FIRST text by Ducha
Na temporada passada, 2010/2011, o David Lama e seu time Red bull divulgaram seus planos de liberar a via do compressor acrescentando chapas na descida para uma posterior tentativa de livrar o headwall.
a comunidade internacional se mobilizou, os blogeiros, os forums e um monte de gente escreveu cartas a redbull se colocando contra o projeto, por acreditar que não era necessario acrescentar proteções a uma via famosa por ser uma das vias mais overprotegidas da historia da escalada mundial.
Esse ano aconteceu uma coisa ainda mais surpreedente: dois gringos, um americano e um canadense, escalaram a via "by fair means", o que significa que eles escalaram toda a via sem usar os grampos do Maestri para progressão. escalaram a maior parte em livre mas fizeram um trecho em artificial limpo.
o grau deu um 5.11 A2. Fantastico, um feito histórico.
Acontece que no cume eles tiveram uma "iluminação" e desceram arrancando dúzias de grampos da via, mas não a totalidade (o que faz a coisa ainda pior). deixaram as paradas e cinco grampos, alguns originais de 1970 e parece que alguns outros do Ermano Salvaterra na variante dele, isso tudo lá em cima no head wall. as partes mais fáceis, e com mais possibilidade de proteção móvel, continua cheia de grampos enquanto a parte mais vertical e sem fissuras eles limparam! o compressor também continua lá.
Só pra encurtar: os rapazes tiveram que ser retirados pela policia por que por volta de uns 40 muchachos tentavam linchar os gringos.
Vou fazer um mix em portugues, ingles e espanhol de textos e cartas que eu copiei e colei de diversas fontes na internet.
tem texto claramente a favor deles e outros nem tanto. eu sou contra. pelo direito autoral das vias de escalada. NÃO DEVEMOS ALTERAR AS CARACTERÍSTICAS, SEJA BATENDO PROTEÇÕES FIXAS SEJA RETIRANDO-AS, NO FIRST ASCENT DOS OUTROS. TA PROCURANDO AVENTURA? VAI ATRÁS DO SEU PRÓPRIO DESTINO, NÃO ATRÁS DOS PASSOS DE OUTRA PESSOA.
MINHA OPINIÃO HOJE É QUE TUDO ISSO FOI BASTANTE PLANEJADO POR ELES E SEUS GURUS DA MONTANHA E MOTIVADO POR UMA AMBIÇÃO SEM TAMANHO POR FAMA E PIOLET D'OR E OUTRAS BOBAGENS. o que faz deles, pra mim, muito parecidos ao próprio Maestri querendo ficar famoso a qualquer custo: mentiras, mala vibra, falta de respeito com a própria montanha e com a comunidade.
Aí vai....
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| ESTILO DIRETÍSSIMA: MAESTRI E SEUS A0 INVERNAIS |
IMPERDIVEL A LEITURA DA CARTA DO JIM BRIDWELL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!(EM OUTRO POST AQUI)
(dois dias depois Davis Lama mandou em livre 5.13b)
Last season, 2010/2011, David Lama and his Red Bull team reported their plans to free the compressor route adding bolts on the way down to a later attempt to the headwall.
the international climbing community mobilized, the bloggers, forums and a lot of people wrote letters to redbull a stand against the project, believing that it was not necessary to add protection to a route famous for being one of the most overbolted route of climbing history.
This year was something even more surprising: two gringos, one American and one Canadian, climbed the route "by fair means," which means they climb all the way without using the Maestri bolts. They free climbed most of the wall but with a clean artificial passage.
The rate now is 5.11/A2. Fantastic! A historic achievement!!!
On the summit they had an "enlightenment" and chopped hundreds of bolts from the wall. They only left 5 original bolts from 1970 and it seems that some other of Ermano Salvaterra variant.
Just to shorten: the boys had to be removed by the police: around a 40 muchachos tried to lynch the gringos.
(two days later David Lama freed the compressor route 5.13b)
WE MUST NOT CHANGE THE CHARACTERISTICS, ADDING FIXED PROTECTION OR CHOPPING THEM, OF OTHERS CLIMBERS FIRST ASCENT. SEEKING FOR ADVENTURE? SEARCH FOR YOUR OWN DESTINY, NOT BEHIND THE STEPS OF ANOTHER PERSON.
MUST READ THE JIM BRIDWELL LETTER ABOUT THE SAME ISSUE HERE!!!!!!!!
TODAY IS MY OPINION THAT ALL THIS WAS PLANNED ENOUGH FOR THEM AND THEIR GURUS OF THE MOUNTAINS AND MOTIVATED BY AN AMBITION WITHOUT SIZE, AMBITION FOR FAME AND Piolet D'OR and other BULLSHIT.
relato oficial dos escaladores:Jason Kruk e Hayden Kennedy
If you are lucky enough to catch a glimpse of Cerro Torre on a rare, clear day, you will understand why many consider it the most beautiful and compelling mountain in the world. Messner called it 'a shriek turned to stone'. The contradiction between its great beauty and its intimidating aspects will make the head spin of any enterprising climber wanting to one day try it.
In mid January, 2012, Hayden Kennedy and I completed the defining climb of our collective careers. But, the mountain and our route have been betrayed by the unfortunate controversy that enshrouds it like the clouds.
We agreed to meet in El Chalten, the gateway town to the range, in early December 2011. In the month leading up to our trip, Hayden and I hadn't talked much. He was in Turkey sportclimbing and preoccupied with a Norwegian girl there. I was in Mexico flying paragliders. Despite seven seasons of cumulative experience in the range and a lengthy wish-list, we hadn't talked about any specific objectives other than wanting to 'climb on the Torres' and do it in our favorite style - fast, light, and as free as can be. We knew the best laid plans would likely be scattered by the Patagonian winds. Better to be adaptable and simply go with the flow. We have always been on the same page, climbing wise, since our first time tying in together a couple years ago. That was at the base of Cerro Fitz Roy which we climbed via a Patagonian classic, the Supercanaleta (1600m 6a+ 85 degrees), a route that on the first ascent was a high water mark of climbing style. It was completed in 1965 by Argentine climbers Carlos Comesana and Jose Luis Fonrouge in perfect alpine style over a three day round trip, stats very impressive by even modern standards, infinitely more so considering the equipment of the time. It was also the second-ever ascent of Cerro Fitz Roy.
It wasn't long upon our arrival in El Chalten before the weather looked good enough for an attempt on something. We chose to climb the classic Exocet (500m 6a WI5 MI3), on Aguja Standhardt, the perfect intro route to the specific nuances of Torre climbing. A week or so later we climbed Punta Herron via Spigolo dei Bimbi (350m 6b MI5) as well as the Huber-Schnarf (200m 6b+ MI3), summiting Torre Egger in a long day camp to camp. In this time we also climbed the classic Chiaro di Luna on Aguja St. Exupery and established a new route on Aguja de l'S.
