Cuatro Dedos. 2281 meters.

1. North ridge
2. East face
2.1 Tres Dedos traverse
3. Fingerlicious

Description.

Louis Lliboutry, the glaciologist and geographer of the French 1952 expedition that did the first ascent of Fitz Roy, who made the first complete mapping of the area is responsible for the naming of this peak. It is named after its appearence. In Spanish “Cuatro Dedos” means four fingers.

Aguja CAT.

4. Mate Humo

An expedition from Club Andino Tucuman, a mountain club in northern Argentina, named this tower sometime in the mid 1960s, during an attempt to climb Cerro Piergiorgio. It remained unclimbed until 2001! and it still has but one ascent to date.

Cuatro Dedos

1. North ridge

300m ?

Rab Carrington and Alan Rouse (UK), 24/1/1977.

Description. Approach via a couloir right of the east face. From the col between Cuatro Dedos and Aguja CAT climb 7 pitches that involve rock and mixed climbing, two of which are difficult.

History. Carrington and Rouse’s was the first ascent of the peak.

Approach. Along the Torre Valley approach almost to the very end of the Torre glacier. 4-6 hours from Campo De Agostini.

Descent. The first ascensionists descended the northeast face, avoiding the ridge they had just climbed because it was too exposed to the wind in the conditions they encountered. Likely descending the route is an easier option.

Bibliography. Mountain magazine 58 p. 18-21; AAJ 1978 p. 581-583; Climbing 47 p. 5-11.

Cuatro Dedos

2. East Face

450m 6a A0 55º

Tommy Bonapace and Toni Ponholzer (Austria), 17/9/1990.

Description. Climb an obvious couloir then traverse up and right, following the path of least resistance to the summit.

History. During an earlier attempt bad weather forced them to retreat one rope length from the top.

Approach. De Agostini to Niponino, then on up the glacier.

Pro. Doubles to #2, one #3, stoppers?

Bibliography. AAJ 1992 p. 90-94; Gipfelsturmer 1996 p. 14-21.

Cuatro Dedos

2.1 Tres Dedos Traverse

450m 6b

Tommy Bonapace and Toni Ponholzer (Austria), 13/12/1990.

Description. Climb the obvious gully on the east face to reach the southern most of the four fingers and from its summit traverse north, climbing the following two.

Approach. De Agostini to Niponino, then on up the glacier.

Pro. Doubles to #2, one #3, stoppers?

Descent. From the summit of the third finger rappel rappel back to the col, then down the east face.

Bibliography. AAJ 1992 p. 90-94; Gipfelsturmer 1996 p. 14-21.

Cuatro Dedos

3. Fingerlicious

500m 6c M4

Chris Brazeau and Jon Walsh (Canada), Crystal Davis-Robbins (USA), January 2007.

History. Because it was a windy, cold morning, they started climbing at 1 PM, reaching the summit at 3:30 AM, under a calm, starry sky. They on-sighted every pitch, climbing the route in three blocks with the seconds following with jumars.

Description. Two mixed pitches lead to 11 clean pitches of mostly finger cracks, mixed with lots of face climbing and cryptic route finding. The climbing is sustained

Approach. De Agostini to Niponino, then on up the glacier.

Pro. Doubles to #3, stoppers?

Descent. Via the same route.