Cerro Torre
| Cerro Torre | ||
|---|---|---|
 View of the south and east walls of Cerro Torre (center), north (right) then Torre Egger and Punta Herron |
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| height | 3128 m | |
| location | Patagonia , Argentina / Chile | |
| Mountains | To the | |
| Coordinates | 49 ° 17 '35 " S , 73 ° 5' 55" W | |
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| Type | Granite mountain | |
| First ascent | 1959: Cesare Maestri and Toni Egger (is strongly doubted) 1970: Cesare Maestri, Carlo Claus, Ezio Alimonta (up to the summit ice mushroom) January 13, 1974: Daniele Chiappa, Mario Conti, Casimiro Ferrari, Pino Negri (first recognized, complete ascent ) |
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| Normal way | West face (Ferrari route or Via dei Ragni): extremely difficult climbing tour | |
| particularities | The history of ascent is still one of the great puzzles and myths of alpinism. | |
The Cerro Torre ( Spanish: "Tower Mountain" ) is a 3128 meter, according to other sources 3133 meter high granite mountain , which is located in the Los Glaciares National Park on the edge of Campo de Hielo Sur on the Argentine - Chilean border. The Cerro Torre is very difficult to climb due to its steep, smooth granite walls, the upper area of which is mostly covered with hoar ice, and the extremely adverse weather conditions and is therefore one of the most difficult and at the same time most beautiful peaks in the world among mountaineers .
Ascent history
First try
In 1952 the French mountaineers Lionel Terray and Guido Magnone climbed the Fitz Roy for the first time and judged the Cerro Torre towering in sight that it was an "impossible mountain". Nevertheless, a few years later climbers from Europe came to Cerro Torre to try to climb what is possibly the most difficult mountain in the world. The first attempts at ascent date back to 1958, when the Italians Walter Bonatti and Carlo Mauri reached a considerable height over the west side, but were unable to penetrate the summit region. An Italian expedition under Bruno Detassis and Cesare Maestri from Trentino, operating simultaneously on the east side of the mountain , also had to give up without having made a serious attempt on the mountain. While Bonatti did without a second attempt the following year and the French extreme mountaineer Jean Couzy had a fatal accident shortly before a planned expedition to Cerro Torre, Cesare Maestri returned to the mountain for an attempt.
Maestri and Egger 1959
The first ascent is said to have been made on January 30, 1959 by Cesare Maestri and the Tyrolean Toni Egger over the north face. During the descent, Egger had a fatal accident in an ice avalanche. Since his camera, which supposedly contained the summit photo, was lost, Maestri could not prove that he had actually reached the summit. From 1968 onwards his descriptions were questioned by more and more mountaineers and the Cerro Torre sometimes continued to be referred to as an "impossible mountain".
Cesare Maestri never moved away from climbing Cerro Torre with Toni Egger for the first time, despite the considerable contradictions in the descriptions of the 1959 expedition and the lack of finds of the equipment allegedly left behind in the rock face. Defenders and sympathizers of Maestris repeatedly refer to the layer of ice that is said to have covered the walls of Cerro Torre in 1959 and which enabled the excellent ice climber Egger to climb even then despite the inadequate equipment. Critics (e.g. Reinhold Messner ), on the other hand, cite the arguments that with the equipment (especially the ice ax) and with the climbing skills of the 1950s, an ascent over the extremely difficult steep walls is almost unthinkable, that one has long since left remains of rope and hooks of the ascent at that time should have taken place, if it had actually taken place, and that Maestri's controversial bolted ascent of Cerro Torre in 1970 on a completely different route does not prove the supposed first ascent of 1959, but rather raises new doubts.
Compressor route 1970
Eleven years later, because of unbearable doubts and criticism from the public, Maestri returned to Cerro Torre to prove his skills. This time he tried to " drill his way up" over the southwest flank with the help of a compressor and about 300 bolts, but failed due to the extremely adverse weather conditions of the Patagonian winter. A few months later he made a fourth trip to Cerro Torre to complete his route. On December 2, 1970, he and two comrades reached the end of the rock face below the summit, but refrained from climbing the unstable summit mushroom, which he did not regard as a summit anyway: "It will be blown away one day". Maestri saw the mountain as having been climbed and considered his honor restored. For some critics, this attempt does not count as an ascent, since Maestri did not stand on the highest point of the mountain and only climbed with the help of massive use of materials. The compressor still hangs a rope length below the Gipfeleispilzes, Maestris route is now known as the "Compressor Route".
Recognized ascent in 1974
The first recognized ascent of Cerro Torre was made in 1974 by an expedition led by Casimiro Ferrari over the snow and ice interspersed west face ("Ferrari Route" or Via dei Ragni). After a three-week period of bad weather, which he and his comrades survived in a tent high up on the mountain, Ferrari reached the summit shortly before they had forced the food that was running low to descend. The ascent is considered the first unequivocally documented summit ascent of Cerro Torre, as the summit ice mushroom was climbed and there is a photo evidence of the summit.