We were certainly fulfilling our plans to 'climb on the Torres', having completed routes on three out of the four. Remaining only was Cerro Torre, a mountain I had tried to climb the year before. Chris Geisler and I had reached a point some 40 meters shy of the top of the headwall. We had attempted the southeast ridge, the line of the Compressor Route, but had avoided using any of Maestri's bolts. When our best guess at the line of weakness up the headwall dead-ended we had two options: retreat, or continue up the bolt line.
We would not summit the Torre that year. Our attempt was soured by the reawakening of the Cerro Torre controversy that Chris and I were now swept up in. Loving the controversy, all the magazines wanted to know my opinion. The hype became too much - recycled garbage. Eventually I was tired of it all, the idea of comparing myself to someone else sickened me. My plan was never to promote my ascent nor defame David Lama.
On the morning of January 15th Hayden and I left Niponino basecamp, approached Cerro Torre and climbed the 300m mixed 'approach' to the Col of Patience slowly, conserving as much energy as possible. Here we relaxed in the shade of our tent, and drank and ate as much as possible. With binoculars, we spied discontinuous features splitting the very left of the headwall that would possibly connect the line Geisler and I had attempted with the summit.
We slept through our 11 p.m. alarm, waking at 2 a.m. We pounded coffee, got psyched, and were climbing by 2:45. Joyous, splitter climbing comprises the majority of the lower SE Ridge. We hooted and hollered into the night as we made very quick time in the dark. We reached the Salvaterra-Mabboni variation just before first light, around 5:00am. The integral ridgeline above was attempted as early as 1968 and finally climbed in 1999 by Ermanno Salvaterra and Mauro Mabboni. From here the Compressor Route beelines inexplicably right, across blank rock and hundreds of bolts. Hayden led the beautiful A1 splitter crack above, using a couple knifeblades in between small cams. The climbing on the ridge above is absolutely brilliant - immaculate 5.10 edges in an exposed position on the arete. Short-fixing off a two-bolt anchor, Hayden continued up the arete at top speed while I followed on the jumars as quickly as possible. I reached the belay, an incredible position at an apex above the south face, gasping for breath. Looking right, ice and mixed terrain led through the ice tower features. Grabbing the rack and changing into crampons, we high-fived and I took off, navigating the ice and mixed pitches, short-fixing the rope for Hayden to follow all the way to the base of the WI5 chimney. This long, steep pitch, first climbed by Josh Wharton and Zack Smith, bypasses yet another bolt ladder up a blank wall to its right. The ice was cold, bullet-hard. I ran it out between three ice screws, Hayden followed. We were at the base of the headwall, elated.
Donning rock shoes, Hayden cast off on the steep ground above. The first two pitches were comprised of athletic 5.11- climbing over large, positive flakes. Deviating just right, then left, of the Compressor bolts, Hayden ran it out between solid cams, commenting on the bliss of the quality movement in such an extreme environment. Reaching a mid-way ledge, Hayden free climbed directly left off the belay, finding free-climbable edges where Chris last year, in a weakened state, had resorted to techno-aid. From this point Chris had placed a bolt in a blank section of rock and had climbed right, across a feature that would eventually deadend on us last year. Hayden reached the bolt and lowered to the level of my belay. Running back and forth across the headwall, Hayden stuck an edge at the apex of this King Swing. More edges led down to a small perch on the immediate left edge of the headwall. Cleaning the pitch and lowering out off the bolt, I joined Hayden at this belay stance, a spot so exposed we may as well have been on the moon.
We dropped our gear on the summit snowfield and ran up the final mushroom to the summit. We had just done the first fair-means ascent of the Southeast Ridge of Cerro Torre in 13 hours.
There has been a lot of talk over the years about chopping the Compressor bolts. Undoubtably, it is a lot easier to talk about it than to actually do it and deal with the consequences. After a lengthy introspection on the summit, we knew the act needed to be initiated by one party, without consensus. The tribes will always remain too polarized to reach a common ground. Of course at cocktail hour in El Chalten there was much talk of those 'what ifs' of climbing the SE Ridge. Truthfully, during our climb and the days preceding it, Hayden and I talked nothing of removing the bolts.
Fair means does not mean no bolts. Reasonable use of bolts has been a long-accepted practice in this mountain range. Often, steep, blank granite would be folly without the sparing using of this type of protection. We clipped four bolts placed by Salvaterra on his variation - two in a belay and two for protection. At that point on the route, Hayden was short-fixing with a 35 meter loop of slack, surely a death-fall anyways. He could have clearly skipped them, but that's not the point. These bolts were placed in blank granite, by hand, on otherwise un-protectable terrain. Higher we used the bolt placed by Chris on our attempt last year. Five bolts for four hundred seemed like a pretty good trade to us. We also used two of Maestri's original belays on the headwall. These were in spots in close-proximity to other natural anchor options. Believe us, we know how to build gear anchors. The fact that we were planning on leaving these bolts in anyways, meant it was too silly not to use them on the ascent. Our ultimate goal was respect for the mountain. The headwall rappels could have been chopped and replaced by nuts and pitons. However, considering that on a beautiful and popular line there will inevitably be rappel anchors in place, it seemed more logical to leave the established anchors, rather than remove them, and let the anchors slowly degrade into the 5 and 6-piece rappel anchors of tattered cord that are found on other popular routes in the range.
In the end, we removed the bolts on the entire headwall and on one of the pitches below. Our best guess would count around 125. We would have continued chopping below, if not for our friends Victor and Ricardo, dependent on the bolts of the 90-meter bolt traverse to descend themselves.
The question that remains, is why? Maestri's actions were a complete atrocity. His use of bolts and heavy machinery was outrageous, even for the time. The Southeast Ridge was attainable by fair means in the '70s, he stole that climb from the future.
Cerro Torre, a mountain so perfectly steep on all sides, is the postcard for the ideal that is alpinism. There should be no easy way to the top. The fact that there was a glorified via-ferrata to its summit deeply offended a global community of dedicated alpinists. If Cerro Torre was any more accessible, someone would have chopped Maestri's bolts a long time ago, returning the mountain to its former grandeur.
Who committed the act of violence against Cerro Torre? Maestri, by installing the bolts, or us, by removing them?
As long as the hardware remained it was justification for the unreasonable use of bolts by others. We are part of the next generation, the young group of aspiring alpinists. This is a statement we felt other young alpinists needed to hear.
Our real feelings were confirmed by three young Argentine climbers we passed on the Torre Glacier while hiking out of the range. Their eyes lit up as they told us how inspired they were to climb on Cerro Torre now, to train harder, to be better. To rise up to the challenge that has been restored to the mountain. Two days later they would make a rare ascent of Aguja Standhardt, via Festerville. Respect.
