Krajnc, Krišelj and Lindič in Patagonia...

Krajnc, Krišelj and Lindič in Patagonia: Blockbuster first ascent and Cerro Torre via Adel

Luka Krajnc (AO PD Celje - Matica), Tadej Krišelj (AO PD Kamnik) and Luka Lindič (AO PD Celje - Matica), all members

of the Slovenian youth alpine national team (SMAR), which operates under the auspices of the Alpine Commission of

the Alpine Association of Slovenia, climbed in Patagonia in January and February 2015. Krajnc and Krišelj opened a first ascent rock route Blockbuster in the west face

of Mojon Roja, which they climbed onsight. The entire trio later, under conditions more favorable for snow-ice climbing, completed a ridge traverse of the Adel peaks and ascended to the summit of Cerro Torre (3128 m) via the Ragni route,

one of the most iconic Patagonian summits.

Despite the changeable weather conditions typical of Patagonia and constant adjustments to plans, the young Slovenian alpinists managed to use windows of clear weather for top-class climbing. Luka Krajnc and Tadej Krišelj

returned to Patagonia after two years with bold plans, where in January 2013 they climbed the first ascents The

Real Kekec on Fitz Roy and Dulce de Leche on El Mocho, and completed the second repeat of the southeast ridge on Cerro

Torre after the removal of bolts. This time a snowstorm stopped them in the east face of Cerro Torre, so they decided to climb in the west face of Mojon Roja, which turned out to be steeper and more exposed than expected, but the quality of the rock positively surprised them. On 20 January 2015, they onsighted the 550-

metre first ascent route Blockbuster, rated 6c, with the last 150 metres to the top of the face joining the El Zorro route. "The face proved to be harder and more consistent than expected with nineteen pitches and 700 metres and a steep average angle. The climbing was quite serious with most pitches in the upper sixth

grade range, but the physical difficulties never exceeded 6c. The route, which we named Blockbuster due to its rock characteristics,

we climbed onsight, and we left nothing behind in the face," described Luka Krajnc the ascent upon returning to Slovenia.

Luka Lindič later joined Krajnc and Krišelj. The trio attempted once more in light alpine style in the east face of Cerro Torre and the snow-ice route Exocet on Standhardt, but falling rocks and ice forced them to retreat both times, then in the second half of February they headed back to the Torre Valley. Due to

unfavourable conditions for free rock climbing, between 19 and 21 February 2015 they opted for the ridge

traverse of the Adel peaks and continuation via the Ragni route to the summit of Cerro Torre, one of the most iconic Patagonian summits. The three-day ascent with ice-snow sections up to 90 degrees slope and 2000 metres of elevation gain deserves the alpinistic rating AI5, M4. "On the first day of the ascent we started only in the late afternoon and used the coldest part of the day for the safest time to ascend towards the Trento saddle. About a hundred metres below the saddle we set up a bivouac under a small serac. After four hours of rest we continued to the summit of Adel Sur and then traversed the summits of Adel

Central and North all the way to Esperanca saddle. All the time in incredible views we sought the most favourable passages between sometimes really huge snow mushrooms and cornices. Already early in the afternoon we continued via the Ragni route to the area called El Elmo, where together with Christine (Huber) and Caroline (North), who as the first female team climbed this route on Cerro Torre, we bivouacked in a very comfortable spot. Overnight about five centimetres of snow fell, but in the morning in excellent ice conditions we easily climbed to the summit and by midnight with rappels descended the southeast ridge to Paciencia saddle, where we bivouacked again in an ice crevasse.

The next day satisfied with the choice of objective and the completed tour we descended to El Chaltén," wrote Luka Lindič in the report.



"The guys showed a great deal of maturity, as in the quite typical unstable Patagonian weather they managed to find a suitable, still quite demanding objective. We must realise that no ascent of Cerro Torre is easy. It's a pity that the weather prevented them from another serious ascent, but they can be very satisfied with the new route on Mojon Rojo and the summit of Cerro Torre," commented Miha Habjan, head of the PZS Alpine Commission, on the alpinistic achievements in Patagonia.

"This season did not offer longer periods of good weather and climbers only touched the first pitches of big objectives.

Congratulations to the guys who found themselves in such unstable weather and made an excellent ascent over the Adel ridge to the Torre summit. In the opposite direction, the legendary Walter Bonatti and Carlo Mauri first traversed Adel in distant 1958,

when they realised that Cerro Torre was still too tough a nut to crack for those times," rated the ascent by experienced alpinist Silvo Karo.