Cerro Torre, Granite mountain peak in Los Glaciares National Park, Argentina and Chile
Cerro Torre is a granite peak in Los Glaciares National Park in Argentina and Chile, rising to 3,128 meters (10,262 feet) near the Southern Patagonian Ice Field. The rock wall extends several hundred meters vertically upward and ends in a summit often covered by an ice mushroom formation.
The first confirmed climbers to reach the summit were Italian mountaineers Daniele Chiappa, Mario Conti, Casimiro Ferrari, and Pino Negri in 1974. Earlier, Cesare Maestri had claimed an ascent in 1959 that was later questioned and led to decades of discussion in the mountaineering community.
The name comes from Spanish and means tower hill, describing the steep vertical form that rises from the surrounding terrain. Mountaineers worldwide consider this peak one of the most demanding challenges in the Andes.
Climbers access the area through El Calafate and El Chaltén and must register with the National Parks Service for permits between January and March. Conditions change rapidly and require experience in ice and rock climbing as well as preparation for extreme weather shifts.
Pacific winds meet the Andes chain and cause rapid weather shifts that can turn from clear skies to heavy storms within hours. These air currents also shape the ice mushroom structure at the summit, which changes constantly and sometimes reaches several meters in diameter.
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