Venezuela: Climbing Ilu Tepuy

About Ilu Tepuy

Ilu Tepuy is a sandstone ‘tepui’ 2,700 metres high in the Gran Sabana of Venezuela, north west of Roraima. Scharlie and I climbed it on 23 November 1981. There is confusion about the mountain’s name. The local Pemon Indians call it Ilu Tepuy, while maps and most writers call it Tramén Tepuy.  We knew about it from Douglas Branch, an Englishman resident in Caracas. He had been to the mountain twice. Although I had been to the Gran Sabana a number of times, this was the first time I had seen the mountain clearly. It has the classic table-mountain form, but is smaller than Roraima or Kukenan. which Steve had climbed in 1971.

Getting to the mountain

We contracted a guide, José Luis Martinez, in the village of Uroy Uaray, and set off for Uonori-Pa, a small settlement named after a prominent white mark resembling a heron on the hillside. We reached the base of the rock wall on the west side of the mountain. But heavy rain meant we failed to climb the west face.

We climbed Roraima, went back to Caracas for a rest, and returned three weeks later. This time we cut a path along the base of the rock wall to the pass between Ilu Tepuy and Tramen Tepuy. It took us four days and we established a camp with our small tent on the pass. Our two guides returned to Uonori-Pa.

The climb

We had calculated that the ascent from here to the top would take at least two days. However, the weather was fine, and we decided to try to reach the top in a day. After a difficult ascent through thick vegetation, we reached the rock wall at 2.30 pm. We changed footwear and tackled the upper wall to the right of a prominent roof on the mountain’s south ridge. It was steep for the first 100 metres, and we climbed on faint ripple marks, and there was no protection. After this, the angle relented, and we reached the top of the tepuy at about 5 pm.

The summit

The climb had taken us about two hours. The sky was clear and the sun warm, and we could see across the savannah in Venezuela. The summit was flat and devoid of vegetation, composed of smooth black sandstone slabs with small rainwater pools reflecting the sky. We took photos and went to the Guyanese side and looked down into the jungle of the Mazaruni River. It was now about 4:30 pm. It was tempting to stay, but we had to get down before dark to the tent.

Descent

We moved fast. We descended in two long abseils. We crossed the plateau and arranged a third abseil at the top of the first step.  From here, we slid and slipped back down the bromeliads, drenching ourselves with muddy water. We made it to the tent as it got dark and had time for a quick wash, collecting water from bromeliads for supper. It rained heavily in the night but it was warmer than the previous night.

We had been able to do the climb in one day because of good weather and because nothing had gone wrong. The route we had chosen was a good way up, the abseils went without a hitch, and we had had perfect visibility to retrace our steps.  On the return we spent time in Uonori-Pa and describe life in  Taurepan maloca (village).

Published 29 May 2017, 72 pages, ISBN 9781912460007