Pedra Furada route

Page Type Page Type: Route
Location Lat/Lon: 28.12588°S / 49.47466°W
Additional Information GPX File: Download GPX » View Route on Map
Additional Information Route Type: Hiking, Mountaineering, Sport Climbing, Bouldering, Scrambling
Seasons Season: Winter
Additional Information Time Required: Half a day
Additional Information Difficulty: Easy
Additional Information Rock Difficulty: Class 3
Additional Information Grade: II
Sign the Climber's Log
Me inside Pedra Furada
Me inside Pedra Furada

To get to Pedra Furada is a dream for most people who visit Church Hill. The natural Arch formation is one of the few here in Brazil, often visited by tourists but hardly visited by mountaineers since its trail requires previsous authorization given by ICMBio (Instituto Chico Mendes).
To ask for the permit, visit
: http://www.icmbio.gov.br/. The route is not prohibited, but the permit is very important, don't forget it.

This fantastic rock is at least 35m high, 85 to 95m wide. Its window is 8m high and 7m wide. It has a natural crack in the middle of it that can be climbed with nuts and micro nuts, even some friends. But, as the route itself, it requires previsous authorization.

Getting There

 
Road to Church Hill in snow
Brazil in snow! Photo courtesy by Evandro Badin.

This summit is not very visited by trekkers, but people do get to the summit whenever there's snowfall forecast, at least twice every year. I am waiting myself to go there in the next weeks!

Take the SC439 road until the beginning of the asphalt. After that more than 18 km to the top of Church Hill.

The trailhead for Pedra Furada starts just 1 mile before the summit of Church Hill, check the gps file uploaded, all points needed are marked on it.





Route Description

 
Maximo Kaush on Pedra Furada trail
The dry river starts here. Look at the walls!!!
 
Vertical panorama (3 photos)
Inside Pedra Furada

Very easy. I said it takes half a day but the reason is because you just can't help it, the place calls for photos every five minutes or so. Just one mile before the summit of Church Hill (that can be reached by car), you stop at some curve, there (left) is the trailhead (marked on the gpx file, don't worry). You're gonna have to go around Church Hill from behind until you reach the second plateau. There you have a slight descent, just follow the trail, very easy to see it, wide open like a road.

You're gonna see Pedra Furada just before almost hit it with your head. After a while descending (about 20m) you reach a small flat place with grass. Right turn towards the canion, there is a dry river here, again, follow the trail always going down. It's gonna take you straight to Pedra Furada. Just before the window there is some scrambling but easy, anyone can do it. Enjoy the scenery which is bearthtaking. Walls as big as 800m, all of them absolutly virgin. No rock climbing routes what so ever has been done at this place.

Be careful, the right side of Pedra Furada's window is vertical, at least 400 vertical m of free fall until you hit something, so, certain death if you fall.






This way it gets easier to understand the route.





This is what you're gonna see at the gpx file.

Essential Gear

>Gloves;
>Good hiking waterproof shoes required;
>Good waterproof pants;
>Good waterproof jacket;
>I d say you'll need a good goose fill jacket as well, and don't think i'm joking. It can be really cold since this is the coldest place in Brazil. just a few weeks ago i got windchill of -15°C on the top of Church Hill, so watch out...
>Water - at least a couple liters since there is no water on the trail;
>If you want to, a trekking pole can help a few times, but i think it won't be necessary;
>Lunch box.


Photo section

Weather forecast



As you guys can see it. It can be cold up there. At winter, expect fresh snow conditions.


Legal Issues


To hike/ climb is a dangerous activity and requires proper equipment and clothing, the owner of this page cannot be blamed by injuries caused to anyone who read this page for its info about the mountain, and eventually got hurt by doing so with reckless behaviour or bad weather conditions.

Paulo Roberto Felipe Schmidt – AKA: PAROFES

External Links

A brazilian website to get mountains info, including gps files to download:http://www.rumos.net.br/rumos/

My youtube channel: www.youtube.com/parofes
- Now with 260+ videos online!

The biggest brazilian website about climbing and mountaineering, for which I'm a columnist:



Parents 

Parents

Parents refers to a larger category under which an object falls. For example, theAconcagua mountain page has the 'Aconcagua Group' and the 'Seven Summits' asparents and is a parent itself to many routes, photos, and Trip Reports.