And a brief account of our ascent of Cerro Torre by RAB athlete TYLER ALLEN

Success in the El Chaltén Massif of Argentine Patagonia isn’t always based on fitness or having the lightest gear; it is often based on which route you choose, the conditions, and the weather.

However, the mountains don’t care how strong you are or how fast you hike, so in alpine climbing, we must train for the unknown. Having legs, lungs, and (strong) fingers helps us climb quickly and stay as safe as we can.

As I’m writing this, I’m off to El Chaltén for my third season of climbing among those granite giants, and I couldn’t be more excited!

Climbing big routes in remote and technical alpine terrain is dangerous. It is important for those who aspire to climb in the alpine to have high technical climbing skills, self-rescue skills, land navigation capabilities, and strong mental fortitude. Having your transitions dialed is of utmost importance (up to up, up to down, and down to down) when the weather window starts to close. Knowing when to keep going up or when to bail is an essential skill for any alpine climber, then add the Patagonian wind factor, and things get a little more challenging!

Spending years climbing summer alpine rock routes, demanding single-pitch trad climbs, difficult sport climbs, and steep ice and mixed climbing in all conditions is a great place to start building your resume. When you feel comfortable climbing in a wide range of conditions, you might be ready to head out for a larger objective!

For some, technical skills come easily, and rope work seems to be a second language. For others, strength and a seemingly iron-clad mental game help to keep the team moving. The good news is that both skill sets can be improved, and as we build these, we can seek out partners whose prowess is greater than ours.

I’d like to share a few things I do to prepare for a season of alpine climbing in Patagonia:

Legs and Lungs:

Having a good aerobic base is key to being able to perform and climb multiple big days in a row. Long and slow-distance running is the first step to building this base. After months or years of that you can start to sprinkle in some Aerobic Threshold workouts to build the lungs. I find these workouts are huge building blocks of my fitness.

*NOTE: All Heart Rate (HR) zones are defined by Evoke Endurance/ Training for the New Alpinist

Example Workload:

  • 2x a week (50-75 min) recovery run (zone 1)
  • 1x a week Uphill Aerobic Threshold Intervals (AeT)
    • 20min zone 1 warm-up
    • 3 x 7 minutes running uphill at a “nose breathing” pace (just under AeT (top of zone 2)), then 3 minutes running back downhill. This is a pass/fail workout, in which running to hard (and elevating your heart rate above your AeT) will cause you to “fail”
  • 1x every 10-12 days Evoke Endurance Muscular Endurance (ME) workout
  • 1x every 10 days – Long Run (75-120 minutes) – Zone 1

Fingers (climbing specific workouts)

Technical climbing skill takes years to feel comfortable with, but I’ve found that strength doesn’t hurt either! Here are some of the climbing workouts I do when I go into the gym to climb.

NOTE: Proper warming up is so important! Gentle loading of the shoulders and fingers before difficult climbing can prevent injury!

  • Hangboard Max Hang Repeaters (20mm edge – Half Crimp)
      Warm-up (stretchy band shoulder mobility), followed by scapular pull-ups and 4-6 pitches of climbing 3-4 letter grades below your onsight grade.
    • Max hang repeaters protocol:
      • 3 sets of 3x 7 seconds on 53 seconds off, with 5 min rest between sets. 9 hangs in total.
  • Power
    • (1-2x per week) Limit Board climbing (Moonboard, Kilter board, Tension board), 10-20 problems at maximum difficulty. 3-5 min rest between problems.
  • Endurance
    • (1-2x per week) 15 to 20 pitches of gym climbing

General Strength (Alpine Climbing Specific)

Overall, fitness is a huge benefit in the mountains. Long approaches and descents with a heavy pack and endless miles of uneven terrain can easily leave you sore and tired. However, if you are too tired to climb the route after the approach, then you may need to build additional fitness outside of your time in the climbing gym. These General Strength and Core workouts are helpful for targeting sport-specific muscles and movements.

  • Warm-up (stretchy band shoulder exercises – rotations and circles)
  • 3 rounds of: Turkish get-ups (5 per side), 10x Box Jumps (20 inch), 10x push-ups, 20x hanging leg raises (knees to chest)
  • 3 sets of 4-6 reps of the following with 3 min rest in between:
  • Weighted pull-ups
  • Incline bench press
  • Dumbbell curls
  • Tricep extension
  • Incline pull-ups, aka TRX (10 reps)
  • Bent over dumbbell rows (or row machine)
  • Weighted box step-ups (dumbbells in hand) 4-6 per side
  • Kettlebell snatch and press
  • Goblet Squat with kettlebell

Below is an example training outline:

Training for climbing in the mountains is different for everyone, and so is the available work capacity for each individual. Rest is a critical component of training and should not be overlooked. If you find yourself pushing too hard, you may start to become overtrained and develop lasting injuries.

