Pico dos Marins: a Ribu that turned out to be a climb

Pico dos Marins: 1,202 m of prominence earned it a place on the route; a spider, hands-on slabs and a knife-edge summit earned it a place in the memory.

HikeBrazil | Southern Brazilian Highlands

19 June 20266 min read

Pico dos Marins from the Descent

Pico dos Marins in clear afternoon light on the descent.

Pico dos Marins was on our Brazil list for a simple reason: prominence. At 2,422.2 metres, with 1,202 metres of prominence, it was another Ribu. By this stage of the trip the numbers had already taken us to several mountains that were far more interesting than a list entry, and Marins would make the same case again.

A spider at the trailhead

One more time, the first uncertainty was not the hike but how far we could get by car. The final drive was a little challenging in places, but we made it to a simple house or hut at the end of the road and parked there. An old bath beside the building contained an impressively large spider, which gave the trailhead a certain character before we had taken a single step.

A man greeted us, confirmed that we could leave the car, collected a small parking fee, and we started walking.

Large brown spider on the inside of an old white bath at the trailhead. — Spider at the Trailhead
A large spider in the old bath beside the place where we parked.

The lower trail was much easier to understand than the road. It ran through forest and was well marked with the yellow-and-black arrows that had already become familiar from other hikes on this trip.

Red and pink tubular flowers among broad green leaves beside the forest trail. — Red Flowers in the Forest
One of the bright flowers beside the lower forest trail.

Patchwork fields and hills below a steep green ridge under clear sky. — Valley Below the Ridge
The first open sections revealed the cultivated valleys far below.

From the shaded lower trail to the first open views over the valleys.

Once we climbed onto the ridge, the forest began to give way to open grass, rock and increasingly wide views. The weather was clear, and the landscape kept opening as we gained height.

Rocky Ridge Ahead

The route ahead after emerging from the forest.

Layered forested ridges and valleys seen from the open grassy slope. — Mantiqueira Ridges from the Trail
The ridge opened broad views across the surrounding mountains.

The open ridge made the route obvious again, at least for a while.

The next complication was a boulder field. Among the rocks the line was less obvious, and we briefly had to work out where the trail had gone. We used GPX tracks from previous climbers and eventually rejoined the correct route. Human beings had invented satellite navigation, apparently so that three hikers could still lose a painted trail between some rocks.

Tufts of mountain grass on pale rock with distant ridges under clear sky. — Grass on the Open Ridge
Open grass and rock marked the transition onto the higher ridge.

Dark rocky ridge rising above sunlit grass and scattered boulders. — Rocky Upper Ridge
The route became progressively rockier after leaving the forest.

Large rounded boulder in front of rugged sunlit cliffs and green slopes. — Boulder Below the Cliffs
A massive boulder beneath the rough upper ridge.

Grass, boulders and rougher rock replaced the forest as we moved onto the upper mountain.

Above the boulders came the steeper slabs. The difficult stretches were short, but they were steep and had little protection. A few moves felt to me roughly like Class 3-4 scrambling. We took them carefully and, in practice, passed them without much trouble.

Rob in a blue jacket walking across smooth rock slabs high on Pico dos Marins, with a broad valley and mountain ridges below. — Rob on the Upper Slopes
Rob crossing the upper slabs with the valley opening far below.

Dave in a grey jacket walking across open rock slabs high on Pico dos Marins, with layered mountain ridges behind him. — Dave Following Across the Slabs
Dave following across the upper slabs, with the Mantiqueira ridges behind him.

Rob first, then Dave, crossing the upper rock with the valleys opening below.

Dave in a grey jacket using his hands while scrambling up a steep rocky step on Pico dos Marins, with the valley far below. — Dave Scrambling Up the Slabs
Dave moving into the hands-on part of the ascent, where the slabs became steep enough to scramble.

Dave in a grey jacket ahead of Rob in a blue jacket while they cross open rock slabs high on Pico dos Marins. — Dave and Rob on the Upper Approach
Dave ahead, Rob behind, crossing the slabby upper approach.

The slabs

Dave in a grey jacket leading Rob in a blue jacket across the upper rocky slope of Pico dos Marins, with a wide mountain valley below. — Dave and Rob Above the Valley
Dave leading Rob across open rock, with a long view into the valleys below.

Dave working through the more hands-on terrain, with Rob following across the slabby upper approach.

Two small brown-grey birds standing on a broad grey rock slab. — Two Birds on the Slab
Two small birds shared one of the upper slabs with us.

Open rocky slopes and grass-filled gullies beneath a clear blue sky. — Upper Rocky Basin
Open rock and grass replaced the lower forest as we approached the summit area.

Even the upper mountain had a couple of small visitors, while the terrain around us became increasingly bare and rocky.