A bunch of people climbed the Compressor Route and had fun, but now it's a new era for Cerro Torre. Days after our ascent, young, talented Austrian alpinists, David Lama and Peter Ortner free-climbed their own variation on the Southeast Ridge. This news was greatly inspirational to Hayden and I, and is further proof that the bolts were unnecessary.
It would be hard to claim more authority than Comesana, who, upon hearing the news of our actions responded:
"In my name and the others that resign the dream to climb for first this fantastic mountain I claim for our rights to delete from the walls of Cerro Torre all the remainings - compressor inclusive - of the rape made by Maestri in the '70's and I think that no one - for any reason - can have more rights than ours."
—Jason Kruk, Squamish, BC
—Hayden Kennedy, Carbondale, Colorado
carta do Leo Dickinson:
Rolo this is very good news - particularly for someone who retains a long history with CT.
For those not then born I will explain.
Back in 1970 I organised an expedition to the SE Ridge. My team was a good one - Eric Jones (who later soloed the Eiger N Face), Cliff Phillips (who soloed the Piz Badille in 2hr35 mins in 1969)- the late Pete Minks (who soled the Walker Spur) and myself had climbed the Eiger N Face and filmed our ascent a year earlier. Swiss climber Hans Peter Tracsel who had climbed the Eiger in both winter & summer and Gordon Hibberd who was on the First Ascent of the Fortress in Chile, joined us.
Decades before the internet was even thought of, rumours were starting to filter through that Italian - Cesare Maestri had drilled his way up the SE Ridge using a compressor and pneumatic drill.
We had no idea what compressor meant. Why would you?
In 1968 Brit climber Pete Crew named the col on the SE arête – the 'Col of Patience' – with him were team mates Dougal Haston, Martin Boysen, Mick Burke and Argentinean - Jose Fonrouge. An all star team of the time.
On the 'Col of Patience' we dug the customary snow cave and waited and... waited. When fine weather came we climbed quickly up the ridge for several pitches to where Martin had dropped his bolt kit from their high point in 1968.
We were greeted by an old rope hanging downwards encased in ice like a giant gaucho’s boleadora. It dangled malevolently above our heads.
To our right we found the start of what became known as the first bolt ladder.
With clouds swirling around I filmed this via ferrate disappearing upwards.
The wall was utterly blank and even with modern climbing techniques I can not imagine this part every being climbed free - but dozens, if not hundreds of bolts were studded across this rising traverse. It was desecration on an industrial scale.
For 30 days the weather kicked in and gave us time to debate our predicament. There was no question that it was ruining our trip.
Do we use the bolts or not? At the time we were mindful of Messner’s “Murder of the Impossible” article on the over reliance of bolts and had not come half way around the world to climb an iron ladder in the sky – at least not with this team.
One day we were joined in our base camp in the forest by an Englishman Richard Cernesky – an Argentinean Peter Skvarca (who made the first ascent of Cerro Lautaro) and intriguingly an older man called Cesarino Fava.
At first the penny did not drop until Richard told me that Fava had been with Toni Egger and Maestri on the first ascent of Cerro Torre back in 1959.
Fava had his own views on the “Compressor” – he thought it was a waste of time but when I asked him about the original Maestri/Egger route from 1959 he clammed up.
“Why does everyone want to know about that climb”?
“Because - if its true, then it rates as one of, if not - the greatest climb of all time,” I replied more in exasperation than expectation.
No more conversation followed.
Maestri led two expeditions and was slow - incredibly slow but meticulously methodical. He helicoptered in a hut that was erected at the bottom of the mountain and air dropped in his supplies and secret weapon.
Now the reason for the slow progress was the weight of gear they were winching up the mountain. They were employing a weapon never before used by man against mountain. Up these precipitous heights, they carried 200 litres of petrol, oil, winches, ropes and a motor compressor – to drive a pneumatic drill. Come on guys this isn't climbing - its scaffolding.
Historians may remember that great "CONQUISTADORS OF THE USELESS
French climber Lionel Terray, who back in 1952 was offered the assistance, on the first ascent of Fitzroy, by President of Argentina Juan Peron - of a helicopter to lift him to the summit.(to save him all the bother of actually climbing)
After our expedition Peter Gillman from the Sunday Times, Ken Wilson - Editor of Mountain Magazine and myself representing the BBC went to interview Maestri in Italy. (See Mountain magazine No 23 pages 30-37 Sept 1972 for the complete interview).
Using Alan Heppenstall as interpreter, I asked Maestri about his two climbs.
“Why the compressor?” I asked.
Maestri told us, “I took it because I calculated I might have to hammer in 1000 bolts. Of course this would have been an endless process by normal means”.
He went on to explain that this decision had not presented him with any philosophical problems:
“I have spent most of my life trying to push forward the limits of climbing and climbing techniques in general. I did this with solo climbing – I have soled Grade 6 routes in both ascent and descent. When all the other expeditions started failing* on the South-East Ridge of Cerro Torre, despite the fact that they all compromised of good climbers, it seemed to me that the route must be impossible by normal means, so I decided bolting would be necessary.”
* all other expeditions? Only the Brit 68 one that I know of? –it seems to be a case of making the story justifying the facts.
Back on the SE Ridge our dilemma continued. The weather was not kind that season and with deep misgivings we climbed the long bolt ladder going up into the mists. We eventually reached the headwall and saw the bolts disappearing upwards towards the summit.
We had had enough. I returned to the UK and made my film for the BBC titled “CERRO TORRE – THE RAPE OF A MOUNTAIN”.
To my complete surprise when we spoke with Maestri, he told us that he had not actually stood on top of the mountain - justifying it by claiming that the top of the headwall was enough and that the summit mushroom would one day blow away as it was not part of the mountain!
After all his efforts – after spending 13 million lire paid for by Atlas Copco makers of his infamous bolt gun – and with expeditions in both summer and winter - he had not actually stood on the summit.
In 1973 Eric Jones, Irishman Mick Coffey and myself crossed the Heilo Continental Ice Cap – made the second ascent of Cerro Lautaro and made the first ascent of another volcano that we named Cerro Mimosa after the ship that brought early Welsh settlers to Patagonia in 1865.
The Ice Cap Western side of Cerro Torre thrusting out of a sea of foam is surely one of the most beautiful sights on planet earth but after spending 54 days on ice and running out of food we ditched our sledges, missed the Pass of the Winds - the exit to the Pampas and went the longer laborious route all the way down the Viedma Glacier to safety, where an asado, gratefully supplied by a local gaucho and a lorry home were our reward.
In 1974 I organised a third trip, this time to Torre Egger the smaller satellite to Cerro Torre named after Toni Egger. We were not successful and changing direction in the last days of the trip climbed the “Innominata” – (literally mountain with no name).
