Las Manos del Dia

Las Manos del Dia is a fantastic line on Trinidad Central which begs comparison to the Rostrum, and Astroman. Of the 12 pitches, 8 are 5.11, including two pitches of 5.11+. The climbing is incredibly varied, including slab, stemming, bouldery cruxes, splitter cracks, OW, power layback, and technical dihedral trickery. This route is not to be missed on your Cochamo trip. It features some of the finest climbing in the area, and the amazing cave/diving board ledge at the top of the tenth pitch is out of this world!

A few years after the first ascent, a mixed team of Belgians and Americans opened up a variation to the last pitch which climbs out an incredible roof crack with a LOT of air beneath you. It's like Separate Reality stacked on top of Astroman. It is definitely the toughest pitch of the route (they called it 5.11+, which is maybe a touch of a sandbag), and possibly the best. As they say, "sin el techo, no la hecho!"

For detailed pitch description and topos, go to cochamo.com/topos/.

Las Manos is on the south-west corner of Trinidad Central. From the bivy boulder, hike back towards La Junta until the second talus gully (separating Trini Central/Sur). Ascend that gully until you reach the base of the wall, then turn left staying close to the toe of the buttress. The bolts can be very difficult to see. You are looking for a few bolts which climb a slab up to an arcing right-facing corner. It's not far down the wall once you leave the gully - maybe five minutes max.

These sections are always kind of funny... I'll just write the rack I used. Rack of nuts. TCUs, doubles up to .75, three #1, two #2, one #3, two #4, one #5 (new 5). I used everything I brought, and was glad I had it. The 4s and 5 are for the 11th pitch, so you can't ditch them. You need two ropes for the rappels. Bolted anchors.