Fitz Roy

Monte Fitz Roy (also known as Cerro Chaltén, Cerro Fitz Roy, or simply Mount Fitz Roy) is a mountain in Patagonia, on the border between Argentina and Chile.[2][3][6][4][5] It is located in the Southern Patagonian Ice Field, near El Chaltén village and Viedma lake. It was first climbed in 1952 by French alpinists Lionel Terray and Guido Magnone.

This article is about the mountain. For other uses, see Fitzroy (disambiguation).

Monte Fitz Roy
Monte Fitz Roy in 2013
Highest point
Elevation3,405 m (11,171 ft) [1]
Prominence1,951 m (6,401 ft) [1]
ListingUltra
Coordinates49°16′16.6″S 73°02′35.6″W 
Geography
Monte Fitz Roy
Location in the Southern Patagonia, on the border between Argentina and Chile[2][3][4][5]
LocationPatagonia, Argentina—Chile border[2][3][4][5]
Parent rangeAndes
Geology
Mountain typeGranite
Climbing
First ascent1952 by Lionel Terray & Guido Magnone
Easiest routeFranco Argentina (650m., 6a+, 6c/A1)

European Discovery

The first Europeans recorded as seeing Mount Fitz Roy were the Spanish explorer Antonio de Viedma and his companions, who in 1783 reached the shores of Viedma lake.

Argentine explorer Francisco Moreno saw the mountain on 2 March 1877. He named it Fitz Roy in honour of Robert FitzRoy who, as captain of HMS Beagle, had travelled up the Santa Cruz River in 1834 and charted large parts of the Patagonian coast.[7]

Cerro is a Spanish word meaning ridge, while Chaltén comes from a Tehuelche (Aonikenk) word meaning "smoking mountain", due to a cloud that usually forms around the mountain's peak. Fitz Roy, however, was only one of a number of peaks the Tehuelche called Chaltén.[7]

Setting

Argentina and Chile have agreed that their international border detours eastwards to pass over the main summit,[2] but a large part of the border to the south of the summit, as far as Cerro Murallón, remains undefined.[8] The mountain is the symbol of the Argentine Santa Cruz Province, which includes its representation on its coat of arms.

Notable ascents
  • 1952 Lionel Terray and Guido Magnone via Southeast Ridge (aka Franco-Argentine Ridge) (First Ascent - 2 February 1952)[9]
  • 1965 Carlos Comesaña and José Luis Fonrouge (from Argentina) via Supercanaleta (1,600m, TD+ 5.10 90deg) in 2-1/2 days (Second Ascent)[10]
  • 1968 Southwest Ridge aka The Californian Route (3rd ascent of peak). Ascent by the "Fun Hogs": Yvon Chouinard (who went on to found outdoor clothing and equipment company Patagonia and climbing equipment company Black Diamond Equipment), Dick Dorworth, Chris Jones, Lito Tejada-Flores (filmmaker, whose 16mm Bolex camera footage of the ascent was used for the film of the expedition entitled Mountain of Storms) and Douglas Tompkins (who, in 1964, had co-founded outdoor equipment and clothing company The North Face).[11][12]
  • 1972 Southeast Ridge (4th ascent of peak). Ian Wade, Dave Nicol, Mo Anthoine, Guy Lee, Larry Derby & Eddie Birch. Ian & Larry from USA others UK.
  • In 1980 following the Col Americano route Gino Casassa, Chilean, monitor of the Andinism Federation of Chile, and Walter Bertsch, from Austria, arrived the peak together. Alejandro Izquierdo (Chilean too), arrived just to 2,800 m.[13]
  • 1984 Franco Argentina Route by Marcos Couch, Eduardo Brenner, Alberto Bendinger y Pedro Friedrich.
  • 1986 First winter ascent, in July, by Argentines Eduardo Brenner, Sebastián De La Cruz and Gabriel Ruiz, over three days following the Supercanaleta.
  • 2002 Dean Potter, first free solo, by Supercanaleta[10][14]
  • 2009 Colin Haley, solo Supercanaleta[10]
  • 2009 Matthew McCarron, solo The Californian Route [10]
  • 2012 Jorge Morales and Alejandro Heres broke the speed record of ascent.
  • 2014 Between 12 and 16 February, Tommy Caldwell and Alex Honnold completed the first ascent of the much discussed "Fitz Traverse", climbing across the iconic ridge-line of Cerro Fitz Roy and its satellite peaks in southern Patagonia.[15] The route is 5 kilometers long and has approximately 4000 meters of vertical elevation, with routes ranging in difficulty up to 5.11d.[16]
  • 21 March 2019. Jim Reynolds. Afanassieff (VI 5.10c, 5,000). Free solo.[14]
  • Panorama of Monte Fitz Roy in the morning
  • Mount Fitz Roy on 16 January 2015
  • Fitz Roy and lake Capri - Parque Nacional Los Glaciares - 16 January 2015
  • Fitz Roy and Laguna de Los Tres Panorama - Parque Nacional Los Glaciares - April 2016
  • Off-nadir satellite image of Fitz Roy