In memory of an Argentinean who had shared out camps earlier in the trip but had one day failed to return – we renamed it Aiguille Rafael.
Earlier that year of 74 we met another Italian expedition led by Casimiro Ferrari. They were attempting Cerro Torre from the western Ice Cap side.
Casimiro had served his apprenticeship with Carlo Mauri and Walter Bonatti a couple of years earlier and was well prepared for the biting winds blasting the Ice Cap. After six weeks of storms, four of the team - Daniele Chiappa, Mario Conti, Casimiro Ferrari, and Pino Negri, reached the summit and made the First Undisputed Ascent of Cerro Torre.
At the Trento film festival in 1976 I met Casimiro Ferrari.
He told me that the ice cap was a desperate place and that just as his team was running out of food, he had discovered two sledges which, on close inspection turned out to be British, and had revealed 15 Mars Bars which in turn, kept his team alive.
Rather embarrassingly I explained that the sledges were mine and that as the Mars Bars had been soaked in petrol they had been inedible.
After a year on the ice cap the petrol had evaporated and the Italians changed their diet to British cuisine.
It’s a lovely thought that in a small way we had assisted in the first ascent of Cerro Torre.
In Trento, Casimiro asked me who I thought had made the first ascent of Cerro Torre, I stared at him and said, “I am looking at him”.
But what a mess Maestri left.
A highly questionable first ascent in 59 which few now believe stands up to scrutiny since Rolando Garibotti, Ermanno Salvaterra, and Alessandro Beltrami climbed the same route as described by Maestri but found no evidence of earlier passage.
Then the ridiculous compressor ‘near miss’ route of 1970 which proved nothing.
But perhaps the most saddest piece of Maestri’s legacy is - denying his fellow Italians their rightful place in history.
Now that this ridiculous via ferrate has been removed, an ascent of Cerro Torre will have meaning once more.
It will take its rightful place as one of the world’s most inaccessible summits.
Please let no one put back the bolts.
Leo Dickinson Jan 2012
carta de Carlos Comenzaña:
26 de enero de 2012 - Correo de lectores
Carta de Carlos Comesaña.
A horas del encuentro que se llevará a cabo en el Gimnasio Comunal a las 19.30 hs, entre las dos vertientes de opinión que existen entre los vecinos y escaladores de la localidad, Carlos Comesaña, escalador argentino que abrió la vía de la Supercanaleta en el Cerro Fitz Roy junto a José Luis Fonrouge en 1965, dio su opinión al respecto.
Estimados, este acontecimiento requiere que se lo analice histórica y muy objetivamente al margen de preferencias personales, porque hace a la raíz y a la correcta interpretación de la evolución de nuestro deporte.
- Comencemos por recordar los orígenes de los esfuerzos por llegar a la cima del Cerro Torre.
Manifestaciones como...
"...Quien realice su primera ascensión logrará la cima más difícil del mundo". Fue Lionel Terray, en 1952 después de su primera con Magnone al Fitz.
"...Montaña imposible..!!" Fue Bruno Detassis, de la expedición trentina italiana con Maestri en el 1958 por la vía de la Forcella.
"...Debimos renunciar...". Es lo dijeron Carlo Mauri y Walter Bonatti en el 1958, después del intento fallido a la pared oeste.
"...Perdimos los clavos a expansión ya bien arriba y no pudimos seguir..." Comentario de los británicos de Haston (incluso con Fonrouge) en 1968 en el primer intento por el filo sureste.
"...El cerro Torre es todavía una montaña virgen.." Fue la estocada de Carlo Mauri a Maestri, cuando fue el jefe de la expedición Ragni al Torre por la pared oeste a fines de los 60.
...transformaron la primera ascensión reclamada por Maestri en un novelón cuando el mundo alpinístico italiano, francés, alemán y británico entre otros muchos convertía al Cerro Torre en la vedette de las montañas difíciles - no solo por la prensa especializada - sino también por las otras, las que insuflan los orgullos patrióticos nacionales sustentados en conquistas de "imposibles" montañas.
- Existía entonces una competencia acirrada, incluso dentro de la misma Italia entre sus regiones nórdicas, en ser los primeros en llegar a la cumbre del Torre. Un coctail preparado para beberlo corriendo todo tipo de riesgos incluso los de relatos confusos y técnicamente poco probados. Maestri, insistiendo en su primera ascensión del 59 les responde a los Ragni que…
"...solo los que no son capaces de subirlo pueden pensar que el Torre es imposible...."
A lo que los Ragni le acotan que…
"...somos capaces de subir montañas que podemos probar que subimos..."
- LISTO!!! El motivo y el cast del novelón estaba lanzado. Al sur de las Américas, en la Patagonia Austral el "imposible" Cerro Torre y al norte, en el Viejo Continente lombardos y trentinos se lanzan a la batalla por la cumbre más difícil del mundo.
- Maestri, su esposa Fernanda y sus compañeros aparecen por Buenos Aires (estaban en un hotelito en una esquina de la calle Lavalle entre los cines) en el invierno de 1970. Nos invita a conversar con Fonrouge pero nada nos dice del compresor. A su pedido, Fonrouge cuenta sus experiencias con los británicos por el filo SE y Maestri nos asegura que es la ruta que quiere abrir ahora para demostrar que el Torre es posible. Con Fonrouge no intentamos preguntarle por qué ni aconsejarlo de que era invierno, muy frío, con poca luz diurna, con menos viento pero con más escarcha en las paredes... etc. porque la seguridad que nos transmitía era total.
- No le fue posible esta vez y pensé que se habrían vuelto a Europa porque así me pareció porque lo hizo su esposa. Pero en realidad, se quedó en la Argentina y en la primavera del mismo año continuo la vía hasta la base del hongo que como es sabido declaró que cae en cualquier momento.
- Entretanto los Ragni, considerando que la cumbre del Cerro Torre no había sido alcanzada (como también declaro Maestri que ocurrió en el 59) - y criticándolo porque en esta oportunidad del 1970 se usaron medios anacrónicos y antiéticos - intentaron otra vez con Casimiro Ferrari la pared oeste del cerro y llegaron a la cumbre por esta vía en el verano austral del 74.
- Se suceden varias repeticiones de la vía del compresor y en menor cantidad por la de los Ragni en la pared Oeste, incluso se sigue la tradicional secuencia de escaladas en alpina sin equipar, invernales y solitarias. Después de varios intentos por diversos alpinistas, Garibotti, Beltrame y Salvaterra completan la vía reclamada por Maestri en la que - como otros alpinistas con anterioridad - no encuentran vestigio ninguno arriba del neve triangular y en la posterior travesía hacia la Forcella (la tijera que se forma en el col entre el Torre y la Egger).
