Free Climbers Take on Patagonia’s Cerro Pollone – Plus Get a Look at the Gear in Their Packs

ByMary Anne Potts
January 20, 2011
6 min read


Photographs courtesy of Scott Bennett and Blake Herrington

With its mind-blowing geography and a robust legacy of climbing lore, Patagonia has long lured adventurers from around the world to experience the rugged yet relatively accessible wilderness. That said, there are still firsts to be had. Next week climbers Scott Bennett and Blake Herrington will begin their attempt at the first free ascent of the West Pillar of Cerro Pollone. They hope to continue along the ridge crest to also make the first ascent of the East Summit of Cerro Pollone adopting a light, fast, free-climbing style on both attempts. The journey will begin in the Rio Electrico valley on the approach, traverses a shoulder of the main ice cap and negotiates unknown terrain en route to the base of the climb. We caught up with the duo to find out about the climb, get a look at the gear in their packs, and discover out how climbing in Patagonia has changed over the years.—Mary Anne Potts

ADVENTURE: What drew you to Cerro Pollone?

Scott and Blake:

Forming the jagged southern tip of the Americas, Patagonia is one of the truly wild places left on our planet. The mountains rise abruptly from the ocean, and are battered year-round by the raw wind and intense storm systems of the Southern Ocean. As a place to tests one’s resolve and seek out the most austere challenges, Patagonia is a world-class arena.

Our objective, Cerro Pollone, forms an immaculate white pillar of granite that juts from the Patagonian ice cap, and promises aesthetic and physical climbing, far from evidence of civilization.

Put this into perspective for us: How difficult is what you are planning to do?

The route that we are looking to attempt, the West Pillar of Cerro Pollone, is a striking and intimidating objective. It has been attempted by a number of world-class alpinists over the past two decades, rebuffing all suitors but one. Americans Jim Donini and Greg Crouch succeeded in ascending the West Pillar with the use of artificial, or “aid,” climbing, but then were stymied on their attempt at the obvious challenge of the summit ridge.

“Aid” climbing is the use of tools, usually aluminum chocks and cams, to directly ascend a rock face. When aid climbing, no section of rock is impassable, because one can drill bolts, hammer pitons, or use any trick in the book to overcome practically any difficulty (often while permanently altering the rock or leaving behind fixed hardware…).

A more natural, and difficult, style is called free climbing. Not to be confused with ropeless (and extremely dangerous!) free soloing, free climbing involves ascending a rock face with only one’s hands and feet, while deploying ropes and gear as back ups, like an acrobat’s net, in case of a fall. Free-climbing forces you to take only what the mountain will give you, and the outcome is always uncertain.

Pollone-east-475

Our goal is to free climb the entirety of the West Pillar and then continue along the knife-edged summit ridge, tagging both the West and East summits of Pollone. In terms of technical difficulty, we think this will be on par with the hardest long rock climbs we’ve done in North America, with the added challenge and adventure of wild Patagonian weather and relatively unknown terrain.

What do you think will be your greatest challenge?

Blake:

The thrill of climbing perfectly sculpted granite, high above the glacier, on a sunny (hopefully…) and windless (unlikely…) day!

Scott:

Our victory sandwich, and maybe some hot chocolate, atop the West Pillar!

Greatest joy?

Blake:

Keeping the our energy and enthusiasm level high, even after many straight hours of climbing and many more to come.

Scott:

A frigid, cramped alpine bivy high on the summit ridge…

How many days will this take? What are some of the things in your pack?

Round trip from our base camp outside the town of Chalten, we expect that our ascent might take four to five days. First one to two days hiking in via the remote Rio Electrico valley, then two to three days on route, and maybe another day descending the East aspect of the peak back to town.

So of course the challenge is to bring enough to sustain ourselves and overcome potential obstacles, while keeping our packs light enough for high-standard climbing.

We’ll probably carry:
-45 liter packs
-2 60 meter ropes
-A full “rack” of cams, chock, and carabiners
-Climbing helmets (thanks mom!)
-Ice axes and crampons
-Ice boots and rock slippers
-A small butane stove
-Plenty of food (dehydrated meals, energy bars, tons of chocolate, etc)
-Waterproof bivy sacks
-Down sleeping bags
-Ipod and travel speakers (gotta be psyched!)

In all, our packs will likely weigh 20 to 25 pounds, not including food or water.

How much is left unclimbed in Patagonia?

Patagonia has been seeing intense climbing activity for decades, and most of the main summits have been reached. That does not mean, however, that there’s nothing left unclimbed. The more interesting challenges for current and future generations of climbers will be exploring unclimbed faces and establishing new routes. Also, many of the established routes were done with some use of aid climbing, leaving the challenge of trying the routes in the more natural style of free climbing.

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