Patagonia, An Early Assessment of the 1974 Season. (This letter was written on February 8, 1974. Since no detailed information is available as we go to press, we have included this incomplete report.—Editor.) Yesterday Carlos Comesaña arrived from the south with extraordinary news: the Italians have climbed Cerro Torre from the west. Comesaña got the news from Don Whillans, whose Anglo-American group is attempting Torre Egger, the second highest tower of the same massif. The Italians are from Lecco and are led by Casimiro Ferrari. They further number eleven (Pierlorenzo Acquistapace, Gigi Alippi, Mario Conti, Daniele Chiappa, Giuseppe Lafranconi, Ernesto Panzeri, Claudio Corti, Dr. Sandro Liati, Giuseppe Negri, Angelo Zoia and Mimmo Lanzetta). They made the ascent* January 13. No other expeditions seem to have been successful yet. The Swiss did well on the northeast buttress of Fitz Roy, getting up two-thirds of it, but they could not make it. Argentines are on the Aguja Mermoz. Two other Argentines, Rafael Juárez and Eduardo Atilio Munodet, have disappeared in the Cordón Adela, presumably having fallen into a crevasse. Comesana was with a Polish expedition. There have been two groups on Cerro Moyano, one led by Jorge Skvarca and the other by Cesare Fava.

Vojslav Arko, Club Andino Bariloche

*Ferrari, Chiappa, Conti and Negri reached the top. From the “cap”, high point in 1970 and a prominent point separated from the main tower, they descended, slabbed around the principal pyramid and climbed up a rock arête and at times an ice couloir. Thus they reached a 150-foot ice and snow wall, above which is the cauliflower-like first balcony. Vertical and overhanging ice steps led diagonally upwards until they reached the summit point above the great roof on the south. (A later communication from Sr. Arko.)