- Esta es la historia y como en otros comentarios que hice respecto al deporte de subir montañas no me siento gurú de nadie, ni exijo participar de lo que pienso y como me están preguntando solo pido que me dejen definir lo que me parece que es el piso ético del alpinismo (o andinismo o himalayismo) cuando me refiero a subir montañas difíciles. Al respecto, por ejemplo, no me hubiera sorprendido si en los 30, Heckmaier en su primera a la Eiger, Norwand relatara que usó algún spit, o porque se me criticara en 1956 por haber usado los clavos fijos de Fisher en el último largo de la Torre Principal.
Eso era el standard del momento. Pero lo de Maestri fue distinto porque Bonatti ya había alzado el listón bien arriba con su primera en 1965 en solitario e invernal a la norte del Cervino y sin falsa modestia también nosotros con Fonrouge lo hicimos usando solo 12 clavos tradicionales, dos cuñas y ningún spit para abrir la Supercanaleta del Fitz el mismo año.
- La falla de ética de Maestri - que acuciado por las críticas al respecto de su reclamada primera ascensión al Torre en el 1959 comete el pecado original del compresor - autoriza a cualquier escalador capaz a devolver al cerro Torre su faz de dificultad original. Maestri - un extranjero también - vino a envolver el Torre en una batalla personal entre europeos y no importa si ahora otros extranjeros más capaces que nosotros nos devuelven el Torre con sus reales dificultades.
- Y no considero importante si se pidió o no permiso porque si vamos al caso podrían criticarse antes a todos aquellos que - también sin permiso - cosieron el Torre, el Fitz y el Pìer con cientos de spits para construir antinaturales líneas diretissimas - o no tanto - usando spits !! (los Gallego, Albert, algunos de los Ragni incluso, etc. etc.) entre aplausos y sin que nadie los parara. Entretanto muchos en el valle no le prestaron la atención debida a estos ultrajes al alpinismo clásico.
Un párrafo aparte lo dedico a los que usaron la vía del compresor para subir al Torre. Es lógico que estén preocupados porque ahora esa vía construida no existe más y esta declasada, como merece.
Pero podrían recuperarse si se dedicaran a subir clásicamente y declasar las otras vías construidas en nuestras montañas patagónicas, limpiándolas de fierros y chapas.
También es tiempo que familiares, amigos, aficionados a la escalada, a las lecturas andinas e incluso los repetidores de vías aprendan a calificar las verdaderas conquistas andinas como la que se trata aquí y no caigan en desprestigiarlas sin razones montañeras valederas y entretanto asistan sin pestañar el ovacionar a falsos íconos del deporte como fue el caso de los barilochenses que habiendo sido subidos al Everest como monchus (entre otros 500) por sherpas, oxígeno y sogas fijas por la ruta comercial del Kuhmbu en la premonzónica del 2012, desfilaron como héroes sobre un camión de bomberos por la calle principal de Bariloche!
Carlos E. Comesaña
para finalizar Colin Haley :
The Removal of Cesare Maestri's Bolt Ladders on Cerro Torre
MY PERSONAL HISTORY WITH CERRO TORRE:
I have been dreaming of Cerro Torre since I was twelve years old. I don't remember exactly which photo I saw first, but at that time I was already obsessed with climbing mountains, and I specifically remember being awestruck by photos I saw of this mountain. Cerro Torre became my greatest dream - if there was one goal I wanted to accomplish in my life, it was to climb Cerro Torre. When I was fifteen I tried to convince my cousin Aidan, two years younger and my main climbing partner at the time, that we needed to start training, and go attempt the Compressor Route in two years - when I would be seventeen and him fifteen. By the time I was seventeen I knew I wasn't ready for Cerro Torre, but two years later, in 2003, I finally went to the Fitz Roy range with my friend Bart Paull. We managed to climb three of the easier summits of the Fitz Roy massif, and on our last climbing day, on Aguja de l'S, I finally saw Cerro Torre for the first time. On my second trip to Patagonia, in 2005 with Mark Westman, I managed to climb the rest of the seven "major summits" of the Fitz Roy ridgeline, and I decided that I was finally ready to try Cerro Torre.
In 2006 I went to Patagonia with Kelly Cordes, with Cerro Torre as our main goal. At the time my thoughts on the Compressor Route were fairly ambivalent, and we planned to attempt the West Face mostly because it was more suited to our climbing strengths and interests. Although we spent almost our entire trip festering in camp during bad weather, at the last minute a great weather window arrived. We climbed Cerro Torre via a linkup of the "Tiempos Perdidos" route on the left margin of the south face and the Ragni route on the west face (this was the first integral ascent of "Tiempos Perdidos"). The climb was an absolute dream come true - a beautiful, 1,500m line of fantastic ice and mixed terrain, that played perfectly to our strengths as a team, to a summit that I had been obsessing over for ten years.
Kelly and I descended Cerro Torre via the southeast ridge, which neither of us had been on before, and my thoughts on the Compressor Route changed dramatically. It is difficult to comprehend the Compressor Route without seeing it in person - both in terms of the enormous quantity of Maestri's bolts, and in terms of the bolt ladders' locations, in close proximity to easily-protectable, easily-climbable terrain. After seeing the Compressor Route first hand, I knew I had no desire to climb it, and since then I have never considered an ascent of the Compressor Route to be an ascent of Cerro Torre - the climber on that route is simply too disconnected from engaging with the mountain itself.
The following season, I had the tremendous fortune of being in the right place at the right time, and I got to partner with Rolando Garibotti to make the first ascent of the Torres Traverse. Although I can aspire to greater personal goals since I played a lesser role in the Torres Traverse than Rolo, I don't think I'll ever make an ascent more significant than this first ascent. I think that Rolo is certainly one of the best alpinists of our time, and the best Patagonian alpinist of recent years - seeing him at his peak of performance was an inspiration that continues to drive my progression as a climber today. Rolo and I also descended the southeast ridge of Cerro Torre, and I think that season, 2008, is when I first realized that Maestri's bolt ladders ought to be removed some day.
Last year, in February 2011, I made two attempts to climb the southeast ridge of Cerro Torre by "fair means," the first with Zack Smith and the second with Rolo Garibotti and Doerte Pietron. On both attempts we were turned back by poor weather at the base of the ice towers. On both attempts we carried a small bolt kit which we thought we might use on the headwall, rationalizing that adding a few bolts to avoid a few hundred was a sound trade. In hindsight I think it is fortunate that we were turned back by weather - perhaps if we had been able to continue we would have put several bolts in the headwall, which Hayden managed to lead without placing any. It would have been a perfect, short-term example of "stealing a climb from the future."
