The second special mention again goes to a entirely different form of exploration, this time the exploration of athleticism. Whilst there was no geographic exploration and the event was arguably a culmination of rehearsal, the sheer technical accomplishment of Americans Colin Haley and Alex Honnold, completing the Torres Traverse in a time that for more or less every other climber is incomprehensible - a single day, has greatly impressed much of the mountaineering community.
The traverse - Travesia del Torre (1,600m of ascent, 90° 6b+ C1), which had only been completed once before (in four days by Haley and Rolando Garibotti) involves leaving the col east of Aguja Standhardt and travelling south over Standhardt (2,700m), Punta Herron (2,750m) and Torre Egger (2,850m), to reach the summit of
Cerro Torre (3,102m).
In January 2015 Haley and Honnold made an attempt to complete the one-day traverse, but were forced to retreat after 22 hours only two pitches below the top of Cerro Torre, in typical Patagonian gales. Leaving the Standhardt Col sometime after 3 a.m. on January 31, 2016, they simul-climbed, short fixed and simul-rappelled for most of the journey, reaching the top of Torre Egger only nine hours and 28 minutes after leaving the col. Cracks on the north face of Cerro Torre were gushing with water and the climbers were soaked by the time they completed the very steep and slushy finish to the Ragni Route, arriving on top Cerro Torre at midnight, 20 hours and 40 minutes from the Standhardt Col. Haley and Honnold then rappelled the southeast ridge through the night in "a blur of anchors, dehydration and shivering", and continued to El Chalten, by which time they had been 45 hours without sleep.
COLIN HALEY
- UNITED STATES
Year of birth: 1984
- Grew up in Seattle
- Often in the nearby Cascade Mountains ("America's Alps") from a young age, hiking, skiing, later mountaineering, and finally rock climbing.
- Official residence in Seattle, although his time between expeditions is roughly equally divided between the Alps, the Pacific Northwest, and Patagonia.
- Enjoys all types of climbing and skiing, and struggles to maintain a decent level of proficiency across these often quite different disciplines.
ALEX HONNOLD
- UNITED STATES
Year of birth: 1985
- Professional rock climber and hard-working athlete
- Most celebrated achievements : first and only free-solos of the Moonlight Buttress (5.12d, 1,200 feet) in Zion National Park, Utah, and the Northwest Face (5.12a) of Half Dome (2,200 feet), Yosemite, California.
- Yosemite’s first “Triple Solo” in 2012 : climbing, in succession, the National Park’s three largest faces-Mt. Watkins, Half Dome and El Capitan—alone, and in under 24 hours.
- First and only free-solo of El Capitan’s “Freerider” route (5.13a, 3,000 feet) in 2017
