Aguja Saint-Exupéry (ca. 2550m).



Description.

The French 1952 expedition that accomplished the first ascent of Fitz Roy was responsable for the naming of several towers including this one. The expedition’s cartographer Louis Lliboutry, a well respected glaciologist, was responsable for the first accurate maping of the area. It was named after Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (1900-1944) a French pilot and poet who, as a member of the French Aéropostale, became famous for flying mail across the Andes. His writinings, which include masterpieces such as Le Petit Prince and La Terre des Hommes, have inspired several generations of travelers and adventurers. He was the Director of Argentine Aéropostale from 1929 to 1931 and disappeared while doing a reconnaissance flight over the northern part of Corsica. His death remains a mystery.

Climbing history.

In 1968 Italians Gino Buscaini, Silvia Metzeltin, Lino Candot, Walter Romano and Silvano Sinigoi made the first ascent of the peak via its east buttress (see ruta Italian). Theirs was one of the only successful ascents that season, during which a French team was forced to give up on Fitz Roy’s east pillar and an Anglo-Argentine expedition failed on Cerro Torre’s SE ridge.

Photos (click to enlarge)

Saint-Exupery east face

Aguja Saint-Exupery south face

Aguja Saint-Exupery west face

Aguja Saint-Exupery north face