However We Liked

AS TOLD BY KATSUTAKA “JUMBO” YOKOYAMA

From January to February 2018, my family—my wife, Chihiro, our sons, Yoh (5) and Kan (3), and myself— went on a long climbing trip to Patagonia, Argentina. We stayed in El Chaltén, right at the base of Mount Fitz Roy. This was my sixth visit and I believe the best climbing projects lay quietly along the skyline of Mount Fitz Roy, which I admire as the most beautiful mountain in the world. I don’t get tired of coming here for the climbing, but the biggest reason I brought my family was to show our kids the Fitz Roy skyline, which I can’t help but just adore. There are bouldering areas and sport climbing at the back of town, so we can still climb even when the weather isn’t favorable in the mountains. This is the place worth a 48-plus-hour trip from the other side of the globe.

In between my trips into the mountains, I took my family out to the alpine. We camped and we climbed any rocks that were around, however we liked. “However we liked” was the key—we were free from thinking about existing routes or grades and just climbed using our own senses. It was fun to try whatever line we found ourselves. The kids played in the streams around the rocks and found the nuts that grew abundantly there. We’d brought art supplies so we could draw as if we were great painters in front of majestic Fitz Roy. We spent six nights in the mountains, sometimes simply camped under a ledge without tents. I think it was the wildest experience for our boys.

I’m not sure how this experience will contribute to their growth, but I hope this trip will give them a sense of ownership as decision makers: They have the liberty to make their wide-open world whatever they may choose.

As they approach Laguna Capri, Yoshimi Ito, Yoh and Jumbo try to hold on to their hats. It wouldn’t be Patagonia without wind.

Three-year-old Kan files a complaint about the accommodations on the first night of camping at Laguna Capri.

I hope this trip will give them a sense of ownership as decision makers."

Kan knocks out a few TR laps on Vescho Wall, a little cliff just outside the town of El Chaltén. When ambition flows organically, with no concern for grades or “significance,” Jumbo says, the joy of climbing follows. And not just for kids.

“Crash pad” has more than one meaning. After an excursion to Piedras Blancas, Kan naps while getting a lift from Chihiro.

The last river crossing coming back from Piedras Blancas makes one small step for Dad, one giant leap for Yoh.

Yoh, Kan and Yoshimi Ito capture a bit of the color of the Fitz Roy skyline. Easy, empty time can quickly fill a day in the mountains.