Keyword: Patagonia

Last winter in Patagonia, a strong rope team attracted attention: crack specialist Pete Whittaker and Patagonia veteran Sean Villanueva. During their time together, the duo managed, among other things, to wring a first free ascent from two hard crack lines.

In mid-January, Facundo Saubidet, Jeremías Castaña and Santiago Scavolini opened a new route on the west face of Guillaumet: Anda pa'alla. At the beginning of the week, Pete Whittaker and Sean Villanueva managed to complete the 500-meter line with difficulties up to 8a and to climb completely free for the first time.

Pete Whittaker and Sean Villanueva are repeating the Yacaré route (550m, 7a+) opened by Pedro and Tomás Odell earlier this month on the Aguja Rafael Juarez in Patagonia. The British-Belgian rope team managed to free climb all rope lengths for the first time.

In January 1979, the Italian Renato Casarotto opened one of the most difficult alpine routes in Patagonia at the time: the Goretta Pillar on Fitz Roy. Last week, alpinist Colin Haley, known for his daring solo ascents, repeated the 1200-meter route single-handedly. In contrast to the first ascent, he completely dispensed with permanently installed ropes for his rope solo.

The climber, theologian and filmmaker Christoph Klein died in a mountaineering accident in Patagonia. High salvage costs and other obligations from a project of the 48-year-old put an existential burden on his family. In order to avert a financial emergency, Panico Alpinverlag has launched a fundraising campaign.

41-year-old Italian climber Corrado 'Korra' Pesce has been seriously injured in an accident on Cerro Torre in Patagonia. He was climbing with Argentinian mountaineer Tomás Aguiló when a boulder and ice avalanche hit them both. Aguiló managed to dismount and alert the rescue. So far, however, bad weather has prevented the rescue of the badly injured Corrado Pesce.

Last Thursday, the German Robert Grasegger and his partner had an accident at the Aguja Guillaumet in Patagonia. Grasegger lost his life while his partner Anna Truntschnig was saved with serious injuries.

On Thursday, June 10th, at 19:00 pm, Patagonia is hosting a screening of Moonwalking, a short film that gives a behind-the-scenes look at Sean Villaneuva's first complete solo traverse of the Fitz Roy massif in Patagonia.