American alpinist Colin Haley made history in Patagonia: He became the first mountaineer to complete a solo winter ascent via the Ragni route of the legendary Cerro Torre. For the 41-year-old American, it was his 10th ascent of the 3.128-meter-high rock spire. Shortly before 22 p.m. on September 7, he reached the summit, thus achieving a goal he had set for himself years ago.
To say that the stars were in the right position would be figurative, but to say that the sun, earth and moon were in the right position is to be taken literally in this case.
Colin Haley
The "Ferrari Route"
Haley's solo ascent was via the Ragni Route on the west face of the pillar, also known as the "Ferrari Route" or "Via dei Ragni." This west face route was first successfully climbed in 1974 by an Italian team from Lecco*. The rope team consisted of Daniele Chiappa, Mario Conti, Casimiro Ferrari, and Pino Negri. The route uses combined climbing over steep snow slopes, challenging mixed sections, and challenging ice passages.
It is an absolutely fantastic line and one of the most unique ice climbing routes in the world with amazing ice and frost formations sculpted by the Patagonian winds.
Colin Haley
Previous ascents of the granite mountain
In 2007, Haley climbed the Cerro TorreFor him, it was the most spectacular mountain on earth. Together with Kelly Cordes, he achieved the first and, to date, only complete ascent of Los Tiempos Perdidos, an 800-meter-long line on the south side of Cerro Torre, which then merges into the Ragni route all the way to the summit. Just a year later – Haley was camping alone on Cerro Torre after his climbing partner had canceled on him – he came up with the idea of climbing the mountain solo via the Ragni route.
In 2008 he told the Swiss alpinist Walter Hungerbühler about his idea. Just a few days later, he reported the first solo ascent of Cerro Torre via the Ragni route. That same year, the route gained increasing popularity, and more and more teams reached the summit.
For Colin Haley, it became clear that if he wanted to have a truly solo experience on this route, he would have to avoid the popular good weather windows in summer and get used to the idea of climbing Cerro Torre in winter.
I think the creative aspect of imagining something new and different is a cool part of the art of alpine climbing.
Colin Haley
A winter ascent of the Ragni route
Haley climbed Cerro Torre several more times after 2007, and each ascent remains one of the most significant of his life. However, his dream of a solo trip always remained in the back of his mind. In August 2013, he traveled to El Chaltén for the first time in winter, but his goal was not yet successful. Nevertheless, he gained valuable knowledge that would later help him implement his plan: The Ragni route, often referred to as the "West Face," is largely south-facing. Thus, it receives almost no sunlight in winter, and the ice becomes extremely brittle, making the route significantly more dangerous.
A new plan was needed for a winter ascent, as all the climbing techniques and tactics that Haley could easily use in the summer—such as the plan to free-solo most of the route—were nearly impossible in the winter. Knowing that he would have to employ some self-belay techniques, he paused his project for a full 10 years.
Last minute to El Chaltén
After a failed winter ascent in 2023 and an unsuccessful expedition in the Karakoram in August of this year, Colin Haley made a spontaneous decision: when a weather window opened on Cerro Torre, he immediately traveled to El Chaltén after returning from the Karakoram to give his solo attempt another chance. He arrived on August 13 and set off for the mountains the very next morning.
The first time in Patagonia He used it for several porter missions. The goal was to bring all his equipment and supplies to the base of the Ragni route as early as possible in order to be optimally prepared for a suitable weather window. To conserve energy, he hired a porter to carry some of his equipment to La Playita. Haley managed the remaining ascent to the summit of Filo Rosso and his bivouac site himself.
Alone on the summit
On September 4, Haley reached the entrance to the Circo de los Altares at the base of Filo Rosso and bivouacked there before beginning his ascent the next morning, reaching the summit of Filo Rosso at 10:45 a.m. He remained there for the day due to strong winds. He began the Ragni route on September 6, thus launching his solo attempt: he free-climbed the first few pitches before continuing above the Col de la Esperanza with self-belays. He reached the summit of Elmo around 4:15 p.m. but decided to continue despite his exhaustion. This was not an easy decision, as there are no bivouac options between the summit of Elmo and the summit of the headwall. At around 9:30 p.m., already in the dark, he began the ascent to the headwall. So his plan had worked: he bivouacked just three pitches below the summit.
On September 7, after five hours of sleep, he resumed the ascent around 11 a.m. Hoarfrost climbing. A challenge Haley was familiar with from previous ascents. What surprised him this time, however, was that a large portion of the summit mushroom had broken off. This significantly diminished his chances of success. Colin Haley didn't give up – he fought his way through a crevasse in the ice of the summit mushroom and completed the final stretch to his goal. Shortly before 22 p.m., he reached the summit – under a full moon and with absolutely no wind – Cerro Torre solo in winter!
I like it when a climbing destination is a good fit for my personal abilities, and I think that was definitely the case with this trip. It required skills in ice climbing, mixed climbing, rock climbing, snow climbing, big wall climbing, and a high level of physical endurance.
Colin Haley
A dream becomes true
He describes the moment as both beautiful and oppressive. He felt alone, exhausted, and very far from safe. After a short rest, he began the descent, which was no less adventurous than the route to the summit. Almost exactly 48 hours after leaving the summit of Filo Rosso, Haley found himself back at his first bivouac site. He described himself as "completely exhausted and with swollen limbs."
Climbing this challenging, temperamental mountain alone in winter is an incredible feat that required considerable time and preparation. If you want to read the full story of Colin's solo trip, you can find his report here. Here.
This was my tenth ascent of Cerro Torre. While some of my previous ascents of Cerro Torre have been among the most significant climbs of my life, this was perhaps the most significant.
Colin Haley
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Credits: Cover image: Adobe Stock
*There was a small mistake here: The team from Lecco called themselves “Ragni,” the plural of “Ragno,” the Italian for “spiders.”
Ragni (Italian for "spider"), that's what the climbers from Lecco called themselves. So, there's no place called Ragni di Lecco. The AI is hallucinating again.
But otherwise a great climb!