Cerro Piergiorgio (ca. 2700m).

General description.

It is a flat topped, fin like, granite monolith that lies north of the Cerro Torre group. The mountain was named by Alberto Maria De Agostini, during one of his early explorations of the area in the summer of 1935. In is named after a young man from Torino, Piergiorgio Frassati (1901-1925). This virtuous young man loved passionately the mountains and practiced alpinism as a way to fortify the spirit and raise himself closer to God. He conducted an exemplary life of compassion, mercy and charity and was beatified in 1990.

Renowed Swiss alpinist Michel Piola referred to its west face as “la paroie parfaite” (the perfect wall), which is certainly not an overstatement on his part. Steep, immaculate rock for 800 meters, likely the playground for the future generations.

Climbing history.

In 1963 Argentines Jorge and Pedro Skvarca climbed to within a short distance from the summit, but finding unstable rime they decided to retreat. They wrote: "...we arrive to the base of the summit of a rime mushroom which we decided not to climb after making one attempt, because we felt it was in danger of collapsing", then they continue, "...for the first time a man steps on the summit of the collosal face of Pier Giorgio". In spite of not reaching the highest point Skvarcas' ascent has been widely considered the first ascent of the peak.

In 1985 Italians Mario Mànica and Renzo Vettori climbed a gendarme immediately south of the summit (the Skvarca brothers' highpoint is on the east side of this gendarme). In 1996 Italians Maurizio Giordani and Gian Luca Maspes climbed to the base of a summit mushroom on the far north of the summit ridge. In 2008 Hervé Barmasse and Christian Brenna climbed to a small col somewhere on the summit ridge. In 2010 Jon Griffith and Wil Sim climbed to a small summit north of the main summit. In late 2013 Lukas Mathis and Marcel Schenk followed the Griffith-Sim line and headed left hoping to reach the summit but were stopped by a rime covered slab. In 2014 Rolando Garibotti and Colin Haley climbed the last few meters to reach the highest point of the peak. From the vicinity of the Skvarcas' highpoint, at the base of a rime covered granite block, they made a 15-meter rappel to reach a chimney in the east face that in 30 meters leads to the summit.

Photos (click to enlarge)

Cerro Piergiorgio - East face

Cerro Piergiorgio - Northwest face

Cerro Piergiorgio - West face