“Bouldering mostly is a very comfortable sport,” says BD Athlete Nalle Hukkataival. “You park your car, take your crash pad and hike in your t-shirt to the boulder. But out here, it’s not like that at all.”

Every climber has heard about the famous alpine climbs of Patagonia, but few have ventured down to Chile just to explore the bouldering. Though El Chalten hosts a number of high-quality boulders for climbers waiting for weather windows, the wealth of granite blocs in Torres del Paine National Park have remained untapped.

For a devout first ascentionist like Nalle, the potential of Patagonian bouldering was too enticing to pass up.

“My objective was to find bouldering up in the mountains,” says Nalle. “It’s basically like alpinism with a crash pad.”

Nalle found worthy stone, but like all alpine endeavors, the weather was the true test.

“It’s a very challenging place,” says Nalle. “You can’t just expect to show up and do some climbing. But that’s what makes it a special place.”