Trip Report
In Aysen Patagonia the trick is getting to the climb
Monday January 8, 2018 4:30am
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Chile’s Aysen Patagonia is bordered on the west by the vast North Patagonia ice cap and on the east by the Patagonian desert....fourth largest in the world. It is a wondrous and diverse area with permanent ice, rainforest, and desert all within shouting distance of each other.
Trails are extremely rare and where they do exist are intermittent and hard to follow. This is wild country, very unlike the numerous groomed trails thru open forest in the Fitzroy/Torre massif and the Torres de Paine to the south. Here getting to the peak is often the crux.
Forests have totally different characteristics depending on their exposure to moisture flowing in from the Pacific. A mile or two difference in location can make a world of difference in your ability to negotiate them.
The area is rife with unclimbed peaks due to the dearth of climbers and the difficult access. To be first to summit here calls for a climber’s skills and an explorer’s mentality. The objectives range from virtual walk ups to a 3,000 ft. granite face.
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I have largely had this playground to myself and every year I seek out an objective and THEN...try to find the way in.
This year my wife Angela and I worked on getting to yet another project. This mountain can be seen clearly from the Caraterra Austral (the main road, albiet dirt, in Aysen) but getting there is a different matter.
We first had to seek out obscure dirt roads that would get us as close as possible with our trusty 4by4 Hilux pickup. The next question was the nature of the forest....would it be just somewhat difficult or absolutely heinous? We lucked out and found a relatively open Lenga forest that offered tricky but doable passage.
The approach to a beautiful remote valley took five hours and included several stream crossings.
This left us in striking distance.
But I still had to get to the base and leave a cache for later in the month when my partner would arrive after guiding Aconcagua. He is 40 years younger than me so I wanted to get as much gear in place to cut down on the size of the loads when we went in together. A two day window opened up and on January fourth I went back in solo to finish the job. I hiked for five hours thru beautiful forests and the occasional bog.
I then bushwhacked 1,300 vertical feet to the top of a ridge where I had previously left a cache in bad weather.
This time, in clear weather, I went 300 meters further and saw spread out a thousand feet below me a broad river valley with the peak rising above. I had thought that I would need to do a long traverse to the right and then back left over several kilometers of broken glaciers to get to the climb.
I scrambled a thousand feet down steep, loose scree to the valley floor and spent the night. The peak was now a steep but straightforward approach directly above me.
The next day dawned cloudy with light rain. Luckily, I found a way directly out of the valley without having to climb up heinous scree and over the ridge. I was lucky to see a rare Magellanic Woodpecker and the footprint of an even rarer Huemul on the hike out.
Now all that remains is the arrival of my partner and a wee three day window for, hopefully, the ascent of another unclimbed peak in Aysen Patagonia.
You earn your baubles down here. Look for another TR with the rest of the story in the near future.
Get on down here...unclimbed peaks don’t reproduce themselves!
Sorry about the line of photos below the main photos, don’t know what to do about it....doing this from Patagonia with spotty internet.
donini
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About the Author donini is a trad climber from Ouray, Colorado. |
Comments
Did you like this Trip Report? Got something to say? Don't hold back... |
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CPorter
Trad climber
London
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Just....wow.... TFPU
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Auden
Gym climber
Maryland
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TFPU!
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eKat
climber
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Bitchen!
TFPU!
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Nick Danger
Ice climber
Arvada, CO
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Great photos, Jim, and a wonderful tale of exploration. I love this kind of stuff, so thanks for posting this up.
Ccheers
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skywalker1
Trad climber
co
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Hey vegetable holds are legal! Stemming along the creek looks classic. Looks like good fun down there. Thanks for giving a glimpse.
S...
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Stimbo
Trad climber
Crowley Lake
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Way cool Jim. What an incredible backyard to explore. Keep sharing those photos!
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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Man! Wish I could head down!
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F10
Trad climber
Bishop
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Looks fantastic, great photos
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WBraun
climber
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The Doniniator strikes again ..... ;-)
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mouse from merced
Trad climber
The finger of fate, my friends, is fickle.
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Hola, amigo! How was the fishing the other day?
"I managed to hold his attention while Jim silently approached upwind."--Marlin Perkins
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steveA
Trad climber
Wolfeboro, NH
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Jim,
That was a beautiful TR.
I wish circumstances were different since I would love to be on that adventure.
