JD-0059
Shepherd Working the Pens at Piedra Parada, Chubut Provence, Argentine Patagonia
© 2001 Jerry Dodrill

We owed Mario Moncada a favor. I was on assignment for The North Face in search of new climbing terrain in Patagonia with the Benegas Brothers. We had been driving the dirt roads pretty hard and crashed our truck in the middle of the night, blowing two tires. There was only one spare, but we were close to our destination, the Moncada Ranch. There we planned to rock climb, establishing new routes on a 500-foot volcanic tower. The next day, Mario hitched his horse to a wagon, loaded up our tires and rode two hours to town for repairs. In a few days, it was time to return the favor. He rounded up several hundred sheep for a dip in a vat of toxic chemicals to kill parasites. The sheep knew what was coming and fought hard against the bath. Each had to be cornered, caught and carried to the trench. It was a dirty job. I was glad to be the photographer.