Since I first read about the Compressor Route, my cumulation of personal climbing experience, my knowledge of climbing history, and my cumulation of personal experience in the Fitz Roy range have all increased by huge amounts, and my opinion of the Compressor route has accordingly changed from an ambivalent one to a conviction that Maestri's bolt ladders ought to be removed. Because of the obviously controversial nature of removing Maestri's bolt ladders, I have never had the courage to act on my conviction. Now that Hayden and Jason have done what I believed in but was too cowardly to do, the least I can do is voice my support for them.
IT'S NOT ABOUT HAYDEN AND JASON - IT'S ABOUT CERRO TORRE
A lot of the discussion surrounding the bolt removal has been focused on who Hayden and Jason are, where they come from, what style they climbed in, if they can be considered "locals" of these mountains, and what their motives were. To me, this discussion is largely irrelevant to the real question: Do Maestri's bolt ladders belong on Cerro Torre, and if they don't, is it right to remove them 40 years after they were installed? For many people I think it is important that the people who removed Maestri's bolt ladders were the same people who first climbed the southeast ridge by fair means, but to me this doesn't matter all that much. I believe that Maestri's bolt ladders do not belong on Cerro Torre, so it really doesn't make any difference to me if they are removed by a Canadian, Argentinean or Cambodian climber, young or old climber. A few years from now we won't care too much about who removed Maestri's bolt ladders, we will care about what state the southeast ridge of Cerro Torre is in.
WHAT ABOUT RESPECT FOR CESARE MAESTRI?
Several people have been calling for more respect to be paid to Cesare Maestri, who is now in his old age and of failing health. Sorry to be brutally honest, but I simply don't have respect for liars. Maestri told the biggest lie in the history of climbing for the gain of his own reputation. Alpine climbing often relies on the honor system, and unfortunately people like Maestri ruin the system of honesty for all of us. Dishonesty goes beyond the simple game of besting one's competition - consider for a moment that Maestri's drive to be labeled the winner was so great that he didn't even have the decency to tell Toni Egger's mother and sister the true circumstances of how Toni died in the mountains.
The fact that Maestri also vengefully showed the world the most heavy-handed climbing style it has ever seen - the epitome of the "murder of the impossible" - doesn't help him gain respect.
If Maestri were to come clean in his old age, and tell the world what actually happened during his 1959 Cerro Torre attempt, it would probably require more courage than any climb ever demanded of him. If Maestri could do that, I could respect him.
WHAT ABOUT RESPECT FOR THE STYLE OF THE FIRST ASCENT?
Many people have been bringing up the very valid point that generally in climbing we respect the style of the first ascent of a route. However, people have been neglecting to keep in mind that Maestri did not make the first ascent of the southeast ridge of Cerro Torre. In climbing mountains, especially such sharp needles as in the Fitz Roy range, a successful ascent ends on the top of the mountain. Not only did Maestri not manage to reach the summit of Cerro Torre, but most evidence suggests that he did not even reach the top of the headwall (Jim Bridwell was the first to note this). Therefore, if you want to ask the first ascensionists their opinions about what should become of the southeast ridge of Cerro Torre, you will have to consult Jim Bridwell and Steve Brewer.
Some people will inevitably say that even though Maestri didn't climb Cerro Torre, the style up to his high-point ought to be respected. By that same logic, Maestri would have been violating the style of Fonrouge, Boysen, Burke, Crew and Haston, who climbed half-way up Cerro Torre's southeast ridge in 1968 without placing any bolts. By the time Maestri had reached the same level on the mountain as their highpoint he had already placed hundreds of bolts.
THE COMPRESSOR ROUTE IS AN OUTLIER
Obviously the concept of "fair means" is very subjective. What one person considers only "necessary" bolts can vary dramatically from what another person considers "necessary" bolts. However, the Compressor Route bolt ladders are far, far, beyond anyone's definition of "necessary" bolts. Even Kurt Albert's routes on nearby Fitz Roy, Aguja Mermoz and Aguja St. Exupery (which have bolted belays every 35 meters or less, and include at least 3 bolts per pitch, immediately next to perfect cracks) are not even in the same realm of over-bolting that the compressor route is. There were some spots on the Compressor Route where a climber clipped to one bolt with a daisy chain could easily touch more than ten other bolts.
How did Maestri put up a climb that was so far beyond anything else in terms of bolting? The answer is that he used tactics that have never been used by another climber before or since. A gasoline-powered air compressor is not climbing equipment - it is industrial equipment. With his compressor Maestri could place a bolt more easily than he could place a chock or piton, so of course bolt-ladders up blank rock, even with crack systems immediately nearby, were suddenly a logical solution for him. Maestri explained that he put a single bolt ladder up the entire 5-pitch headwall because they had forgotten the pitons down below. How does one arrive to 5 pitches below Cerro Torre's summit and only there realize that the pitons were left far below? - only with a gasoline-powered air compressor.
Many people have been comparing the Compressor Route to The Nose on El Capitan. I think that most of these people must not have seen both routes in person. If the Compressor Route were established with the same bolting discretion as Warren Harding used on The Nose, it would have something like 50 bolts on it. On the other hand, if The Nose were established with the same bolting discretion as Maestri used on the Compressor Route, it would have more than 2,000 bolts on it.
I am not extremely anti-bolt. Even Kurt Albert's bolts on the east pillar of Aguja Mermoz (a route which was climbed 90% of the way to the summit without a single bolt, in a single day, before Albert layed siege to it), which go beyond all normal conventions of acceptable bolt use, do not bother me anywhere close to as much as Maestri's bolt ladders on Cerro Torre. I really think it is such a sad shame that the most beautiful mountain on earth (in my opinion), which naturally requires fantastic and difficult climbing to reach its summit, is marred by a via ferrata (And yes, it is a "via ferrata," even if much more difficult than most via ferrata - after all, "via ferrata" means "iron way.").
ADVENTURE VS. TOURISM
As in any discussion regarding bolts that some people consider unnecessary, some people have asked why Hayden and Jason didn't just leave the bolts in, and future climbers could always opt to simply not clip them. However, as long as the bolts ladders are there, future climbers are denied an adventure, because the mere presence of the bolts changes one's experience dramatically. With the bolt ladders removed, a climber ventures upward with doubts and fears, constantly trying to gauge where the next protection will be and where the route will go, and climbs with commitment - knowing that a poor route-finding choice might place him or her in a bad situation. With the bolt ladders in place, the knowledge that you can immediately end your fear and doubt at any moment removes the commitment completely. With the bolt ladders in place, the climber is denied the experience of moving fearfully into the unknown, and the elation that comes from finding a good crack or good holds for security. With the bolt ladders in place there is no real adventure; choosing to not clip the bolts can only amount to a contrived game. I certainly am much more inspired to go attempt Cerro Torre's headwall now, as a canvas of natural rock, than I ever was before to go play a contrived game of bolt-skipping.
