South America, Argentine-Chilean Patagonia, El Mocho, Aguja del S and Cerro Adela Sur

Publication Year: 1987.

El Mocho, Aguja del S and Cerro Adela Sur. Giancarlo Grassi, M. Rossi and R. Pe climbed in the Fitz Roy region in November and December of 1986. They climbed the “Todo o Nada” couloir on the southeast face of El Mocho on November 18. The face has two prominent pillars which encase a deep ice couloir which is continuously steep and in places vertical. This may be the most difficult ice climb yet done in Patagonia. The left pillar had been climbed by Jim Bridwell. The same three Italians on December 6 and 7 made a new route, the right pillar which they called “Bizcochuelo.” The 15-pitch climb was on extremely difficult rock with passages of up to UIAA VII + . On November 30 the same three climbed the Aguja del S (“S Needle”) in the Saint Exupéry group from the Torre Glacier. This difficult climb on the northwest face rose 1300 meters, of which 700 meters were in a 40° to 50° couloir, 400 meters on cracks, 100 easy meters and 140 meters on the final rock pyramid. The last climb was done by Grassi and Rossi on December 9 and 10. The pair ascended Cerro Adela Sur (c. 2900 meters, 9515 feet) by its northeast face. From the Adela Glacier they climbed through crevasses up two vertical slopes. After bypassing a rock band on the right, they continued up extremely steep, up to vertical, ice to emerge on the summit ridge just right of the top. (This information was kindly furnished by Giancarlo Grassi and Luciano Ghigo.)