Climbers Ski Epic Line on Patagonia Tower
Three skiers from France have made the second descent of a steep line on Aguja Poincenot
French climbers Vivian Bruchez, Aurélien Lardy and Jules Socié have made the second ski descent of the steep Whillans-Cochrane route on Aguja Poincenot in Patagonia. The first descent was by the late Andreas Fransson back in 2012.
This is one of the most dangerous ski lines in the Fitz Roy massif, as the exposed ramp traverses down the east face over steep cliffs. The route was first climbed in 1962 by Frank Cochrane and Don Whillans. Bruchez said the snow ramp they skied was less than two metres wide and it had a 1,000-metre drop below it. ” One of the most beautiful descents of our lives, surely the most challenging and the most taxing as well,” said Socié. “A descent that will be remembered for a long time.”
After repeating the Whillans-Cochrane, the three experienced big mountain skiers opened a new 300-metre ski line below Fitz Roy they called Mini-Whillans, about which Lardy said, “A breathtaking setting which provided beautiful turns under the eye of the monster from the day before.”
See photos and videos posted by Bruchez below. If you have an Apple device, you find the current issue of Gripped magazine here.
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