Marmot Pro athlete Christina Huber and her climbing partner Caroline North have made the first free and unsupported female team ascent of the Via dei Ragni on Cerro Torre.
Huber and North talked about the trip back in the summer but it was October before the flights were booked. In mid-February, they headed to Patagonia, with hopes that the weather would cooperate during the short three week window that they had before Huber’s return to college.
Luckily, the first clear window hit a couple of days after their arrival. The team chose a slightly longer approach and headed off to Passo Marconi, where they pitched their tent just before the glacier. The second day had them crossing the Southern Patagonian Ice Field to the Circo de los Altares, where they camped before climbing up to the bivouac site at the base of the Elmo.
The team started climbing at 4am. After the first few pitches to the base of the Elmo, Huber began leading the first proper pitch. Although they were met with unfavourable conditions, with deep and unconsolidated snow in places, they were able to make their way over a short, slightly overhanging section, into a gully with good gear placements. Despite some wind, they made it up the next several pitches and were standing on the summit of Cerro Torre around 2pm. Huber recalls view from the summit as, “a stunning 360° panorama that I certainly won’t forget in a hurry.”
RELATED LINKS:
www.pataclimb.com
www.marmot.eu