Cerro Pollone - main summit, east summit
Travesía del Pollone
800m (ca. 450m new) 7a A0
Scott Bennett and Blake Herrington (USA), 02/2011.
Description. The first ascensionists started 45 meters up and left from the toe of Cerro Pollone’s west pillar, climbing a series of left-facing corners, discontinuous cracks, flakes and overlaps. This initial section is a four-pitch variation start to A Fine Piece which starts 50 meters or more to the right of the toe of the west pillar. After joining A Fine Piece at the end of it’s seventh pitch they continued up it for another seven pitches to the top of the pillar. This is where A Fine Piece ends, before a long horizontal ridge. From there the first ascensionists climbed five more pitches to the summit of Cerro Pollone via good rock and mostly easy climbing (one short bit of 6b) following a line parallel and possibly at times similar to the first ascent route. The free-climbing crux to this point is a well-protected right-leaning crack on the 4th pitch (7a). The rock is fantastic and many of the middle pitches feature knobs and pockets.
From the summit they headed east, to the East summit (slightly lower), traversing across a long previously unclimbed ridge, passing the top-out of the summit-less Mastica e Sputa. They rappelled off of two gendarmes and found some bad rock on the final gendarme before the east summit. Here they used a few points of A0 to surmount an overhang.
History. The first ascent was completed in alpine style and jumar-less, free with the exception of the final gendarme before the East summit. On the route they bivied only once, at the top of their 12th pitch. Theirs was the second ascent of Cerro Pollone's main and east summit, climbed in 1949 and 1/2011 respectively.
Approach. Glaciar Marconi. Be sure to explore the way to the base of the route carefully. The first ascent party ended up in a ridge too far to the north having to climb three approach pitches before realizing they were 200 meters above their intended starting point, separated from it by a glacial tongue with seracs.
Descent. Same as for the route Re Puesto!, via the south face, west of the south ridge, then down via the Mastica e Sputa descent.
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