Via Russo ( 6b (ABO), A4, M4, 1600m) on the southeast face of Aguja Poincenot as climbed by Sergey Dashkevich, Mikhail Davy, Eugeniy Dmirtienko, and Arkadiy Seregin over eight days. [Photo] Courtesy of Mountain.ru
On February 15, the Russian team of Sergey Dashkevich, Mikhail Davy, Eugeniy Dmirtienko, and Arkadiy Seregin completed an eight day capsule style climb of Via Russo ( 6b (ABO), A4, M4, 1600m), a new route on the southeast face of Aguja Poincenot. Of the 1600m climbed 750m of covered new terrain.
Aguja Poincenot, named for Jacques Poincenot, a French alpinist who drowned in Rio Fitz Roy in 1952, sits adjacent to Cerro Fitz Roy as part of the massif. The peak was first climbed in 1962 by Frank Cochrane and Don Whillans via the Whillans-Cochrane (5+, 70 degrees, M3, 550m ) on the east face.
Leaving El Chalten on February 7, the Russians battled poor weather on technically challenging climbing. Using a portaledge for their camps, they ascended unclimbed terrain before meeting the Sperone degli Italiani (6b, A3, 1200m) at the ridgeline and following it to the summit. They also descended via the Italiani and returned to El Chalten on February 19.
The pair wrote, “We put up 750m of new terrain (600 of them are really steep).” After their new route and Dashkevich and Davy are attempting a second ascent of the Kennedy Kruk variation to the Compressor Route. Of their climbing, Anna Piunova of mountain.ru writes that local guides were quoted as saying, “Only the Poles, Slovenes and Russians are capable of climbing under such bad weather conditions.”
On route. [Photo] Courtesy of Mountain.ru