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justthemaid
climber
Jim Henson's Basement
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Thanks for the report Jim. Always glad to read about your next adventure.
I had to look up "Huemule" as well, didn't know what they looked like.
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BigB
Trad climber
Red Rock
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THIS is why SuperT is still the best!
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shipoopoi
Big Wall climber
oakland
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beautiful peak jim, good luck with the 3 day window. im down here in natales enjoying peakbaggin, river kayaking, sport climbing, and texas hold em. would love to crash your scene up there someday and have some adventur.
been reading crouch's enduring patagonia again and just read the account of your stormlashing on cerro torre. loved your quote "survival is not assured" .
steve schneider
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ontheedgeandscaredtodeath
Social climber
Wilds of New Mexico
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Thanks, I'm looking forward to the followup reports!! Good luck with the climb. That part of the world is amazing.
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Fritz
Social climber
Choss Creek, ID
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Jim! Looks like a new first is well under way. We're hoping you get favorable weather to pull it off. Thanks for taking the time to share those wonderful photos.
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skcreidc
Social climber
SD, CA
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Damn that looks cool! A beautiful and diverse region...
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Tami
Social climber
Canada
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What the Sam Hill are those red things plastering that horizontal log? It looks like a much much much wilder version of the Coast Range but with alien lifeforms.
Awesome TR Jim. Looking forward to the next one.
Thanks for the post.
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clode
Trad climber
portland, or
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Awe-inspiring photos Jim, as usual, complete with the perfect amount of explanatory text. Keep it up and TFPU!
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MH2
Boulder climber
Andy Cairns
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The stuff of fantasy.
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Toker Villain
Big Wall climber
Toquerville, Utah
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I think Bilbo might have been there long ago,...
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Ezra Ellis
Trad climber
North wet, and Da souf
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Thank you Jim,
Looks like a dream,
You are a lucky man!!
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moosedrool
climber
Andrzej Citkowicz far away from Poland
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Thanks for the TR, Jim. Most excellent.
Find a good name for the route, like Angelical, or Doniniferrata. Hehehe
Moose
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limpingcrab
Trad climber
the middle of CA
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Unclimbed 3,000 ft. face I want to climb that face to hard!!!
But I'm a cold weather climbing wuss...
TFPU, stoking the imagination
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Sierra Ledge Rat
Mountain climber
Old and Broken Down in Appalachia
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Gnar class 5 bush whacking
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norm larson
climber
wilson, wyoming
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The real trick may be getting to have a house and truck in Patagonia to begin with.
Good luck with your adventure. Looks like fun.
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mike m
Trad climber
black hills
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Wow nice job Jim. I hope the climb goes well.
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pb
Sport climber
Sonora Ca
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did you leave a note in your car?
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moosedrool
climber
Andrzej Citkowicz far away from Poland
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LOL, pb. Perfect!
Moose
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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I thought it wasn’t about the destination? 🤓
Looks like fun anyway you slice it.
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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
Nothing creative to say
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Truly genuine fun and exploration!
Very jealous and stoked that you found such a playground!
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TWP
Trad climber
Mancos, CO & Bend, OR
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Having walked behind Jim a few times, I reckon his "5-hour approach" time mentioned in his report would be more like 10-hours - for me and most other mortals.
The year I was in Patagonia visiting the Doninis (Feb. 2016), Jim and Tad McCrea did another alpine first ascent with three days of kayak/vertical thrutching approach that was incredibly impressive - but he's said almost nothing about that climb on Supertopo.
Here's a series of pictures in which Tad's fingertip points to their summit.
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Albert Kernberg
climber
Los Angeles
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Hope to be healthy and motivated, like you, when I get closer to growing up. :-)
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SteveW
Trad climber
The state of confusion
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Maybe next year, Jim!
(Do you take Pata newbies)????
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Author's Reply
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Jan 10, 2018 - 04:26am PT
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Perfect day for the climb but my partner is guiding Aconcagua and won't arrive for three weeks. Oh well....I’ll grab the wife and the fishing rod and catch dinner.
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DaveBrown
Trad climber
London
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Jan 10, 2018 - 09:22am PT
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Its looking really sunny down there Jim. Your new project looks interesting as well.
How is the area around your cabin recovering from the fire a few years ago? Has it healed over?
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yanqui
climber
Balcarce, Argentina
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Jan 11, 2018 - 07:42am PT
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Bushwhackers! Good luck on your quest!
