For decades, the granite walls of Valle Cochamó have drawn climbers from across the world with a promise that is increasingly rare: untracked approaches, untamed rock, and a valley still wild enough to feel genuinely remote. Often likened to Yosemite in its geology and ambition, Cochamó has quietly become one of South America’s most coveted big-wall destinations, home to formations like the Anfiteatro, Trinidad, and El Monstruo — routes that have shaped careers and inspired expeditions for a generation of Andean alpinists.

 

Now, a significant conservation effort is underway to protect the high valleys and granite faces that make all of this possible — and the climbing community has been invited to help write the rules.

 

On May 8, twenty-nine climbers, mountain guides, and representatives from Chile’s two main guiding associations (ACGM and ANGM) gathered in Cochamó for a participatory workshop focused on the future of Fundo Pucheguïn, a 133,000-hectare private landholding recently acquired by the conservation NGO Puelo Patagonia as part of its Conserva Pucheguïn initiative. The land spans much of the high-altitude terrain above the valley — the very terrain that has made Cochamó famous.

 

The goal of the workshop was not to restrict access, but to figure out how to preserve it. Using the Open Standards for the Practice of Conservation — a globally recognized methodology for conservation planning — participants mapped the pressures threatening the ecosystem and identified practical measures to address them. Human waste accumulation near wall bases, trail erosion on high-altitude approaches, unregulated bivouac sites, and disturbance to endemic flora and fauna all emerged as concerns that climbers themselves have been watching worsen over time.

 

“This brought together climbers from the area, several with over 20 years of experience on Cochamó’s walls, to honestly assess what’s been happening and where things are headed,” said José Dattoli, a local climbing guide who participated in the session.

 

 

 

 

The workshop is part of a broader participatory process that Puelo Patagonia has been running for over two years to build a conservation plan for Pucheguïn. That process has included interviews with local residents, community meetings, and two earlier informational sessions specifically with the climbing community in 2024. The inclusion of climbers reflects a pragmatic recognition: in a landscape this remote, the people who know it best are often the ones who have spent weeks or months moving through it with a rope on their back.

 

“The design of the protected area needs to do two things: conserve the ecosystems, and ensure that activities like climbing and mountain access can continue responsibly over the long term,” said Guillermo Sapaj, conservation director at Puelo Patagonia. Among the proposals put forward: mandatory Leave No Trace practices, protection of water sources, a registration system for approaches and overnight stays, and the development of a locally-agreed climbing ethic specific to the valley.

 

 

 

 

That last point may prove the most significant. Valle Cochamó sits in a complicated regulatory landscape — private land, no formal park status, minimal infrastructure — and has historically operated on informal norms. As visitor numbers have grown, so has the strain on an ecosystem that was never built to absorb heavy use. A shared ethic, developed by the community of people who use the valley most, could fill a gap that formal regulation alone cannot.

 

“What unites everyone here is wanting to protect these valleys so people can keep enjoying them, climbing them, living in them,” said Miguel Villarroel, another local guide. “This place is something special. That’s exactly why it needs protecting.”

 

Puelo Patagonia says the next phase of the process will focus on formalizing agreements and shared principles for climbing and high-valley use within Pucheguïn — moving from conversation to binding commitments. For a valley that has long run on trust and good faith, it may be the most consequential chapter yet.