See also

References
  1. "Argentina and Chile, Southern - Patagonia Ultra Prominences". Peaklist.org. Retrieved 5 October 2013.
  2. "Border agreement between Chile and Argentina to determine the border from Mount Fitz Roy to Daudet". 1998. Archived from the original on 31 May 2016. Retrieved 7 August 2006.
  3. "Mount Fitz Roy - Difrol.cl". Archived from the original on 24 August 2018. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
  4. La montaña que parece echar humo, en la Patagonia
  6. MONTE FITZ ROY Andes Hand Book
  7. Moreno, FP (2006) [1879]. Viaje a la Patagonia Austral (in Spanish). La Nacion (Elefante Blanco). p. 2. ISBN 987-96054-7-0. Como este volcán activo no ha sido mencionado por los navegantes ni viajeros, y como el nombre de Chaltén que le dan los indios lo aplican también a otras montañas, me permito llamarle volcán Fitz Roy - English: Since this active volcano has not been mentioned by navigators or travellers, and since the name Chalten that the Indians call it is also applied to other mountains, I allow myself to name it Fitz Roy volcano
  8. "Map showing border between Chile and Argentina (partly undefined)". Retrieved 26 June 2016.
  9. Silleck, H (3 February 2007). "Patagonia: Fitzroy". Summitpost.org. Summitpost.org. Retrieved 2 February 2009.
  10. MacDonald, D (15 January 2009). "Haley Solos Fitz Roy's Supercanaleta". Climbing Hot Flashes. Climbing Magazine. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
  11. Thompkins, D; Carter, HA (1969). "Fitz Roy, 1968". American Alpine Journal. 16 (43): 263–9.
  12. Patagonia. "Mountain of Storms". Patagonia. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  13. "First chilean climb of Mount Fitz Roy - Perros Alpinos.cl". Archived from the original on 10 June 2016. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
  14. Levy, Michael (9 April 2019). "Jim Reynolds' Fitz Roy Free Solo: Putting it in Perspective with the Pros". Rock and Ice. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  15. MacDonald, D (18 February 2014). "Caldwell, Honnold Complete Fitz Traverse". Climbing News. Climbing Magazine. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
  16. Garibotti, R. (18 February 2014). Caldwell, Honnold Finish 5k Fitz Roy Traverse. Retrieved 5 September 2018, from http://www.alpinist.com/doc/web14w/newswire-fitz-traverse-caldwell-honnold

Further reading
  • Kearney A, 1993. Mountaineering in Patagonia. Seattle, Washington: Cloudcap.
  • Terray L, Conquistadors of the Useless, p. 307-8, Victor Gollancz Ltd., 1963. ISBN 0-89886-778-9
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