Cerro Torre

Check out Federico Bernardi's author page.

It's been a tough season for big climbs and enchainments down in Patagonia, but Buhl still managed to sneak in an impressive first.

The documentary Cumbre tells the story of the first solo ascent of Cerro Torre in Patagonia, Argentina, carried out by the late Swiss climber Marco Pedrini in 1985.

This is pretty special: the last interview of the Bird, conducted by John Long.

Below, Will Stanhope reflects on the incredible talent, compassion and thoughtfulness of his friend Marc-André Leclerc, and the myriad ways the late alpinist affected those around him. Leclerc, 25, died in the Mendenhall Towers, outside Juneau, Alaska, sometime in the days following March 5, 2018. He had just completed a first ascent on the North Face of the Main Tower with his partner, Ryan Johnson, who also died on the descent.

On February 16, Jim “The Bird” Bridwell, captain of numerous El Cap voyages of physical and psychological expansion, inventor, writer, thinker and fashion setter died of complications from hepatitis C. He was 73.

Marc-André Leclerc, 22, has soloed the 4,000-foot Corkscrew route (5.10d, A1) on Cerro Torre—the hardest route ever soloed on the granite tower—in a single day and in terrible conditions.

Josh Wharton is one of our most accomplished, least recognized alpinists. Embracing a disaster style of minimal equipment and a bold go-for-it attitude, he's amassed a roster of big ticks the likes of which you've never heard.

Austrian alpinist Markus Pucher made history by claiming the first free solo of Cerro Torre in Patagonia. "I'd done it, I'd managed to free solo this immense mountain," wrote Pucher, "the mountain of my dreams!"

Cesare Maestri's gas-powered compressor and 450 bolts on Cerro Torre have become the most debated relics in the history of alpinism.