Paine Towers. Two expeditions, one English and the other Italian, strove for the same objectives during the first days of 1963 in a most unfortunate rivalry. They were struggling to reach the unclimbed summits of two of the sheer granite spires of the Paine Towers, which rise to an altitude of over 8000 feet above the Patagonian glaciers. The Torre Norte (North Tower) had been climbed by Italians in 1958 and again by Argentines in 1960, but the Central and South Towers remained virgin. The British group, under the leadership of Dr. Barry Page, arrived in the region first. Its other members were Ian Clough, Don Whillans, Chris Bonington, John Streetly, Derek Walker, Vic Bray and Keith Cox. On December 4, Whillans and Page reached the notch between the North and Central Towers, the start of the real technical difficulties, but continual bad weather and high winds kept them from much further progress until it dawned clear and still on January 15, 1963. Page, Streetly, Whillans and Bonington were at Camp III at the foot of the tower. They were soon back at the notch along the prepared route. A little higher Whillans nearly fell when a previously fixed rope snapped, having been frayed by the high winds, but he managed to hold onto the slab. Bonington also fell when leading but Whillans managed to hold him. This pair bivouacked on the wall and finally reached the summit at 7:30 P.M. on January 16. After a bivouac on the summit, they descended but Bonington nearly fell to his death when a rappel rope broke; he caught himself on a shelf 30 feet lower. The Italians had arrived in the region on December 30. They were Giancarlo Frigieri, leader, J. Aiazzi, Armando Aste, Carlo Casati, Nando Nusdeo, and Vasco Taldo. They were also accompanied by the Chileans Pedro Durand and Mario Alfaro. The five Italians, minus their leader, reached the summit of the Central Tower twenty hours after the English. They climbed the South Tower, reaching the summit on February 9, 1963.