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Cerro Torre
Cerro Torre is one of the most spectacular mountains of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field in South America. It is located in a region which is disputed between Argentina and ChileFrom Rodrigo Jordan, "Cerro Torre", in World Mountaineering, Audrey Selkeld, editor, Bulfinch Press, ISBN 0-8212-2502-2, p. 156: Cerro Torre rises "on the border between Chile and Argentina." However Chile and Argentina have long-standing border disputes., west of Cerro Chalten (also known as Fitz Roy). The peak is the highest in a four mountain chain: the other peaks are Torre Egger, Punta Herron, and Cerro Stanhardt.
First ascent
Cesare Maestri claimed in 1959 that he and Toni Egger had reached the summit and that Egger had been swept to his death by an avalanche while they were descending. However, inconsistencies in Maestri's account, and the lack of bolts, pitons or fixed ropes on the route has led most mountaineers to doubt Maestri's claim. Only in 2005, after many attempts by world-class Alpinists, was a confirmed route put up on the face that Maestri claimed to have climbed.
The first undisputed ascent is that by Daniele Chiappa, Mario Conti, Casimiro Ferrari, and Pino Negri in 1974.
The route is considered one of the hardest mountain climbs in the world.
In 1977 the first Alpine style ascent was completed by Dave Carman, John Bragg and Jay Wilson. They spent a week summiting Cerro Torre which had previously taken the Italian group two months to summit.
Trivia
Cerro Torre was featured in the 1991 film Scream of Stone, directed by Werner Herzog and starring Donald Sutherland.
The top of the mountain has a mushroom of ice, formed by the constant strong winds, making the possibility of summit even harder.
References
Kearney, Alan, 1993. Mountaineering in Patagonia. Seattle USA: Cloudcap.
http://www.exumguides.com/staff.shtml
External links
Article on Cesare Maestri and the controversy regarding the first ascent
The Central Tower of Paine at Alpinist Magazine
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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Cerro Torre
