|
|
Cerro Torre debrief: Five years in Paradise
Dec 8, 2004 20: 18 EST
Previously published Dec 1, 2004 12: 09 EST
“Quinque Anni ad Paradisum” (Five years in Paradise) is the name chosen for the new route opened by Ermanno Salvaterra, Giacomo Rosetti and Alessandro Beltrami on the east Face of Cerro Torre (Argentinean Patagonia). The new route is 1200 m long, following the center of the huge granite wall.
With this, the Patagonia veteran Salvaterra (49 years old) accomplished a long pursued dream, including a previous attempt in 2001, which ended 450m from the summit.
”The climb made be recognize and appreciate the genuine value of things
Beer in hand and a big grin on his face, Ermanno now looks back and recalls “the long hard days on the face, those intensely strenuous 16-18-20-hour days... days I'd never be willing to go through anywhere else, whatever the price offered... and when I finally came down from the mountain…now I know how to appreciate the genuine value of things, recognize that what counts in life are the simple things, the everyday things we always tend to complain about. And so with this fresh realization my life becomes better, simpler...”
”I'll tell you honestly, I'm no longer a young guy”
No doubt Salvaterra has a crush on Patagonia, but using the word ‘Paradise’ to name the route? Ermanno explains:
“Five years of attempts and hopes, worries and disappointments... yet in the end I reached my little paradise. The enthusiasm and determination of my climbing companions surely contributed a lot to fulfil this dream of mine. Maybe because I'm precisely a dreamer, have blind faith in what my heart commands me to do, I managed to carry out my intent.
I'll tell you honestly, I'm no longer a young guy, I paid a high price... but it was worth it. As the Argentineans say, "hay que tener la cabeza dura" - you've got to persevere, that's the only way to succeed. “
Burning the bridges
Salvaterra’s expedition arrived at El Chalten on October 30 and immediately started carrying loads to the foot of the wall. Once ready, they started the climb, taking with them a portaledge, and would not return to the base but after having reached the summit.
The weather was pretty good, considering the usual conditions in Patagonia, so the climbers didn’t waste a single minute. They climbed for very long hours, which on one hand was exhausting, but on the other hand allowed a very fast progress.
Soon they would pass the highest point reached by Ermanno back in 2001, and came face to face with the summit “ice mushroom”. Ermanno, Alex and Giacomo summited Cerro Torre though the East Face on Sunday, November 14 at 21:00h local time, after an exhausting journey.
Descent: “This is hell: snow, wind, the real Far West”
The descent was also fast, but not easy, as the storm closed on the day after the summit. That’s where the climbers would report: “This is hell: snow, wind, the real Far West. We got moving this morning at 4:15 am, when we couldn’t stand the cold any longer.
We couldn’t sleep at all during the night. We were lucky to begin the descent early, the snow is accumulating and the weather is worsening. The wind is so strong… it can’t be described. But we are on our way down.”
One day later, they were back in the valley: safe, happy and very tired.
Mates: “The old man was a bit of a pain in the neck”
Both Giacomo and Alessandro said, back “with our feet on the ground” that it was Ermanno’s will and tenacity that pushed them through the exhaustion and doubts when things got really tough. “I truly enjoyed being with him, even if every once in a while the old man was a bit of a pain in the neck•, says Alessandro.
Giacomo’s thoughts drift back to “those moments, when the fatigue and the cold dissipated my clarity of mind leaving room solely for our ropes and the old man's imprecations.” But a team is a team, so that “at night when I'd return to our suspended portaledge, all the tension would subside and the bond that united us would burst forth giving me renewed force.”
The climbers have set a line straight by the center of the 1200m long wall. Up to this point there was only one route opened on Torre's east face: the "Direttissima del Inferno" (Hell's Direttissima) opened in 1986 by Slovenians Karo, Knez, Jegli, Podgornik, Kozjek, and Fistravec.
This was Ermanno's 2nd attempt to open a new line on Torre's East face. "On the previous occasion we got approximately 800 meters up the peak, still had another 400 to go to make it to the top. Now we'll have to start from scratch," he says about the East Face.
Ermanno Salvaterra, born in 1955, lives in Trento, Italy. In charge of a mountain hut in the Brenta Dolomites, he also works as a ski instructor and a mountain guide. His life is a continuous return to Cerro Torre and the Fitz Roi Massif, in more than 20 expeditions. He has climbed in all parts of the American Continent and also has a speed skiing record (212 km/hour, set in 1988.)
Alessandro Beltrammi, 23 years old, is a recently graduated mountain guide from the Trento region. Specialized in sport climbing, he is also skilled in all types of mountain terrain.
Giacomo Rossetti, 31 years old, was born in Nave. Caver and climber, he is also specialized in aid climbing, having sent some A5 routes.
Pictures: (From top) Alessandro in the first pitch of the final wall, Dalai lama bivouac, Alessandro and Giacomo on the summit, the ‘Old Man’ facing the summit ice mushroom, the wind drifting away snow and the portaledges just before the storm covered the sun.
Images courtesy of the expedition and Colmar.it.
|
|
Feature Stories |
|
Latest News |
more news |
 |
Everest Supercouloir: "What is a summit compared to a friend's lif
Full Story
|
 |
Mystery Chopper's Utopia summit - VIDEO
Full Story
|
 |
Annapurna South: "It was such a great climb"
Full Story
|
 |
ExWeb Special report: The Ropes and Summit Push on Everest...
Full Story
|
 |
Real men
Full Story
|
 |
Christian Kuntner - a mountaineering legend is gone
Full Story
|
 |
14 x 8000: Ed Viesturs joins the world's most exclusive...
Full Story
|
 |
ExWeb Special: Ed Viesturs "I still have peaks that I want...
Full Story
|
|
|
| Andrew Lock on Annapurna tragedy: "I wanted to keep on climbing" Jun 6, 2005 | | Gabriel Filippi and Sean Egan's soul, together on the summit of Everest Jun 6, 2005 | | "Supermom" Monica Kalozdi update: Everest Summit and hard descent Jun 5, 2005 | | Robert Milne dies during summit push Everest South Jun 5, 2005 | | Grania Willis summits Everest this morning Jun 5, 2005 | | ExplorersWeb Week-In-Review Jun 5, 2005 | | Himex summit - Update from climber Jun 4, 2005 | | No Mountain top too high, my Love Jun 4, 2005 | | Jagged Globe team summits again! Jun 4, 2005 | | More summits for DCXP/Project Himalaya this morning Jun 4, 2005 |
| | End of season... Jun 4, 2005 | | Ranulph Fiennes turns back on Everest Jun 3, 2005 |
|
|
|
|
2004
BEST of EXPLORERSWEB
|
|
|
|
