Fb Patagonia-Vertikal: Cerro San Lorenzo, drugi najvišji vrh Patgagonije, ima 2000 metrov visoko vzhodno steno, ki je bila še do nedavno deviška ...
Cerro San Lorenzo is the second highest peak in Patagonia and is located in a very remote area. It's east face has been in many alpinists' wish-list for years. It is almost 2000 meters high, and was untouched.
This past November a team of five slovenian alpinists: Dejan Koren, Boštjan Mikuž, Rok Kurinčič, Domen Petrovčič and Domen Kastelic spent a month in the area. They reached the area via Rio Gallegos and Gobernador Gregores, completling the last section via jeep with the help of Abel Barría.
They established their basecamp at Puesto San Lorenzo, at an old gaucho hut. During an initial good weather window they were able to suss out the face and conditions, fairly dry after a snow-less winter. Despite of the dry conditions they were able to identify a potential line for “more or less safe climbing”. The initial good weather was followed by a long period of bad weather lasting 14 days. This was broken by a short window on the 10th of November when Koren, Kurinčič and Mikuž made a first attempt at the east face, getting turned back by deterorating weather. During this short window Petrovčič and Kastelic climbed a new route in Cerro Hermoso's southeast face.
After waiting patiently in basecamp and as they started running out of food and time, the first signs of a possible good weather window arrived via satellite phone. On the 20th both teams set out to the east face. Petrovčič and Kastelic headed to a couloir between Pilar Sur and Cumbre Sur, setting up a camp and getting an early start the next day, climbing to the col between those two summits. Further details are lacking.
Koren, Kurinčič and Mikuž started from basecamp at midday and reached the base of the right side of the east face, a section of the face that is oriented to the southeast, by 5PM. They started climbing at 7PM, following snow-slopes to 70°, unroped. By midnight they had covered 800m and had reached the first icefall that connects the lower and middle part of the face. Here they roped up, climbing mixed terrain to the first serac, traversing left for five pitches, across very hard ice, to find a passage between second and third serac. By dawn they reached the base of the third serac. Despite a windless weather forecast, a southeasterly wind picked up around midnight, becoming quite strong after sunrise. The wind prevented them from stopping to melt water so upon reaching the South-African route and the east ridge, having climbed 1.600 vertical meters, and at an altitude of 3450m, they decided to call it good without continuing on to the summit. It was 3PM and they had climbed for 18 hours to that point.
To descend, they rappeled the northeast face, which was protected from the wind, making around 40 rappels (1000m). They reached basecamp at dawn on 22nd, after being on the go for 40hs.
Summary of statistics:
* Cerro San Lorenzo, SE face, No Fiesta, ED+, 1600m, 18h, Dejan Koren, Rok Kurinčič and Boštjan Mikuž, 20/21.11.2015.
* Cerro Hermoso, SE face, 10.11.2015, Domen Petrovčič and Domen Kastelic.
* Cerro San Lorenzo, east face, couloir between Pilar Sur and Cumbre Sur, Domen Petrovčič and Domen Kastelic, 20.11.2015.
Sponsors: PZS (Alpine association of Slovenia), Intersocks d.o.o., Grivel, Zamberlan, Singing Rock, Alpstation, Asolo, Občina Ajdovščina, Mlinotest d.d., Fructal d.o.o.
Rok Kurinčič dopolnjuje seznam sponzorjev s: Planinsko drustvo Tolmin, Soški AO, Sport nutrition - športna prehrana SiS, KTŠ - klub tolminskih študentov, Iglu šport