{"id":4359,"date":"2021-10-12T07:23:58","date_gmt":"2021-10-12T07:23:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cochamo.com\/upper-granite-valleys\/"},"modified":"2025-12-24T12:11:24","modified_gmt":"2025-12-24T12:11:24","slug":"valles-de-altura","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cochamo.com\/en\/valles-de-altura\/","title":{"rendered":"Upper Valleys"},"content":{"rendered":"

4 steps to minimize your impact <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Imagine enduring your first steep hike of several hours up the beautiful granite walls of Trinidad or Anfiteatro valleys, and just as you emerge from the forest you smell and then see smoke. As you get closer, you follow it back to its source to see a circle of blackened granite boulders, a smoking campfire, tents with plastic tarps, trash tossed aside, dirty pots and pans, and piles of camping and climbing gear everywhere. And not just one site, but many. In the distant bushes, scraps of feces and toilet paper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Previously, this bivouac was surrounded by lush vegetation. Excessive fires lit by overnight campers have blackened part of this boulder. Please do not make fires.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Many hikers complained about these scenes and the human impact caused on nature by these campers, mostly climbers. During the last decade, the number of climbers and other visitors camping in the high altitude valleys of Anfiteatro, Trinidad, Paloma and Arco Iris has increased significantly, resulting in negative impacts to the particular ecosystems of each upper valley. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There is no one in charge of stopping disrespectful behavior towards Cocham\u00f3's nature except for you. Speak through your own example. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Several nonprofit organizations (Organizaci\u00f3n Valle Cocham\u00f3<\/a>, Conserva Pucheguin<\/a>, Puelo Patagonia<\/a> and Friends of Cocham\u00f3), along with neighboring landowners, climbers and other tourist operators, have, in the past two years, pushed a campaign to minimize these impacts. They have implemented some of the following guidelines to follow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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1. \u00a1No fires<\/strong>!<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This ancient forest with its millenary alerce trees and centenary coihues, ma\u00f1ios, tepas, is drier than ever due to climate change. To build a fire is to risk losing it! Please do not further impact or risk these fragile natural environments. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Use backpacking stoves<\/strong>. Please don't make campfires to cook.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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A wildfire in 2022 just 31 miles east of the Cocham\u00f3 Valley, near Lake Steffen, burned 5,400 hectares. And another fire in 2024 inside Los Alerces National Park, just 93 miles southeast, burned more than 6,700 hectares.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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2. Only bivy - no tents<\/strong>.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Help minimize the impact we generate on the fragile environment of these upper valleys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Only bivouac<\/strong> when necessary as part of the logistics for multi-pitch climbs that cannot be done starting from the camps in the La Junta sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Keep your bivouac and your belongings out of sight of hikers<\/strong>. And when you spend the night bivouacking in the high valleys, please do so at a suitable distance from the main trail so as not to attract the attention of visitors who are not sufficiently informed and may assume that it is a free camping area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On many occasions, these \u201ccamps\u201d have attracted campers, especially non-climbers, who do not rely on advanced camps to achieve their multi-pitch goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Use portable gas stoves. Please don't make fires. Help protect these ancient native forests.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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3. Use the toilets and\/or a biodegradable poop bag.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The ecosystem of these valleys is fragile. And in high season, many climbers stay overnight and use this limited space. Please:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Use the toilets<\/strong> already built in the valleys. There are two in Trinidad (the Trinidad Norte base and next to the bivouac boulder) and one in Anfiteatro.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Use a biodegradable poop bag<\/strong> and take it out with you. <\/p>\n\n\n

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\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u2022 Don't bury you poop <\/strong>. The wildlife will find, eat and spread it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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4. Don't bath or wash directly in water sources.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Many people drink from the same watercourse in the lower valley. And there are many of us who visit the valley. Wash and wash more than 70 meters from the watercourses and use biodegradable detergents or, ideally, no detergents. It is recommended to treat the water before drinking especially if you draw water from the stream in the Amphitheater.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A young teenager drinks directly from one of Cocham\u00f3 River's tributaries.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

No hacer fuego. Solo vivac temporarios - no carpas. Mant\u00e9n el vivac a no menos de 50 metros del sendero y cursos de agua. Bajemos nuestro impacto en los valles de altura.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11174,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[460,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4359","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/cochamo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/20180226_163758-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cochamo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4359","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cochamo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cochamo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cochamo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cochamo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4359"}],"version-history":[{"count":78,"href":"https:\/\/cochamo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4359\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14641,"href":"https:\/\/cochamo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4359\/revisions\/14641"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cochamo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11174"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cochamo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4359"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cochamo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4359"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cochamo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4359"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}