{"id":5956,"date":"2024-11-30T00:23:00","date_gmt":"2024-11-29T23:23:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mrlandon.com\/tenaya\/?post_type=relatos&p=5956"},"modified":"2025-12-16T00:28:14","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T23:28:14","slug":"the-americas-project","status":"publish","type":"relatos","link":"https:\/\/mrlandon.com\/tenaya\/en\/relatos\/the-americas-project\/","title":{"rendered":"The America\u2019s Project"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Imagine travelling across America, exploring the best crags and climbing everything from six foot boulders in Hueco Tanks to 6000m Bolivian mountains. For some, a trip like this would be a dream. For\u00a0Vini Todero, Nadja Pfister, and their dog Leki, it was a reality. \u201cThis whole project was born from the desire to climb and do something we would remember for the rest of our lives,\u201d Todero said of their 19 month dream trip. The climbers\u00a0drove almost 60,000 miles through 15 countries with stops at what was their favorite climbing of the trip, the Red River Gorge,\u00a0\u00a0the best rock of the trip, Brazil\u2019s Serra de Cipo, the most impressive area, El Chalten in Argentina, and the friendliest climbing area of their trip, the Bolivian cliffs.\u00a0\u00a0As they travelled, they found stark differences in the culture between Europe and the Americas. They also learned a bit about how to make a trip like this work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The start of their trip across North America<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The second half of their trip went further south<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Atmosphere<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the pair drove across the continent,  they found welcoming and supportive climbers. On their third day, they made a mistake paying for parking incorrectly and their van was towed. A few climbers helped them work with the tow company to get their van back. As they climbed, local climbers would often approach them congratulating them for succeeding on routes that they would rarely receive praise for in Europe. The helpful climber and the encouragement made them feel welcome. They also noted a stark difference in the attitude of climbers.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They noted that the US climbers were very committed as well. \u201cIn Europe, a 6 hour drive would be long for a week of climbing but in the US, climbers typically drive that time for the weekend,\u201d said Todero who marveled at how many approaches required four wheel drive to access them, making them hard to reach but the US climbers seemed especially psyched. Even when the weather was bad, Rodero and Pfister would see other climbers at the crag. \u201cOn a cold, rainy day in Europe, if you go climbing, you will probably be alone at the crag,\u201d said Todero who saw US climbers at the crag even after spending cold, unpleasant nights in their tents. \u201cMaybe that is because sometimes people need to drive long distances to the crags, and once they are there they have to make the most of it. Or it\u2019s more a cultural thing,\u201d Todero thought that US climbers had more of an attitude of \u201cWe came here to climb, so let\u2019s do it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Pfister climbing on Las Animas Wall in El Salto<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

That level of commitment translated to more people doing vanlife. Todero and Pfister, and Leki travelled around in a full-size van, which though they had the normal mechanical troubles, proved to be a solid option and kept their over 130kg of climbing gear safe. Though it\u2019s rare in Europe to see climbers living out of small cars, they met numerous people living in tiny cans and cars transformed into their homes. \u201cWhile it\u2019s not as comfortable as a full-size van, especially on cold, rainy days, these smaller homes can be a good and cheap way to live nomadically,\u201d Todero said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Climbing<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As predominately sport climbers, Todero and Pfister found climbing in America to be unique. In the US, cracks run through the sandstone and the granite allowing for more trad climbing and a mix of bolted lines and trad routes in the same sector. In Europe, these areas, including the cracks would be fully bolted. The combination of cracks and bolts allowed the pair to switch between styles for the day. \u201cIt\u2019s been really fun combining trad and sport climbing at the same sector on the same day,\u201d Todero said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Todero on Charlie (5.13b) at the Red River Gorge Photo:<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The style of bolting also differed dramatically. After a few days in the Red River Gorge, they realized they needed a stick clip as many of the first bolts tended to be high with hard climbing up to them, a phenomenon that they hadn\u2019t noticed in Europe. They didn\u2019t want to spend $50 on a prebuilt model so they pieced one together with a fishing pole and a piece of PVC tube. Local climbers asked them about their ingenuity. \u201cThey would ask us about our excellent $12 model,\u201d Todero said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not only were the first bolts high but they found that in the US, there were fewer routes. Holds cover the Madness Cave at the Red River Gorge and any line could be bolted and climbed. In Europe, a similar area would have 15 routes with five link-ups but instead there are seven nice routes far apart and no link-ups. This created a higher standard for bolting, which the climbers appreciated. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Pfister on the Hueco Tanks classic Nobody Gets Out Alive (V2)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Making the Most of the Trip<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pair had some incredible memories on the trip. On Todero\u2019s 40th<\/sup> birthday, the pair climbed in the Cerro Chalten Range. For Pfister, the pair climbed the 15 pitch El Sendero Luminoso <\/em>(5.12d) in El Portero Chico. \u201cGetting up at 4:00 am, walking through the quiet village, climbing with headlamps next to our friends, and even getting to the summit without any falls felt very special,\u201d said Pfister. But even the great highlights of the trip were filled with down time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Todero on Scarface (5.11a) in Indian Creek<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The pair thought that they\u2019d be in the best shape of their lives as they climbed across the continent but the reality was that they switched from being extremely active to taking long periods of time not climbing and only driving as they travelled from one destination to the next. \u201cIt\u2019s difficult to keep in good shape in one specific discipline if you\u2019re not focusing,\u201d Todero said. But the point of the trip was less about performance and more about being able to go from bouldering one day to climbing a spire in the Cerro Chalten the next.\u00a0\u00a0Plus, they would often hangboard and stretch during their drives, stopping to take photos of the cactus.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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default<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe most difficult part was to decide on doing it,\u201d Todero said. At the start when they were planning the trip, the logistics seemed overwhelming but once they actually started, it was easier than they expected. \u201cBecause of this, we encourage people to seek adventures and crazy dreams, even though they seem too hard or far away from your reality.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":5958,"template":"","class_list":["post-5956","relatos","type-relatos","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mrlandon.com\/tenaya\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/relatos\/5956","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mrlandon.com\/tenaya\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/relatos"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mrlandon.com\/tenaya\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/relatos"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mrlandon.com\/tenaya\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mrlandon.com\/tenaya\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/relatos\/5956\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mrlandon.com\/tenaya\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5958"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mrlandon.com\/tenaya\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5956"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}