Torres del Paine, Paineta, Cerro Almirante Nieto, 1992. Our expedition was composed of Carlo Barbolini, Mario Vighetti, Angelo Pozzi, Alberto Rampini and me. On November 8, 9, 12, 13, 15 and 16, 1992, we opened a new route (UIAA VII+, A3) on the west face of the Central Paine Tower, which we called the “Via delle Mamme.” It ascends the cracks to the right of the 1986 Mànica- Stedile-Defrancesco route. The 800-meter-high route had 600 meters of fixed rope. Barbolini and I reached the top on November 15, 1992 at eight P.M. The next day, the other three climbed to the top. While the others worked on the route, on November 13 Vighetti and Barbolini repeated the first-ascent route on the Torre Norte. After that, I made a number of solo climbs. On November 19, I made a new route, the west spur of Paineta (800 meters, 6, A1). On November 20 and 21, I soloed in 30 hours all the towers for the first time. On November 20,I climbed the normal route on the Torre Norte, descended and ascended the fixed ropes on the Torre Central on the Via delle Mamme and descended. On the 21st, I climbed the first-ascent (Aste) route on the Torre Sur. My final solo climb was a new route (500 meters, V+, A1) on the west face of Cerro Almirante (Paine Chico), done on November 25. [Lloyd and Pritchard did a new route on this face a year before.—Editor.] Also on November 25, Barbolini, Vighetti and Pozzi, joined by Spaniard Joan Jover, climbed the normal (Aste) route on the Torre Sur to within 100 meters of the top.

Bruno de Donà, Club Alpino Italiano