Mingo and I ticked off a few more classic routes here the other day. Two routes I have wanted to do for years. The first was Aquarius (6º VIsup, 280 meters), which is an incredible 6-pitch route up the east face of Pedra da Gavea. This route has several things going for it. You begin climbing at about 500 meters above sea level and quickly traverse over to a part of the wall that is just a shear uninterrupted drop down to the forest below, so the sense of exposure is unique. It also has several tricky pitches that mix trad with bolts including probably the most beautiful dihedral pitch in the entire city. It extends 50 meters of moderate lay-back climbing all protected with friends and nuts. The dihedral is so big you can clearly see it from the São Conrado beach 600 meters down below. This pitch alone makes the long approach and the hand full of tick bites we both suffered well worth it.
The other route when did is across the bay in 
Niterói. Its on the southwest face of Alto Mourão in the state park of Serra da Tiririca in Itacoatiara and is appropriately named Face Sudoeste do Alto Mourão (4º V, 550 meters). Itacoatiara is a special place and even though it takes longer to get from downtown Rio than Teresopolis it is well worth a visit. It is basically the Urca of Niterói with an incredible beach surrounded by huge domes and tropical forest. Alto Mourão is the tallest of the domes and is also known as the Head of the Elephant. It has a hand full of routes on its southwest face the most classic of which is probably Face SW. This bolted route is long and easy and mixes some face climbing with a lot of friction. Mingo and I simul-climbed it and cruised through the entire 550 meters in about 2 hours even we had never down it before. We got a little lost in the middle but now knowing the route it could easily be done in probably closer to an hour. Some people have spoken poorly of this route since it’s a little dirty and not technically difficult but we both really enjoyed the style and esthetic beauty of the wall, which is full of bromeliads and cactus. The best part is that after the climb and the charming summit, from which you can see all the way to Cabo Frio on a clear day, its just a quick hike down to get back the beach for a refreshing swim.
posted by: Andrew – 16/10/2011