The worst of it all was that to place those 700 meters of rope the film team placed more than 60 bolts. This in an section of the climb where not even Maestri had placed a single bolt back in 71, and where natural protection abounds. Somehow the 450 bolts that are already on the route were not sufficient for Lama's film team crew.

whoopie ding. now go get that booty. 700 M worth of ropes sounds like a score to me. go clean that shit up!

Cerro Torre is situated inside of Los Glaciares National Park. Is it difficult to transport all of your equipment inside of it without breaking any of the laws of the National Park?
Daniel and myself will be carrying all of our stuff into the park and out again. Transport flights are forbidden, but it’s not in our interest to leave any traces anyway.

Will the project be documented?
The entire expedition will be documented by a film crew and by a photographer, perhaps even from a helicopter. The crew knows exactly what they are doing and beyond that they will be supported by guides, so that the two of us can concentrate exclusively on climbing.

Apparently Rolo (Rolando Garibotti) wrote an opinion piece in this month's issue of "Desnivel" but I can't access it because the magazine does not have free access on internet. I received the gossip via facebook.

It seems to be true and if so, it's pretty screwed up.

Apparently one of these Red Bull sponsored climbers strutted off to Patagonia, complete with film crew, to free climb Cerro Torre.

Bad choice of words. Nobody 'strutts off to Patagonia'.

Lama and his partners intention was to free the route. Thats pretty bold and most men would nearly pee in their panties after choosing to do something like that.

The film crew might have done some strutting, but it's mostly disrespect and maybe lack of experience.

This seems like an awful lot of blame and hoopla for an Internet rumor. Is any of this substantiated?

It's not an internet rumor. Yokese referenced Rolo's opinion piece in Desnivel (in Spanish) and sbaclimber referenced Rolo's conversation with (Jim) Donini on supertopo.

Do you need to look up the definition of "rumor?"

I'm not calling him a liar or anything stupid like that. I'm just saying I know how rumors spread, and that climbers are certainly not immune to it. People are sparing no time piling onto a 19-year old kid with, for the vast majority of them -- maybe all of them -- zero first-hand information. Perhaps it's all true. Perhaps none of it is. Perhaps, as is most often the case, the truth is someplace in the middle. Regardless, this looks an awful lot like a lynch mob to me, with a boy's reputation in the noose. All the old cliches are marching about with torches -- the decadence of younger climbers, glory whoring to sponsors, the multi-national conglomerate rape of nature, blah, blah, blah.

I'd love to see a little actual evidence of this alleged travesty. Until then, that's all it is to me -- alleged. I have nothing more to say on the topic.

Even very strong climbers take a while to get used to climbing in the area. A 19 year old whose first visit to the area involves a big scale film crew filming him on a highly publicized attempt to free the Compressor route is strutting. Or maybe you have some difficulty understanding English?

yes yur rite my Engrish is bad cause i cum from republik of Polska.

Actual truth is I was born, raised, and taught English in the USofA. But it was in West Virginia so I have sex with my cousin, talk like a hill-billy and I made moonshine when I was 12. yee-haw!

Quit throwing gas into the fire. This much is true....

rolo writes:
"However it did have some negative results. Lama's film team fixed 700 meters of rope from the glacier to the bolt traverse. The ropes were left for months until three Argentine guides recovered them, although they had to abandon a haul bag full of them above the bergschrund. The worst of it all was that to place those 700 meters of rope the film team placed more than 60 bolts. This in an section of the climb where not even Maestri had placed a single bolt back in 71, and where natural protection abounds. Somehow the 450 bolts that are already on the route were not sufficient for Lama's film team crew.
"his film crew composed of several chambers and Austrian mountain guides hired by Red Bull "

Lama says:
"Together with my best buddy Daniel Steuerer, I will try to make the first free ascent of the infamous 'compressor route' on Cerro Torre. Daniel and I want to make it without any sort of aid, which means we only climb on the natural surface of the mountain – rocks and ice. Pitons are only employed for safety reasons"

Lama had a goal. I don't know much about him but he seems well qualified to reach that goal. Big walls, trad, sport to 8c+, son of a sherpa, blah, blah. So the weather turned bad. It's Patagonia, nothing new there.

Just put the fire out man. As of right now, all blame goes to the film crew. If later details arise, then we'll talk, but you should really take yer head out of yer a$$.

I'm sick of internet jack-offs like yerself that try to stir shit up.

Let put this way, dude: if you're gonna come down here with a film crew that puts bolts all over one the most classic routes in the world. and then leave a bunch of garbage all over the place for the Argentines to clean up and then run back to Europe and pretend it never happened ... well then ...

DON'T

I hope you hear that loud and clear, and understand dude, even if it's coming from up my ass.

Maybe we'll run into each other someday down here, and you can try talking shit like that to my face.

Maybe you'll forgive the glee I show for playing the role of the outraged local ... but hey, I am the outraged local. j-ung you've always been a fairly civil poster and I can appreciate that. But if you're questioning Rolo's knowledge about goes on in the peaks around El Chalten, you're way out of you're league.

well dood....

I live in California and I climb in Yosemite. I have not climbed the Capitan, therefore I do not comment on El Capitan.

Have you climbed or even attempted Cerro Torre? Cause if you have then you have a say in the matter. If you haven't, your just trying to stir shit up.

And your threats really scare me. I'm never going back to Patagonia