Colin Haley completes coveted Cerro Torre first winter solo ascent

Colin Haley has made climbing history once again with the coveted first winter solo of Cerro Torre in Patagonia. Climbing rope-solo via the famous Ragni Route, the 41-year-old summited on 7 September at 10 pm after having crossed the Bergschrund early on 6 September and after having made several gear caches in the run-up to his monumental ascent.

After crossing the schrund he free-soloed the first few rope-lengths of hard ice, to roughly one pitch above the Col de la Esperanza, from where he started self-belaying. He made decent progress throughout the day, so much so that on reaching his 2023 highpoint on the Elmo he decided not to bivouac but, instead, use the remaining 4 hours of daylight to push on up the steep Headwall. He climbed this slower than planned and finally got into his tent at 1:00 am, a mere 3 pitches below the summit of Cerro Torre. The day had been long and taxing and it wasn’t until 11 am the next morning that he was ready to start climbing again. While the first pitch above the headwall was dispatched with relatively quickly, the second involved exhausting tunneling through the rime ice, which he completed at 4:30 pm. He rested, then set off at 6:00 pm and spent the next 3 hours fighting his way not through a wind tunnel as he had hoped but, instead, an extremely tight crevasse. At one point it seemed as if this was too narrow for him to pass; having left behind his helmet, extra jacket, extra gloves, the Grigri and most of his rack, he continued upwards, chipping away at the glacial ice before unexpectedly emerging next to a final wind tunnel. This in turn led to easier terrain and then the summit. He had spent almost three hours battling through the crevasse, which he describes as being the ice version of the famous Harding Slot on Astroman in Yosemite.

Writing in his in-depth account, he stated "It felt surreal to top out the pitch, after feeling pessimistic for such a long time that I wouldn’t make it through. I was also somewhat in disbelief about the whole experience, which was certainly the most bizarre and insane finish of any climb I’ve ever done. Additionally, it felt strange to be nearly on the summit of Cerro Torre with no backpack, no helmet, and almost nothing attached to my harness. I climbed to the end of my rope, placed an ice screw to clip it to, and climbed easily from there to Cerro Torre’s summit."

Haley reached the top just before 10:00 pm. "To say that the stars aligned is figurative, but to say that the Sun, Earth, and Moon aligned is in this case literal, and the gorgeous terrain of the Chaltén Massif was illuminated by a brilliantly bright full moon." he wrote on his Instagram handle, where he also posted amazing photos taken by Tyler Lekki who followed Haley's progress.

After the ritual summit photos, he quickly started his descent. This proved eventful - his only 80m rope got stuck during an abseil and he was forced to cut it in half - but he eventually made it down safely. He was picked up at Rio Eléctrico by friends and returned to civilisation 7 days after having left El Chalten.

Haley's successful first winter solo comes after a hugely impressive attempt by Austria's Markus Pucher who on 3 September 2016 climbed to within 40m of the summit. The first to solo Cerro Torre was Walter Hungerbühler, during the austral summer in December 2008, while Pucher made the second solo - and first complete free solo ascent - in January 2013. 

Haley's groundbreaking climb - his tenth time on the summit of Cerro Torre - crowns years of effort and persistance. His previous standout ascents in Patagonia include the first-ever Torres Traverse carried out with Rolando Garibotti in 2008, the second Torres Traverse carried out with Alex Honnold in under 24 hours in 2016, the first solo of Torre Egger and Punta Herron earlier that year, and the first winter solo of Supercanaleta on Fitz Roy in 2022. While all these climbs are undisputedly world-class, his latest feat, in his own words, "might be the most special one."

>> Click here for Haley's in-depth report

Haley is sponsored by Patagonia, Petzl, SCARPA, Evil Eye

 

 

 

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