In November, Luca Schiera and I made our fourth trip to the Campo de Hielo Norte (Northern Patagonian Icefield), this time with Andrea Carretta and Giovanni Ongaro, who came along to document the trip. Our goal was Cerro Nora Oeste, a peak we had glimpsed in 2019 from the summit of Cerro Mangiafuoco (AAJ 2019) but only saw with binoculars in 2020 when we entered the icefield via the Steffen Glacier. [Cerro Nora Oeste (-47.106269, -73.434797) is about 1.5km from Cerro Nora (2,460m), first climbed in 2021 by Nadine Lehner and Isidora Llarena; see AAJ 2021.]

We started our approach on November 17. We walked up the Nef Valley for three days with the help of gaucho Don Aguilino, until thick vegetation made it impossible for him to continue with the horses. Since a good weather window was coming, we decided to take climbing gear and a week of food and continue on foot. We walked for two more days, crossing a pass to enter the Cachet Valley, at Lago Cachet Dos, and then continued to the edge of the icefield.

At this point, Giovanni and Andrea decided to rest, while Luca and I continued toward Cerro Nora Oeste. Early in the afternoon of November 23, we reached the base. The peak is huge and impressive, but it was in winter conditions on both the south and north faces after recent storms. We were about to turn back when we caught a glimpse of a possible safe line along the west ridge.

On November 24, Luca and I climbed to the western summit of Cerro Nora Oeste following this ridge. The ascent entailed about 900m of elevation gain, with 300m in a snow gully and 600m of mixed climbing (up to M6+) and rock. The upper ridge was covered with a thick layer of rime. On top, we measured the elevation at 2,420m. [The mountain has three tops of similar elevation; the central summit may be the highest by a few meters.]

That same day, we descended to the glacier and returned to its edge, where we found Giovanni and Andrea waiting. On the ninth and tenth days of our expedition, we returned to the gear cache, then rested and sat out some bad weather for three days. We then started shuttling loads to Lago Colonia. On December 3, with four packrafts loaded with all the gear, we crossed Lago Colonia and rafted part of the Río Colonia. The following day, we finished descending the river to the road at La Rinconada.

We called our route Zenin (900m, 6a+ M6+) and dedicated our ascent to Mario Conti, one of the climbers who made the first ascent of the Ragni Route on Cerro Torre. Mario disappeared on a hike close to his home around the same time we climbed Nora Oeste.

— Paolo Marazzi, Italy