Premiere: Romanian climbers conquer Cerro Torre Peak

Romanian mountain climbers Zsolt Torok and Vlad Căpușan have reached the famous Patagonian peak of Cerro Torre, a premiere in the Romanian mountain climbing.

Cerro Torre, located in the south of Argentina (Cordillera Andes), with a height of 3106 m, is considered one of the most inaccessible climbing objectives, due to the vertical and the specificity of the ascension.

Access and withdrawal are difficult because of the inaccessible area.

Winds reaching over 140 km per hour rarely allow climbing, and beyond the complex difficulty of the trail, the last 40 meters cannot be climbed because of the surge of ice (the famous Torre Ice-Mushroom).

Reaching the Cerro Torre peak was only successful in 1974 - much after the great explorations and Himalayan conquests, which tells a lot about the difficulty of this mountain.

Vlad and Zsolt traveled over 85km and over 3200m (df.l = difference in level) during the seven days spent on the mountain.

The Romanian team has led the way, together with a US team, towards the peak, and the rest of the climbers followed the opened trail made by the Romanians and the Americans.

The toughest sections - Elmo / Head Wall / and the last-mentioned difficult track were passed one at a time - especially the last segment that needed the strongest effort, for over eight hours. The Romanians slept one night under the peak, to be able to continue their ascension.

Conditions on the route were unexpectedly difficult and the temperatures were very low.

Reaching of Cerro Torre peak is a new important page in the Romanian mountain climbing history.

Statement Zsolt Torok and Vlad Căpușan: "After a climb of over seven days, we were able to reach the Cerro Torre peak, that 40 years ago, explorers of the time considered it as an impossible objective. Through determination, teamwork and continuous effort, we have managed to put the Romanian national flag for the first time on this granite giant!”

Source:RRA.Translated by Miruna Matei