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Colin Haley and Chad Kellogg have completed the much-eyed “Corkscrew” link-up on Cerro Torre without using any of Cesare Maestri’s aid bolts on the Compressor Route. This line links the southeast ridge of Cerro Torre to the west face Ragni Route via an obvious ice traverse across the upper south face. By skipping the Maestri bolts, the two Americans have finished another “fair means” route up Cerro Torre.
The Corkscrew was climbed by Ole Lied and Trym Atle Saeland from Norway in 2008, but rime ice build-up forced them to use some of the Maestri bolts, which were placed in 1970 during the Italian climber’s attempt to siege his way up Cerro Torre’s headwall.
The original “fair means” ascent of Cerro Torre was the first ascent line, the Ragni Route on the west face, completed by an Italian team in 1974. This predominantly ice route has been climbed dozens of times this season.
Meanwhile, the Slovenian climbers Luca Krajnc and Tadej Krselj found their own “fair means” way up Cerro Torre’s southeast ridge, following the 2012 Kennedy-Kruk line up to the headwall, and then taking the Lama-Ortner variation, also climbed in early 2012, to the top. This marks only the third time this side of Cerro Torre has been climbed without Maestri’s protection bolts. And it caps an already remarkable season for the two Slovenians, who put up a new route on Fitz Roy earlier in January.
Pataclimb has details of more activity in the past week in the Chaltén massif, including a new route by Josh Huckaby and Mikey Schaefer on Aguja de l’S.
Dates of ascents: January 2013
Source: Pataclimb.com