Small climbers crossing a broad steep rock slab on Pico dos Marins. — Climbers on the Steep Slab
The steep slabs were short, but exposed enough to demand attention.

After the slabs we reached a broad flattening that looked as though it might be the summit plateau. It was not. There were still a few exposed steps to cross, and we met other climbers descending through this section.

The final summit slope began steeply, then eased. Soon Dave, Rob and I met at the top. Petter, Lihua and Michael were a little behind us but already visible, making their way up.

Jagged green ridges dropping into deep valleys with distant mountains beyond. — Ridges from the Upper Mountain
The higher we climbed, the more of the surrounding ridges came into view.

The clear weather made the summit worth lingering on. Deep valleys cut between the ridges, with cultivated lowlands far below and layers of mountains continuing towards the horizon. Whatever prominence had put Pico dos Marins on our list, the view needed no numerical justification.

Smooth summit slabs falling away towards farmland and distant lowlands. — Rocky Summit Slope
The rocky upper mountain dropped steeply towards the valleys below.

Rocky foreground and serrated mountain ridges under a clear sky. — Ridges Beyond Pico dos Marins
The summit area gave broad views across the Mantiqueira ridges.

Broad valley and distant plateau seen from the rocky summit area. — Valley Beyond the Summit
A wide view across the lower country from the summit area.

Dark jagged ridge in the foreground with layered blue mountains on the horizon. — Layered Ridges from the Summit
Clear skies revealed ridge after ridge beyond Pico dos Marins.

Views from the summit area across the rocky upper mountain, valleys and layered Mantiqueira ridges.

The same way back

We descended by the same route. The steep slabs needed care again, then came the boulder field, the open ridge and finally the forest. With the route now familiar, navigation was easier than it had been on the way up.

Dave in a red jacket traversing a steep smooth rock slab on the descent from Pico dos Marins, with mountain ridges far below. — Dave Traversing the Slab
Dave traversing one of the exposed slabs on the way down; the view was excellent, but the footing still deserved attention.

Dave in a red jacket facing into a broad rock slab while downclimbing, with Rob in a blue jacket waiting higher above. — Dave Downclimbing, Rob Above
Dave facing into the slab on the descent while Rob waits above. Hands were useful even though the harder sections were short.

Dave in a red jacket downclimbing a smooth slab while Rob in a blue jacket sits just above him on Pico dos Marins. — Dave and Rob on the Descent Slabs
Dave downclimbing with Rob just above, a good illustration of why this section felt more like scrambling than ordinary trail.

Dave in a red jacket descending a broad steep slab of exposed rock on Pico dos Marins under a clear blue sky. — Dave on the Broad Slab
Dave descending another broad slab, using the small steps and cracks rather than relying on friction alone.

Dave on the descent slabs, with Rob above in two of the frames. The hard moves were short, but this was definitely not just a walk.

Sunlit fields and winding rural roads far below a rocky mountain slope. — Fields Far Below
Rural valleys opened below us as we descended from the summit.

Dave in a grey jacket negotiating a steeper narrow rock step between large slabs during the descent from Pico dos Marins. — Dave Through a Steeper Rock Step
Dave negotiating a steeper rock step later on the descent, another short section where hands made life simpler.

Dave through one more short rock step before the terrain eased again.

Close view across a steep smooth rock slab with boulders and forest beyond. — Steep Slab on the Descent
The same short slabs demanded care again on the way down.

The descent quickly returned us from wide valley views to the slabs that had required attention on the ascent.

Rounded rock outcrops rising from dry grass beneath a deep blue sky. — Rock Formations on the Descent
Lower down, the route passed through more rounded rock outcrops.

Large boulder on a grassy slope above dense forest in a steep valley. — Boulder Above the Forest
A solitary boulder above the forest on the descent.

Rounded outcrops and isolated boulders marked the middle part of the descent.

Lower down, the ridge softened again and the forest drew closer. By then the hard parts were behind us and the rest was simply a pleasant walk back to the car.

Long forested ridge and distant mountains seen in clear afternoon light. — Ridge Line on the Way Down
The open ridge gave us long views again before the route dropped back into forest.

Close-up of red flowers against a large green leaf in strong sunlight. — Red Flowers on the Descent
Another bright splash of red beside the lower trail on the way back.

Late in the descent: one more ridge view, and another flash of red beside the trail.

Back at the hut, the same man who had taken the parking fee in the morning congratulated us.

It had been one more very good day and one more Ribu in the bag. Prominence was the main reason we had chosen these peaks, but Pico dos Marins was another reminder that the mountains themselves were doing a good job of making the numbers irrelevant. Even without caring about prominence, this would have been a worthwhile climb.