Thus, climbing for adventure on the southeast ridge of Cerro Torre, and climbing for tourism on the southeast ridge, are completely at odds with each other. As long as Maestri's bolt ladders are in place, one cannot climb for adventure on the southeast ridge, and with the bolts removed, the tourists are denied their easy route to the summit. It really comes down to a question of which you value more, adventure or tourism? I think we can all agree that the currently-popular phrase "adventure tourism" is oxymoronic.
I'm sure that many people will be offended that I refer to the Compressor Route as "tourism," and I'm sorry about that. Ultimately, I think it more important to be honest and potentially offensive than speak tactfully and untruthfully. Quite simply, the Compressor Route is an avenue to "tick" the summit of Cerro Torre without actually engaging the difficulties of the mountain - completely analogous to climbing Everest with supplemental oxygen.
THESE ELITISTS HAVE DENIED MY RIGHT TO EASILY ASCEND THE SOUTHEAST RIDGE OF CERRO TORRE!
Many people have called Hayden and Jason elitist, because they are forcing future climbers on the southeast ridge to rise to their climbing level, removing the via ferrata which allowed access to climbers who didn't actually posses the skill to climb Cerro Torre's southeast ridge. What then about the poor unfortunate souls who are denied their "right" to summit Torre Egger? What if I went to Patagonia next year and installed a 1,200m bolt ladder up the east pillar of Torre Egger, making it accessible to all the 5.8 climbers who are currently denied their Torre Egger experience?
It is ridiculous to attempt to choose an arbitrary difficulty-level that a route should be dumbed-down to. Here's a concept: just leave the difficulty level as it was naturally!
DESTROYING HISTORY
History is not a physical object. You cannot destroy history unless you are able to burn every book, destroy every hard-drive and erase everyone's memory. At most one can claim that a monument has been destroyed, but history remains unharmed. Maestri showed us the worst example of heavy-handed climbing style that a mountain has ever experienced - it is not something that people will forget. Also, Maestri's air compressor remains lashed to the middle of Cerro Torre's headwall - as long as it remains it will be unmistakable physical evidence of what Maestri did to Cerro Torre (although personally I would rather see it removed).
BETTER LATE THAN NEVER
Of course it would have been much better if Maestri's bolt ladders were removed the year after their installation rather than 40 years after the fact. If that were the case, no one would call them "history" or "Argentine patrimony." However, I think that when the bolt ladders were installed, most of the world wasn't aware of the extent of the bolting. In addition, Maestri's siege on the southeast ridge used 1,000 meters of fixed rope and nine months, so it took a long time before people realized that the bolt ladders could be easily removed in a single day.
For the 40 years that Maestri's bolt ladders were in place, Cerro Torre was a compromised mountain. Very impressive routes that joined the Compressor Route at the headwall, such as Devil's Directissima and Quinque Anni ad Paradisum, will unfortunately always be tarnished by the fact that they ascended the last five pitches of Cerro Torre on a ladder of bolts. This is not the fault of the first ascensionists (Jeglic, Karo, Knez, Podgornik, Kozjek, Fistravek, Salvaterra, Beltrami, and Rossetti - many of the biggest names in Cerro Torre history), because, as I already explained, skipping the bolts immediately in front of you is a contrived game that most alpinists are not interested in. Both of these routes climbed an enormous amount of very difficult climbing to reach the base of the headwall, but the last five pitches of Cerro Torre were stolen from them by Maestri.
The removal of Maestri's bolt ladders was inevitable. If it hadn't been done by Hayden and Jason, it would have been done before too long by someone else. There were other climbers in El Chalten this season who had specific plans to remove Maestri's bolt ladders - and no, it wasn't me or Rolo, but some very strong and accomplished alpinists from Europe.
HYPOCRISY OF USING SOME OF MAESTRI'S BOLTS
Some people have told me that anyone who has ever used Maestri's bolts (such as Garibotti, Cordes and myself rappelling from them) cannot support the removal of the bolts without hypocrisy. I think it is almost exactly the opposite in fact - I think that people who have seen Maestri's bolt ladders in person generally have a much better understanding of their physical context than people who have only read about them or seen photos.
Others have criticized Hayden and Jason for using and leaving in place some of Maestri's belay/rappel stations. They did this as a compromise to appease you. If you think that is hypocritical, then feel free to go remove them. There is plentiful natural gear available, and climbing or rappelling the southeast ridge will not be compromised if you remove every last one of Maestri's bolts.
INTEGRITY
As I said at first, I would personally prefer to stay far away from this controversy. However, I feel that Hayden and Jason have done a great service to the global community of Patagonian alpinists, and it saddens me to see them receive so much criticism for what I consider an altruistic act. Many of the people who agree with the bolt removal are staying quiet simply to stay out of drama (and in fact, some people who have previously expressed their wish for the bolt ladders to be removed, are now back-pedaling in the face of controversy), but I see it as my obligation to speak out in support of them.
I'm sure that many people, particularly on internet forums, will criticize me for writing this essay. Please remain civil. Just because you disagree with my opinion doesn't mean you need to hate me or denigrate me personally. I won't criticize you for lamenting the bolt removal. Everyone is entitled to his or her opinion.
só mais uma, eu juro.
Cerro Torre: Deviations from Reason
by Kelly Cordes
Late afternoon January 16, Hayden Kennedy and Jason Kruk sat on the summit of Cerro Torre, making a decision.
Backup. For starters, let’s be clear: None of us has an inalienable right to summit anything. If you aren’t capable of climbing a peak after a manmade path has been removed, nothing has been stolen from you.
“If there is such a thing as spiritual materialism, it is displayed in the urge to possess the mountains rather than to unravel and accept their mysteries,” wrote the great Polish climber Voytek Kurtyka.
[Cerro Torre, with the southeast ridge roughly ascending the spine, facing the camera, in the center of the frame (the route approaches around from the right, out-of-view, to reach the huge snow blob at the base of the ridge). Photo: Kelly Cordes]
I’m specifically referring to yet another raging controversy on Cerro Torre, the otherworldly Patagonian spire. In my 11 years at the American Alpine Journal (where I’m the senior editor), I’ve educated myself on Cerro Torre’s bizarre and complex history. I also have first-hand knowledge – in 2007, Colin Haley and I climbed a new link-up on the south and west aspects of Cerro Torre, before rappelling down the controversial Compressor Route (which ascends the peak’s southeast ridge).
So here’s the quick and dirty on the current controversy: Late afternoon January 16, Hayden Kennedy and Jason Kruk sat on the summit of Cerro Torre, making a decision.
Backup. For starters, let’s be clear: None of us has an inalienable right to summit anything. If you aren’t capable of climbing a peak after a manmade path has been removed, nothing has been stolen from you.
