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WBraun
climber
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"And then he chopped the final bit himself on his descent so nobody could repeat it."
Interesting, ..... did they find the bolt holes or evidence of the bolts he chopped?
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James
climber
A tent in the redwoods
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The hens are clucking in the coop again.
Hope the conflict resolves itself and Bean doesn't beat anyone else up (He's burly).
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guest
climber
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Werner,
Sounds like there were some broken/smashed bolts, and then some blankness. I can't remember where I heard the details, but I could find more sources if you like. Based on what Bridwell and Brewer found on their 1979 first complete (to summit) ascent of the SE Ridge, and maybe other evidence (including Maestri's own reports admitting not going up the mushroom, with his high-point suspected to be even lower than he reported), it appears that Maestri didn't reach the final snow slopes, either, but retreated a short bit below the top of the headwall. Unless, of course, he did a quick switch into some futuristic aid climbing after placing 400 bolts to get to there... From Bridwell's feature in the 1980 AAJ:
"Looking up, I saw seven broken bolts leading up and slightly right, but 80 feet of blank granite stretched between the last bolt and the summit snow. My God, I thought, Maestri must have nailed 80 feet of ice tenuously bound to smooth rock. It was a bad joke and inconsistent with the magazine articles. I took out the small bolt kit and went to work placing aluminum dowels, knifeblades and copperheads. I thought I was climbing very slowly. Steve boosted my morale by telling me I was moving fast
and to go for it. Finally, I could almost touch the ice. One last copper-head and I was able to chop a groove in an ice-filled crack and place a friend. It held and I started free-climbing, traversing left with my feet on steep friction and the pick of my hammer in the ice above. I pulled myself onto the summit snowfield. Balancing on one foot and then the other, I carefully donned my crampons and finished the lead. The summit would
be an easy walk, and I wondered why Maestri and his friend hadn’t gone to the top."
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paganmonkeyboy
Trad climber
the blighted lands of hatu
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"And then he chopped the final bit himself on his descent so nobody could repeat it."
Interesting, ..... did they find the bolt holes or evidence of the bolts he chopped?
if i recall correctly - when maestri spoke in fort collins he said he chopped the last line of bolts on his way down. when several members of the audience expressed obvious displeasure at this, he said they left the compressor there, go back and re-bolt it yourself if you don't like it...
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TwistedCrank
climber
Hell
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Also in the Bridwell AAJ article was a line where Jim marvels at the compressor and how hauling it up there was a feat comparable to Hannibal crossing the Alps.
Not to many climbers are hauling 200 pound machines with months worth of gasoline up 1000m granite towers these days...
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golsen
Social climber
kennewick, wa
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Maestri would fit in quite well here on Supertopo. Here are some excerpts of an interview:
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/0604/whats_new/cesare-maestri.html
Can I ask you a specific question? How do you explain that there are no bolts on or above the Col of Conquest?
Listen very carefully: When we attacked it in 1959, the north face of Cerro Torre was a solid mass of snow and ice. We went up it. Egger was the greatest ice climber in the world. We took advantage of this because the weather had been bad for three weeks and Cerro Torre was a sheet of ice. . . .
[Maestri reels off a string of obscenities.] But I don't give a [expletive] about all this. It has already been covered, goddamn it to hell! You can't understand.
How do you explain the controversy surrounding 1959?
It is created by all those sons of bitches. I am not a son of a bitch. In my life, in my whole life, I never told a lie. Everyone knows I am sincere, I am loyal, I never tried to destroy someone in order to make headlines. I made headlines because I was the strongest solo climber in the world. Do you understand?
Certainly a spirited guy. Can someone invite him to the taco?
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wbw
climber
'cross the great divide
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Wow. Maestri sounds like he has a worse temper than Bean.
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'Pass the Pitons' Pete
Big Wall climber
like Oakville, Ontario, Canada, eh?
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"Not too many climbers are hauling 200 pound machines with months worth of gasoline up 1000m granite towers these days..."
Hmmmmm, that's not a bad idea. I have always thought about bringing along a propane-powered fridge, and of course a heater for those cooler nights.
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pc
climber
East of Seattle
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Funny post Radical. The guy clearly has issues. All language related?
F*#k you, no f*#k me, what were we talking about?
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Loomis
climber
Blava nie, ty kokot!
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Wow! This is better than a movie...
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paganmonkeyboy
Trad climber
the blighted lands of hatu
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^^ as long as David Carradine doesn't cut the rope at the end...
