There has been some discussion and a lot of spray on this issue on Supertopo. I’d just like to highlight some of the posts here so they don’t get lost in the bit universe. The thread is now 1200+ post and continuing.
The Torres group
Jan 24, 2012 - 11:03am PT
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
Cerro Torre from the Silla
Jan 20, 2012 - 02:56pm PT
It was january 16th., 1965. If interested, here follows the real cronology and facts about the Compressor Route on Cerro Torre that began when with Fonrouge we were at the top of Cerro Fitz Roy via the Supercanaleta in the second absolute ascent of this mountain. Because this beatiful and exigent mountain merits the most from climbers we did it in alpine style, mostly in simulclimbing, without fixed ropes, siege attacks or artificial weaponry. Behind and below us the fantastic Cerro Torre in clear skies showed with brightness his beatifull icy shape.
Time afterwards – I guess it was 1966 or 1967 – at a table of a bar in Buenos Aires with Douglas Haston, Mike Burke and (was there also Martin Boysen?) we were dreamming about giving a try Co. Torre thru the Southeast Ridge and our fingers traced an ideal line over the SE ridge of one of our Co. Torre’s photos we took from Fitz Roy summit.
Sometime after, Fonrouge joined the British team that arrived high in this line but misteriously stopped before the icy towers. Wonder how the famous expedition rawplug dissapear…? Don’t know by sure, but I always remember the conversation I had with Fonrouge at home – and his decision – after our meeting with Haston and friends at the bar that we’ll never use an spit. And I also said thst…to give a try to this empoisoned mountain by Maestri’s 1959’s claim was a nonsense having manny other virgen summits to make.
Later, in january 1970 Maestri asked to meet us in Buenos Aires when he decided to make an attempt to the Southeast Ridge and looked for details of the line but didn’t mention the use of a compressor and gave us the idea to try the climb by fair means. As it is known they didn’t make the summit this time. Weeks after their return I was in Italy for business reasons and he invited me to Maddona were we spent some time talking about his programmed new intent to Cerro Torre in the following southamerican 1970 winter. No words were said about the use of a compressor for drilling holes to plug spits. Upon his return from patagonia having used the compressor and claiming for his new line on the SE ridge – and also mentionning that the top mushroom was not the true summit-, more doubts appeared about his 1959’s line statements.
Living for professional reasons in Milan-Italy, since late 1973, I had many contacts with the Ragni Group and got an idea about the national battle around Cerro Torre’s Maestri claims at the time of his public statement directed to the Ragni Group saying that his climbs were discussed by whom couldn’t climb Cerro Torre. Casimiro Ferrari’s answer to Maestri was that the Ragni Group climbs mountains that can prove they climb and start to organize another attack to the west face of Torre. As we know today they made the true first ascent of the mountain. More recently Garibotti, Salvaterra and Beltrame proved that no one had transit before the line claimed by Maestri.
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 rigths than ours.
Carlos Comesaña
