Will and I made some newbie mistakes during our recent climbing trip to Cochamó, from getting ropes stuck while rappelling to having to switch campsites midway through the trip to not bringing enough food.

The silliest of these errors was likely dropping our jetboil (camp stove) lid during a 3-hour hiking descent and having to go back up the trail to find it. Turns out that world-famous American climber Tommy Caldwell was the one who ultimately helped us find the lid, but he wasn’t in Cochamó just to save newbie climbers like us from their own follies. He also wasn’t in Cochamó just to climb on the incredible granite walls, although that would be a sufficiently good reason. Instead, this year Tommy Caldwell was in Cochamó to raise awareness about a very serious conservation issue: Cochamó is up for sale.

It sounds dramatic, but it’s true. In 2022, a privately-owned property that makes up 30% of the Cochamó region of Chile, a property without any legal ecological protections that’s almost double the size of New York City, was listed for sale for 150 million dollars. The primary motivation? The current owner originally wanted to build a hydroelectric dam on one of the rivers on the property, but the construction was successfully blocked when a grassroots team of Cochamó locals challenged the ecological impact of the project. The case went all the way to the Chilean Supreme Court before the project was finally shut down for good, and the entire Cochamó watershed was given legal protections to prevent any future hydroelectric projects. Unable to proceed with his plans, the owner ultimately decided to sell the land on the open market to the highest bidder.

Unfortunately, that court case victory only prevents the rivers from being developed. This particular property, referred to as the Hacienda Puchegüín, doesn’t have national park status. While the rivers are now protected, the land itself is eligible for various industrial projects. Thus when the property went up for sale, locals and conservation groups became particularly worried that a new owner would want to develop the area without regard for the fragile ecosystem it contains.

To combat this possibility, the same people that had fought against the hydroelectric dam project negotiated with the current owner of the Hacienda Puchegüín to buy the property. The owner ultimately agreed to sell the land for a lower price of 78 million dollars, and gave the group 2 years to raise the money to finance the purchase. It sounds like a strange plan, but is not without precedent – Kristine and Douglas Tompkins (founders of The North Face clothing company) started purchasing land in the Patagonia region of Chile in 1991 with the lofty goals of preserving and restoring the territory.

The deadline for the purchase of Hacienda Puchegüín is June 2026, so the clock is ticking. To support this fundraising effort, an alliance called Conserva Puchegüín was formed, consisting of several local, national, and international conservation groups. If they manage to buy the property, the plan is to solicit legal protected status for the land, and then work on conservation efforts while supporting the locals who live there and still keeping the area open to tourism (and climbing!).

The incredible story of a couple who moved to the Cochamó Valley in 2004 and have been fighting to protect it ever since was recently shared in more detail on Patagonia’s website, and I highly recommend reading it if you have ten minutes. Or even just looking at the photos. I also enjoyed this episode of the Climbing Gold podcast which dives into the same story from a different angle. I’ve personally donated to the cause, and while it feels like I can contribute mere peanuts compared to a larger business or a foundation, I think it’s valuable for organizations like this to see diversity in contributions, and for the donations to reflect the sheer number of people who care.

Conserva Puchegüín is currently halfway to their goal of $78 million, and also almost halfway through the two year timeframe. I don’t know what happens if they’re unable to raise the funds. Here’s to hoping we never find out.