“If there is such a thing as spiritual materialism, it is displayed in the urge to possess the mountains rather than to unravel and accept their mysteries,” wrote the great Polish climber Voytek Kurtyka.
I’m specifically referring to yet another raging controversy on Cerro Torre, the otherworldly Patagonian spire. In my 11 years at the American Alpine Journal (where I’m the senior editor), I’ve educated myself on Cerro Torre’s bizarre and complex history. I also have first-hand knowledge – in 2007, Colin Haley and I climbed a new link-up on the south and west aspects of Cerro Torre, before rappelling down the controversial Compressor Route (which ascends the peak’s southeast ridge).
In mid-January, in an incredible 13 hours, Hayden Kennedy and Jason Kruk made the long-sought first “fair means” ascent of Cerro Torre’s southeast ridge – not using the infamous bolts of the Compressor Route that are scattered about the line. Everyone lauded their awesome ascent. On their descent, they chopped about 120 of the bolts. Many also praised their bolt-removal, while many disagreed and some completely flipped-out. Since its 1970 installation by Italian climber Cesare Maestri, the Compressor Route has been globally decried as an unsporting example – even for its era – that anything can be overcome with enough hardware and scaffolding. Over a prolonged two-season siege, Maestri used a 300+ pound gas-powered compressor and thousands of feet of fixed ropes to drill some 400 bolts into the rock. He littered bolts near perfectly good cracks and used them deliberately to avoid natural features via extensive bolt ladders. For all his efforts, he retreated 100 feet below the summit, and on his descent began chopping his own bolts to spite future climbers. He wrote that he would: “take out all the bolts and leave the climb as clean as we found it. I’ll break them all.” But after about 20 bolts, he abandoned the act under pressure from his teammates and incoming weather.
Where do I stand on the latest climbing world drama? Sure, remove it. It never belonged in the first place. But honestly, the debate interests me more than whether or not the bolts remained. This issue affects so few people – seasons pass without any route on Cerro Torre seeing an ascent – and in such utterly insignificant ways, that, most of all, the reaction blows my mind. After their climb, back in town an angry mob stormed to Hayden and Jason’s rental house, the police got involved, and web forums have been full of nonsensical vitriol. Interestingly, most of the aggro reactions have come from those who have never touched Cerro Torre, and many of those who have most devoted themselves to the area, and made its history, seem to support the removal. Regardless, the degree of the reaction seems to reflect something beyond whether or not some bolts, which can’t even be seen from the base of the mountain, remain.
A few things to consider:
• Although commerce is another topic, Cerro Torre has never been guided. Nobody is going to lose their livelihood because they can’t drag others up the Compressor Route.
• It bears repeating that Maestri’s tactics in 1970 were not “of the era,” or considered fair in any way. Soon after, the esteemed Mountain magazine ran a cover story, “Cerro Torre: A Mountain Desecrated.” Around the same time, Reinhold Messner wrote his seminal article, “The Murder of the Impossible,” blasting such siege tactics.
• Bolts have long been accepted, within reason, to protect or link short sections of otherwise un-protectable rock. In a world of shades of grey, where we use accepted aids like sticky rubber, ice tools and stretchy ropes, the Compressor Route was 20 standard deviations from reasonable.
• As climbers, we often regard routes as creations. But comparing permanent installments (such as bolts, anchors, etc) to original creative works, such as literature, film or art, is inaccurate. Cerro Torre was original before it was scarred by man. We all impart some impact where we venture. What separates valued history from vandalism? If one considers Maestri’s bolts and compressor (which still hangs on the side of Cerro Torre) a history worth saving, perhaps they belong in a museum, rather than littering the world’s most beautiful mountain.
• Climbing has no set rules. There is no democracy, yet our system of self-regulation works surprisingly well. People bicker about minutia but, on the whole, most bolts are tastefully installed, and therefore well accepted. The installers know that if they violate this communal understanding, they’ll be subject to scorn and their bolts likely removed. Yet this rarely happens, because few people show such disrespect to such revered peaks as Maestri did to Cerro Torre.
• Does nationality matter? Maestri was Italian, not Argentine, and he acted unilaterally. No system of installation “permission” exists, and year after year climbers from around the globe come to the mountains of Patagonia and make permanent changes to the peaks on their own accord (most do so in small, reasonable ways). Something to consider if we want to hold that, as foreigners, Hayden and Jason had no right to remove the offending bolts. Logic would seemingly dictate that if we allow one, we must allow the other.
• Why should the default setting be to leave a contentious installation, rather than remove it? The latter is far closer to the original, non-controversial state.
• It’s just climbing. Actually, I hate it when people use this excuse, because it’s often used disingenuously, to justify some aberrant behavior or lack of critical thinking. Still, if you use the “greater cause” argument – there’s always a greater cause (people starving in Africa, genocide, torture, etc.) – as justification to not care, then why not throw your garbage out the window? Seriously, what’s a Big Mac wrapper when there’s genocide happening? It’s fine to care about something. The key, regardless of one’s views – and it’s fine to disagree with the removal – is to maintain some perspective. I think that the hateful, and borderline violent, reactions to Hayden and Jason’s removing some metal from an indisputably over-bolted route are insane. Some people need to get a grip.
Cerro Torre is still there. It’s just a shade closer to how it has been for an eternity, minus the blip of the Compressor Route. History doesn’t stop. If you want to climb Cerro Torre, don’t worry. You still can. Only now, you must climb it fairly. Nothing wrong with that.
As with great art, great climbs are not made by consensus. So in a self-regulated world where the participants broadly cite expression, anarchy and freedom as fundamental values – as they have since climbing began – who decides what to do with a controversial line of bolts?
Well, not those sitting on their asses, frothing at their keyboards about how Hayden and Jason were too young to make such a decision, insisting that they should have been consulted first, as if they’re owed something and could then grant or deny a has-been-never-was web-forum-climber stamp of approval. No, not them. And not those unable or unwilling to appreciate Cerro Torre on its own terms, or the ignorant who flew into a frenzy over a mountain, now somewhat restored, that they know nothing about. Nor those, like me, who sit from the comforts of home and agree with the removal.
No, the ones who got to decide were the ones with the courage and the skill to unravel and accept the mysteries of Cerro Torre’s spectacular southeast ridge.
One afternoon three weeks ago, those two sat talking on Cerro Torre’s summit, and Hayden said to Jason, “All of our heroes have been talking about this for 40 years. Let’s do it.”
That’s who.
Same as it ever was, really.
For more information:
Kennedy and Kruk's official statement.
"A Mountain Unveiled" - Rolando Garibotti's definitive piece on the controversy of Cerro Torre's first ascent, from the 2004 AAJ.
"Patagonia's Cerro Torre Gets the Chop: Maestri Unbolted (Photos)" - A well-balanced article on the recent events by climbing author and historian David Roberts, and Kathryn Sall.
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