Volcan Campanario (4,049m; 35°55'24.15"S, 70°22'2.55"W) is an eroded volcanic skeleton between Chile and Argentina in Mendoza Province. Campanario was first attempted in 1963 by Bión González, Osiel González, Sergio Kuntsmann, and Mario Puig and has seen several other unsuccessful attempts. [Editor’s Note: This is a different peak than Pico Torre del Campanario (5,090m), far to the north.]

On February 9, Carlos Bravo, Erasmo Gonzaléz, and Tomás Pellizzari approached the peak, making camp on the south side. The next day, they began their route up the southwest ridge. The rotten rock made for slow progress, and the ascent consisted primarily of aid climbing separated by nearly lateral traversing. The team fixed ropes and descended to the ground after each day of climbing. On the 14th, Bravo and Pellizzari reached the summit at 2:30 p.m.

In all, the ascent took four days and required substantial use of pitons for aid. En route, they encountered old knifeblades, carabiners, and anchored steel stakes up to 60cm long abandoned from the 1963 attempt. Though the route’s vertical gain is only about 200m, the climbers reported that the “rock breaks in the hands,” so they belayed 10 short pitches with difficulties up to A4–A6.

— Marcelo Scanu, Argentina