiagudo is a mountain closely linked to the history of mountaineering in Chile and the region itself. With a tragic first ascent and a climb with an air of Patagonia, the Chilean Matterhorn is one of those ascents that become memorable stories.
The spectacular volcano is flanked by the dense Valdivian forest, which in its surroundings stands out for its renovales of larch and mañios, giant ferns, tepas, ulmos and quilas. Typical fauna of these forests includes pumas, pudúes, foxes, chingues and hummingbirds, among other elusive inhabitants. The volcano is visible from most of the lakes in the region, being the Rupanco the one that is most associated with the Puntiagudo and its surroundings, it is here where we will start our approach.
El Puntiagudo is a technically interesting mountain. First, it has a long approach that starts at an average altitude of 200m and through which you must cross dense forests, where it is common to lose the trail. As for the conditions of the ascent route these vary notoriously throughout the year, being the ideal winter season for its ascent to be covered with snow from its base, giving us a sustained climb with interesting ice formations in its upper part: cauliflowers, waterfalls and gutters.
It is graduated with a difficulty UIAA “D III”: route with important approach and with climbing maintained on ice or snow – AI3 500m, 50º/90º.
