UKC

On last 13 November, 50 years old Ermanno Salvaterra (with much younger partners Alessandro Beltrami and Rolando Garibotti) has finally managed, after 47 years, to climb the alleged Maestri line on the north side of Cerro Torre. As you may remember, this climb is still disputed, and one of the reasons for Salvaterra (truly "mr. Cerro Torre" - he has climbed this mountain more than anyone else, with several difficult new routes to his credits) was to discover once for all if any trace of the Maestri ascension was there to support Mestri's claim. As far as we know now, they found none.

The line (who joins the "Ragni" route on the West face in the last section) as been thus christened ""El Arca de los Vientos" (The Ark of the Winds). It's the first route on Cerro Torre to be opened on pure alpine style.

And here's a link:

http://www.mounteverest.net/news.php?id=1165

In reply to Luca Signorelli:

There was an extensive article / interview with Ermanno Salvaterra in the Spanish magazine "Campo Base". If my memory is correct, somebody put me right if it is not, Salvaterra says that in a moment of weakness Maestri admitted to never having stood on the summit of Cerro Torre.

JH