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Author's Reply
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Jan 11, 2018 - 05:45am PT
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Yep....I caught dinner.
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steveA
Trad climber
Wolfeboro, NH
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Jan 11, 2018 - 05:49am PT
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Jim,
You know how to make one jealous.
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T Hocking
Trad climber
Redding, Ca
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Jan 11, 2018 - 06:31am PT
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Yay,
Fish Porn!
Is that kayak an old Folbot?
I thought you use only modern gear,
time to upgrade. ;)
Nice fish, tight lines.
Tad
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Gnome Ofthe Diabase
climber
Out Of Bed
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Jan 11, 2018 - 08:07am PT
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What can one say!? the Man! - the daninasoarus- finds the "Jolly Rodger".I see "specters", ghostly faces every where.
There are a lot in those Pictures.
The Faces in the shots of the Walls. . .And the "faces in the landscape shots.
There is the cartoon Ghoul from "Ghost Busters" in the center of the other heavily forested picture. ,
So, beyond the red crested bird,
you may need to crop the right side out.(put your finger on the red spot)
to enhance the skull-face, but it is there,
(in a fierce way!)
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BMcC
Trad climber
Livermore
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Jan 11, 2018 - 10:33pm PT
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Wow.
Looking forward to your trip report on and pics of your new climb.
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Author's Reply
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Jan 12, 2018 - 05:27am PT
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Yo Tad...it’s an ancient Klepper that has seen dutty in Siberia, Alaska, Baja, Belize and the Chilean Fjords.
It now appears that the track I photographed in thr TR was a Pudu not a Huemul. The Pudu is the world’s smallest deer and lives secretively in thick forests.
I saw one several years ago in the Exploradoes Valley.
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Author's Reply
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Jan 15, 2018 - 12:29pm PT
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Nice weather, I was able to go into the Exploradores Valley rainforest and caught this slamon....yummm! Hope it's nice when my partner gets here.
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Marlow
Sport climber
OSLO
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Jan 15, 2018 - 12:40pm PT
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... living the dream...
... and in this case even eating it...
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Larry Nelson
Social climber
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Jan 16, 2018 - 08:27am PT
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Such a beautiful part of the world.
Although it wasn't a climbing trip, my friends and I recognized the lifetime of climbing potential on our trip to Aysen Patagonia 11 years ago.
We spent several days in Puerto Rio Tranquilo, hiking, exploring and wishing we were prepared to climb.
In an overcrowded world, it doesn't get much better. Beautiful and friendly people as well.
Thanks for another great trip report.
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AP
Trad climber
Calgary
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Jan 16, 2018 - 10:57am PT
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What size is the Pudu?
Mouse deer in India are pretty small like medium dogs
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donini
Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
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Author's Reply
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Jan 16, 2018 - 12:05pm PT
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The Pudu weighs between 15 and 30 pounds. It lives in temperate rainforests. I have seen one, it ran across the road in the early morning whike I was driving into the Exploradores Valley.
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T Hocking
Trad climber
Redding, Ca
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Jan 16, 2018 - 01:39pm PT
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Nice fish Jim!
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mtnyoung
Trad climber
Twain Harte, California
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Jan 16, 2018 - 01:54pm PT
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Meanwhile briham89 and I ate dinner on Saturday in the little California town of Tres Pinos. It's near Pinnacles, where we'd been climbing for the day.
The very nice young man who was serving our table starting chatting with us about where we'd been and what we'd been doing. Not too long into our discussion, realizing that we were climbers, he (very proudly) told us about climbing at Pinnacles himself. With his grandfather... you.
It's a small world sometimes.
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frostback
Social climber
great white north
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Missed this gem first time round due to cragging on sea stacks in andaman sea. Looks a lot wilder on the approaches than we deployed on this recent holiday -long tail boats that we anchored off shore with a designated swimmer
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ms55401
Trad climber
minneapolis, mn
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odd question -- donini, when you're in Argentina, how do you get cash? do you bank with US bank, or do you have money in an Argentine bank?
follow-up question: if I go down to Chalten for 3 weeks, can I get reliably expect to be able to get Argentine pesos easily if I have US bank acct (e.g. Chase or Wells or Bank of America)?
just trying to figure out how to pay for beer and hookers
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Dingus Milktoast
Trad climber
Minister of Moderation, Fatcrackistan
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With his grandfather... you.
That's friggin awesome!
DMT
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