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Fly'n Brian
Big Wall climber
Las Vegas
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its a man made path in the first place. the first ascensionist usually decides what hardware is necessary.... definitely not a statement of climbing expertise to ascend the compressor route. it's so hard to prove how good you are these days:) looks like josh and zach were really able to make some news.
i can see why steve was pissed. beans is a ...uh...well..
i'm so glad i don't climb or socialize anymore!
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Melissa
Gym climber
berkeley, ca
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"i'm so glad i don't climb or socialize anymore!"
The socializing thing, I can understand...I sort of quit every so often myself.
But did you really quit climbing? I hope you're not hurt.
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sierracanon
Mountain climber
Sacramento, CA
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Hey Twisted...
I totally agree on the spelling, grammar, etc. But then, you should know it's not spelled grammer... C for you too...
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piquaclimber
Trad climber
Durango
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"definitely not a statement of climbing expertise to ascend the compressor route"
I disagree.
While this may be true for all the badasses of the world, most climbers would list the Compressor Route among the most demanding routes that they have ever climbed.
5.10, A3, totally sketchy ice/snow 'climbing', all alpine and with severe weather threatening to appear within an hour or two on any day... seems like expert terrain to me.
Brad
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princesa
Big Wall climber
Puebla
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I was also at the meeting in Chalten.
I thought Steve Sneider looked pathetic: he appeared to be looking for sympathy for his fall off the sidewalk.
His real problem is that he is just another arrogant gringo that thinks he can go to another country and dictate new rules.
However, I am mexican and I offer him a consolation prize: The mexican climbing federation has decided to remove the bolts from Logical Progression on El Gigante in Chihuahua,Mexico. I invite him to help me. Let's see if he really has what it takes.
Ixchel Foord.
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clustiere
Trad climber
Durango, CO
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Mar 16, 2007 - 04:20pm PT
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Lets beat on steve and Bean and put em in a situation where they need to figh together to save their lives, like in Pulp fiction
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coward
Boulder climber
Boulder, Wyoming
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Mar 19, 2007 - 04:31pm PT
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This is an impressive thread. Lots of people have weighed in on the subject of whether or not the chopping of the Compressor Route on Cerro Torre would be justified under certain circumstances. Quite a few of these folks have actually climbed this beauty. My question is this; How many people have climbed Cerro Torre to the the very summit (including the mushroom for the full tick) and rappelled to the ground using a decent route other than the 1970 route? Has it ever been done?? And if the Compressor Route has been used every single time, then doesn't it have some additional value (other than being historical, relatively safe, and a unanimously fun route in a beautiful place that many have enjoyed over the years)?
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Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Mar 19, 2007 - 04:43pm PT
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The first ascent of Cerro Torre to its summit, by the Lecco Spiders in 1974, descended by the route of ascent, not the Compressor Route.
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GRJ
climber
Juneau AK
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Feb 25, 2008 - 01:40pm PT
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This is an old debate, but it is a new forum for me so I thought I would throw in my two cents. All the right people addressed the c*#k fight gossipy end of this, but the to chop or not to chop is a debate that will out last all of us. A few things that I consider when thinking about, bolts, history, and my own path through the mountains.
 Bolts are everywhere, they added them to the nose recently...why? What about the next generation, and the next shouldn't we try to alleviate the burden that was passed on to us. There are plenty of bolts on natural routes....stop placing them.
History is supposed to help us learn from others mistakes. Is the Russian death squad going to fly a 160lb compressor to the North Side of the Latok 1 and desecrate another peak. Maybe, they don't care who's country it is. For some what happened on Cerro Torre in the 70's is a great reminder of our failures in the mountains, but for Joe climber it can the grandest adventure. It is a neat idea to "restore a mountain," but to re-climb that route I have no doubt that there will be bolts. So it is really isn't worth discussing
I was putting together a grant application recently and decided to see if I could find the peaks I was looking for. I got a detailed arial view of the Eastern Karakoram. The world is shrinking, there is almost zero true wilderness left. People have grown so comfortable that they can afford "hobbies" like climbing. Travel is cheaper and we are rapidly digging out every cliff and waterfall left on earth that a person could climb. We need to be responsible and held accountable for our impact in the mountains. Otherwise two generations from now there will be so many bolts, fixed lines, tat, poop ect. that the wilderness adventure we find all over now will vanish (with the possible exception of antarctic climbing, pretty rugged down there).
I have made my mistakes and I hold myself accountable. They won't be repeated. I think most people feel the same. I say leave the bolts, though my opinion doesn't really matter, the Compressor route really doesn't have the same allure as some of the other routes down there. Anyway, take care, be safe, peace.
Ryan Johnson
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