Torre Norte del Paine, South Spur, and Torre Sur, North Spur, Winter Ascents. Luca Leonardi and I left Italy on June 10 hoping to climb one of the Paine towers in winter. There had never been even a winter attempt before in the Paine group. On June 20, we got to Base Camp on the Río Ascensio. We decided on the south spur of the North Tower. After an unsuccessful attempt turned back by bad weather, on June 28 at four P.M. we got to the summit. Considering the little time we had left, we decided to try the highest of the three towers, the South Tower, by the Armando Aste route on the north spur. After carrying all our gear to the base and carving a snow hole, we fixed 200 meters of rope in two days. Seeing a definite improvement in the weather on July 10, we set out with full equipment. Toward evening, we got to the shoulder, where we could bivouac quite comfortably. The next day, July 11 at six P.M., we got to the summit. In the 40 days we were in the Paine Park, we had three good days, much wind and -25° C temperatures. There was not much snowfall.

Mario Manica, Club Alpino Italiano