Cordillera Real, Various Ascents. Bolivia, and especially the Cordillera Real, is being visited by many Argentines. In early July, 1995, a large group made various ascents. The most remarkable was a new route on Pirámide Blanca (5230 m) which Mariano Merani and Emilio González Turu called Via Argentina. The route climbs a serac cascade; a bivouac in ice was needed to complete it. Meanwhile, Pico Austria (5290 m) was climbed. Manuel Alfaro ascended solo Pico Cuchillar (5175 m), and Pablo Tetilla, also solo, made an ascent of Pico Tarija (5240 m). In bad weather, Merani and González Turu climbed a variation of the south face of Condoriri (5656 m). Some days later, the same pair ascended the South Summit of Huayna Potosi (5715 m) by the French Route (45-50 degrees, with a 65-degree exit).

Marcelo Scanu, Buenos Aires, Argentina