Photo www.ccec.ece.ucsb.edu

Torres del Paine Expedition: playing for Russian Mountaineering Championship, Technical class.

Moscow team is going to Chile:
Arcady Seregin (the head),
Timur Ahmedkhanov,
Igor Pehterev, a.k.a. Khron,
Sergey Sorokaty,

Ascent aim: Torres del Paine (Tower of Paine), Andes, Patagonia.

Start from Moscow on January, 7, 2006.

Arcady Seregin

Timur Ahmedkhanov

Igor Pehterev

Area description

Photo www.alexkuzyk.co.uk

Photo www.alexkuzyk.co.uk

According available photos and a map it is clear, that Torres del Paine towers are located from southwest to northeast. In the photo from the right of the map a view is in a direction strictly on southwest. The lake is located in closed from wind corrie.

The sun-bright Northeast face of the Central Tower should be ideally protected from wind the dark (southeast and southern) face is more - less open. The underside of towers goes down in the gorge blockaded by Torres del Paine on one hand and an unknown mountain on the other hand (a white stain on the map that we could not read). Basically the mountain should blank out a little from wind the northwest side of the towers, but this effect seems hardly significant.

The North Tower of Paine was first climbed by Guido Monzino and the South Tower of Paine by Armando Aste. It seems this satellite photo was taken in spring or autumn. Torres del Paine is three pinnacles on the ridge that goes from the bottom part up to the central top and then turns to the right.

Photo http://maps.google.com

Photo http://www.summitpost.org

Photo http://www.summitpost.org

Photo http://www.summitpost.org

Expedition in 1984 tried to pave a new route on East Face of Southern Tower. Totally they spent five weeks under the wall, nine days on the wall, 22 pitches, VI, A4 and did not climb the last 150m up to the summit (one of the climbers had his leg broken with a falling stone at our night stop and was evacuated by the helicopter). One more SW Ridge route on the same Southern Tower was gone in October, 29 till January, 11, 1987 (it is not clear how long were they over it?).

Camp	Photo http://www.summitpost.org

Southern Tower Photo http://www.summitpost.org

Photo http://www.summitpost.org

Photo http://www.summitpost.org

http://www.summitpost.org

Routes

On Southern tower via a cornice in the center and a big hanging above it two routes A4 "The right to suicide" and "In the Eye of Hurricane" (the last one won Piolet d'Or in 1992) were paved. The both routes took 6 weeks (a week up to the hanging and two - for climbing it + upper part), a week - to haul the gear, a week to get it down.

http://www.summitpost.org