Recent ascent history
In 1977 three Americans managed to climb Cerro Torre in alpine style for the first time over the west side, and in 1979 Jim Bridwell repeated the compressor route for the first time. In 1985 four Italians made the first winter ascent; In the same year, the Swiss Marco Pedrini made the first solo ascent in twelve hours - both via the compressor route. In 1986, Yugoslavs climbed the east face for the first time, and in 1988 Slovenes opened a route in the south face. The “Maestri-Egger-Route” could not be successfully repeated by any rope team for 46 years with the latest technical aids . Participants of more than 20 expeditions who dared to try, reported the lack of the steel hooks allegedly set by Maestri, which further reinforced the doubts about Maestris and Eggers summit success. On November 12th and 13th, 2005, Alessandro Beltrami, Ermanno Salvaterra and Rolando Garibotti were able to climb Cerro Torre over the north face and thus “repeat” the Maestri-Egger route. They gave their route called El Arca de los Vientos and rated them with the difficulty EX .
From January 21 to 24, 2008 Colin Haley and Rolando Garibotti managed to cross the Torre massif for the first time completely (from north to south). The German Dörte Pietron was the first woman to climb the west face of Cerro Torre in December 2008 and was the first German woman to climb the summit.
The first ascent of the southeast face along the Kompressor route (VIII / A1), according to their own statements "by fair means", was made on January 16, 2012 by the two North Americans Hayden Kennedy and Jason Kruk. However, they climbed a key piece technically . The two climbers only needed 13 hours for the ascent and, according to their own statements, only use a few of the bolts set by Maestri. In addition to the great alpine performance, the ascent caused a sensation in the climbing community, especially because Kennedy and Kruk removed a large part of the bolts set by Maestri from the summit wall on their descent. The removal of the hooks and the resulting destruction of the historic compressor route has been the subject of controversial discussion in climbing forums around the world and has met with considerable criticism in addition to numerous encouragements. As a result of this action, the compressor route has become significantly more difficult and the most frequently used ascent route is now the route from 1974 (Ferrari route ) in the west face.
On January 21, 2012 the Austrians David Lama and Peter Ortner managed the first free ascent along the compressor route (IX + / X-). It took them 24 hours.
Marc-Andre Leclerc and Colin Haley made their first ascent of the north face from February 2 to 3, 2015.
Movies
In the film Cerro Torre: Schrei aus Stein by German film director Werner Herzog , a mountaineer and a free climber compete to the summit of Cerro Torre, where Maestri's controversial first ascent is taken up in the otherwise fictional plot.
The documentary Cerro Torre - Not a touch of a chance (directed by Thomas Dirnhofer ) focuses on the free ascent of the mountain by David Lama and Peter Ortner on the compressor route in 2012. First, the history of the alleged ascent and the compressor tour of Maestri themed. The Cerro Torre veteran Jim Bridwell comes up for discussion . The film produced and distributed by Red Bull Media House is dedicated to the extensive portrayal of the extreme climbers' mentality, which is oriented towards borderline experiences. The theatrical release in Germany was March 13, 2014.
In the documentary and report Mythos Cerro Torre (director: Reinhold Messner ), the director and extreme mountaineer goes in search of the truth about the unproven first ascent by Cesare Maestri and Toni Egger on January 30, 1959.
photos
Panorama with Fitz Roy (right) and Cerro Torre (left)
Cerro Torre with glacier lagoon in winter
Cerro Torre
See also
literature
- Tom Duration: Cerro Torre - Mythos Patagonia , 2004, ISBN 3-909111-05-X , AS-Verlag: The author tells the story of the discovery of Patagonia, which started at Cerro Torre - which he tried twice - and in the drama about Cesare Maestri Climax finds.
- Peter Meier-Hüsing: The impossible mountain , 2006, ISBN 3-89029-288-7 , Piper-Verlag, Malik book series: Based on research on site, on new interviews with Cesare Maestri, with his friends, rope partners and critics, the author recapitulates the exciting story of the first ascent of Cerro Torre.
- Reinhold Messner : Torre. Schrei aus Stein , 2009, ISBN 978-3-89029-359-2 , Malik-Verlag.
- Rolando Garibotti: A Mountain Unveiled - American Alpine Journal , 2004, ISBN 0-930410-95-5 , American Alpine Club, Golden, CO, USA, 46 (78): 138–155: The author analyzes Maestri's alleged first ascent. ( online )
- David Lama: Free: The Cerro Torre, the impossible and me . Knaus Verlag 2013
Web links
- Map of the Cerro Torre area
- Cerro Torre on pataclimb.com (English)
- Cerro Torre on SummitPost.org (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ To the limit, Stephen Venebles, Bruckmann Verlag, Munich 2006
- ↑ The highest peaks, Alessandro Gogna, Frederking u. Thaler Verlag, Munich 2007
- ↑ Cerro Torre on SummitPost.org (English)
- ^ Rolando Garibotti, Kelly Cordes: Completing the Puzzle: New Facts About the Claimed Ascent of Cerro Torre in 1959. In: Alpinist . Alpinist LLC, February 3, 2015, accessed February 5, 2016 .
- ↑ a b PATAclimb.com - Chaltén, Cerro Torre, Ragni route. In: www.pataclimb.com. Retrieved January 17, 2017 .
- ↑ First report of the route "El Arca de los Vientos" (Spanish)
- ↑ Comment on www.supertopo.com (English)
- ↑ News at www.climbing.de
- ↑ Chris Kalman: North Face of Cerro Torre Gets First Integral Ascent. Alpinist.com, February 18, 2015, accessed October 23, 2015 .
- ↑ Cerro Torre: Not the slightest chance ( Memento of the original from March 13, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: sueddeutsche.de
- ↑ "Myth of Cerro Torre": Reinhold Messner searching for traces, alpin.de, May 15, 2020, accessed on May 16, 2020.
- ↑ Reading sample