Cerro Torre Southeast Ridge Ascent

Last February (2024), I had an awesome climbing season in Patagonia with my friend and teammate Scott Bennett! We were lucky enough to have a weather window that allowed us to climb the Southeast Ridge of Cerro Torre (7a/7a+, C2, WI5, M6, 1200m). Here is a brief account of our trip to the Torre Valley last year:

On February 25th, 2024, Rab Athletes @tylerjallen and @ropeandsummit made a rare ascent of the SE Ridge of Cerro Torre. With ever-changing conditions, Cerro Torre is one of the more difficult objectives to climb in the Chaltén Massif of Argentine Patagonia.

“We climbed as a team and supported each other every step from town to the summit. The SE Ridge of Cerro Torre is a demanding route that involves hundreds of meters of mixed climbing on snow and rock, technical rock climbing up splitter cracks and unprotected faces, and steep ice climbing high on the route.”

Tyler and Scott climbed the route over 4 days and spent 3 nights sleeping on the mountain.

“On Friday (February 23, 2024), we left our base camp at Noruegos and climbed to the Col of Patience. It had snowed heavily the day before, which made the climbing to the Col much more time-consuming than previous missions. We slept at the Col that night and awoke to a beautiful sunrise along with other teams who were keen to attempt the route.

On Saturday (February 24, 2024), we climbed quickly and enjoyed pitch after pitch of moderate rock climbing, a pitch of steep aid climbing, and interspersed ramps of snow and ice. As the evening drew near, we found ourselves in the “ice towers” at pitch 18. Bent over with ice tools in hand, we spent two hours chopping through hard blue ice to create a bivy platform for our tent.

The next morning (February 25th, 2024), we woke rested and smiling, excited to push for the summit of such a storied mountain. The sun rose behind the Fitz Roy massif and illuminated the iconic skyline in a rich orange hue. After a warm cup of coffee, we climbed quickly to the base of the steep ice chimney. The vertical chasm was full of hard, untouched water ice; the walls were so close together that it was almost impossible to swing an ice tool. But after 50m of climbing, we reached the base of the headwall – basking in the sun.

Four pitches of run-out difficult climbing loomed above. The route was loose and wet, so we climbed carefully to each belay, noticing the scars of the chopped 1970 “Compressor Route” bolts. Some of the most demanding moves are on the final pitch of the headwall: a challenging sequence of small footholds and big reaches giving way to mostly attached flakes and airy climbing. We reached the top of the headwall and carefully changed into our mountain boots before running up the rime ice mushroom to the summit of Cerro Torre.

We hooted, hollered, and hugged each other as we stood on top of our dream mountain. An unbelievable feeling of accomplishment and pride filled our souls as we enjoyed a windless moment surrounded by countless granite spires rising straight out of the glaciers below.

Just below the summit sits a large flat bench of rime-ice. There we sorted gear and enjoyed the final moments of sun before starting our long descent to the Col of Patience. Down climbing to the top of the headwall, we shared a moment of celebration with the strong French team, making the first female ascent of the route. After drilling a v-thread in the ice, we began rappelling down the steep headwall. Some 40m from the anchor above, we stood atop the gas-powered compressor bolted to the wall by Cesare Maestri in 1970. After countless rappels and lots of time spent replacing old anchor webbing, we arrived back to the comfort of our bivy at the Col of Patience.

On Monday morning (February 26th, 2024), we organized our gear and started the long descent back to the glacier and then onto our base camp at Noruegos. In the glorious afternoon sun, we continued to pack and sort gear, fill our giant packs with kits, and start the long hike back to town.

The trail was nearly empty. We passed a few parties of climbers hiking out of the Torre Valley who shared our stoke for the amazing Patagonian weather window. The dusty final miles of trail to El Chaltén passed as a blur, and with Cerro Torre growing smaller behind us, we felt our sun-chapped lips splitting as our smiles grew even larger. We did it.

Tyler is a climber and guide based in Boulder, CO. He is an AMGA Certified Rock and Alpine Guide. Please email him if you are interested in booking any days of guided climbing or instruction.

radicalalpine@gmail.com You can also follow Tyler on Instagram – @tylerjallen