Alex Honnold and Tommy Caldwell completed the first ascent of the Fitz Traverse, a five-day enchainment across the seven summits of the Cerro Chaltén group in Patagonia. The climb, finished on 16 February 2014, later earned the pair the Piolets d’Or, alpinism’s highest honour.
Five days across seven summits
They began at 9:45 a.m. on 12 February from Paso Guillaumet. A cold, snowy season had left the rock icy and slow, and progress up the Brenner-Moschioni Route was immediately difficult.
On Mermoz, the Argentina Route became what Honnold described as a wet and icy nightmare. The pair pressed on across the massif’s spine, peak by peak.
A crux fought in the dark
The hardest day came on the North Pillar of Fitz Roy. Caldwell and Honnold simul-climbed the Casarotto Route, reducing 20 pitches to just three before the pillar turned into a snowy, rime-covered mess.
Caldwell then led the remaining ground to the summit in darkness, aiding through a river of freezing water. The descent off Aguja Poincenot brought fresh anxiety as they reversed a rarely climbed 1,000-foot wall, finding the rappels only after lengthy searching.
A broken rope and a nuclear wind
On Saint-Exúpery, a core-shot near the middle of their lead rope forced over 20 short rappels on a 38-metre section, made in high wind. They finished on Aguja de l’S, simul-climbing the north ridge in approach shoes as the weather slammed shut.
“Tommy and I called it the most scenic camping trip in the world,” Honnold told reporters. “Extreme backpacking.” He then staggered back across the glacier as the wind became nuclear, developing snow-blindness that required two days of bed rest.
In all, the team covered over 5km of ridge-line with nearly 4,000m of vertical gain. The traverse stood as Honnold’s first real climb in Patagonia, a quiet prelude to the ropeless El Capitan ascent that would follow three years later.
