French forge new climb up Cerro Riso Patrón Central in Patagonia

"The summit really is in the middle of nowhere... and there are still many beautiful virgin peaks all around. Total commitment!" This is the short and sweet resume of Hasta las Wuebas, a new climb up the East Face of Cerro Riso Patrón Central established last September by a young team comprised of Lise Billon, Antoine Moineville, Diego Simari and Jérôme Sullivan.

This is only the second ascent of the remote mountain located on the western edge of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field, after the SE Face first ascent carried out in 1988 by the Italian alpinists Casimiro Ferrari, Bruno Lombardini and Egidio Spreafico. 27 years ago the trio reached the summit of 15 August (the Southern Hemisphere winter) during the first winter traverse of the Hielo Patagonico icefield, carried out together with the other Ragni di Lecco members Annibale Borghetti, Carlo Buzzi, Luigi Corti, Giuliano Maresi and Luciano Spadaccini.

The French alpinists approached the mountain as the Italian first ascent team had done, namely by boat from Puerto Eden to the start of the Fiordo Falcón, before continuing on foot for 16km. This arduous approach involved crossing two passes and traversing across the glacial plateau and required 2.5 days just to reach the base of the East Face. Billon, Moineville, Simari and Sullivan then spent three days negotiating difficulties up to ED-, WI5, M5, 90°, with two bivvies during the ascent and one during the descent.

In 2014 Billon, Moineville, Sullivan and Martin Elias had attempted the line but the expedition was cut short when Sullivan fell into a crevasse and dislocated his shoulder. The original objective this year had been the unclimbed Cerro Riso Patrón Sur but ice blocked access to the beach which would have led to the peak, hence the return to Cerro Riso Patrón Central.

In 2012 Billon and Sullivan teamed up with Pedro Diaz, François Poncet and Jeremy Stagnetto to climb a new route up Cerro Murallón in Patagonia, while in 2009 the Italians Hervé Barmasse, Giovanni Ongaro and Daniele Bernasconi completed the Hielo Continetal Sud traverse, during which their hopes of climbing the North Pillar of Cerro Riso Patron were dashed due to poor conditions.

For further information check out www.pataclimb.com and the official expedition website www.lisebill.wix.com