EL CHALTEN - FITZ ROY December 1997 Objective: To climb Fitz Roy, 3441 metres, one of the most famous and demanding mountains of Patagonia. Organisation: Gruppo Alpinistico Shisha Pangma Expedition of Albino (BG) and the Gruppo Alpinistico El Chalten of Scanzorosciate (BG) Expedition leader: Evaristo Agnelli Team: Roberto Ambrosioni, Graziano Banchetti, Paolo Capelli, Mario Pilloni, Giorgio Tomasi, Adelio Picenni Method of climb: along the Casarotto route on Pilaster N/E of Fitz Roy. Sports result: repetition of one of the "historic" routes of mountaineering in Patagonia, established in 1979 by Renato Casarotto. The climb was carried out in pure alpinistic style, with no auxiliary artificial support. Scientific activity: study of the mental process linked to language and communication during an extreme sports undertaking. Research was directly coordinated within the team by expedition participants, by Dr. Cristina Cacciari of the Department of Psychology of the University of Studies of Bologna. Parallel initiatives: trekking in Patagonian territory by a group linked to the team of mountaineers, but operationally autonomous. Diary of the journey...Renato Casarotto, a mountaineer of great class, participated in 1978 in an expedition organised by the Alpine Club of Italy (CAI) of Morbegno, with the objective of opening a new route on the north face of Fitz Roy. Unfortunately, the few days of good weather and accumulated lateness in transporting essential materials to the foot of the north face left the group little hope of success. On that occasion, Renato Casarotto fell in love with the Fitz Roy and, above all, the elegance of its North East edge. As early as the following year (1979), Casarotto returned to EL CHALTEN with two friends and his wife Goretta, but persistent bad weather thwarted every attempt by the three mountaineers and demoralised Renato's companions, who decided to return to Italy; Renato and Goretta remained there alone. At that point, Renato decided to attempt to climb the Pilaster of the Fitz Roy on his own. "There is a mad man climbing alone and that crazy woman waiting for him below!..." "Only in January, 1979 did the situation improve and I began to climb again. "As in previous lone ascents, I used the dynamic auto-securing system which I invented and tested and which, up until that point, had guaranteed me maximum safety. I climbed another 150 metres along a group of dihedral cracks and chimneys, encountering the maximum difficulty in free-climbing... The next day, I continued for another 150 metres, reaching always with the greatest difficulty the height of a characteristically enormous dihedral.. The third day, the sky became overcast and the wind increased in intensity, making progress slow on the inevitable cracks and chimneys characteristic of that wall... The climb was stupendous and if it had not been for the ice which, in places, completely filled the cracks, it could all have been achieved by free-climbing. On the 4th January, following the barb of the Eastern edge took me into a dihedral and after overcoming numerous cracks and final steps, I reached the summit of the north Pilaster, an altitude of about 3000 metres". At that point, Renato had achieved a notable mountaineering success, but not content with that he wanted to attempt the Fitz Roy. Unfortunately, as is usually the case, the weather turned bad and so he was forced to retire, still encountering dangerous sections, on his way down to the base camp. To reach the summit, he had only to cover the 400 metres which separate the saddle from the top, but the difficulties persisted and the weather conceded only brief moments of sun. By that time, after about two months on location and innumerable attempts, it seemed that, finally, on 7th January conditions were suitable for a new attempt on the summit... "The whole wall is full of ice: the wind has formed many little cylinders, cauliflowers and numerous cornices: a fascinating spectacle which I am unable to appreciate at this moment, given that I have to deal with these new obstacles". On the afternoon of 19th January 1979, Renato Casarotto reached the summit of Fitz Roy: without doubt, an climb which will become part of mountaineering history. "Arrival at the summit is not so tremendously exciting as it was on other occasions... I feel nauseous, empty: I had to fight too hard to conquer this summit... Only during the descent did I have the feeling of having conquered for always something valid, which rewarded all my exertions."