June 14, 2026
Peak drama, literally
A short history of Cerro Torre, the most controversial mountain (2012)
Climbers are still fighting over a mountain, some bolts, and who gets to call it fair
TLDR: Cerro Torre’s latest scandal erupted when two American climbers removed bolts from a notorious route tied to decades of arguments over whether the mountain was ever climbed fairly. In the comments, people split hard between calling them vandals and calling them heroes who restored a wild peak.
Cerro Torre isn’t just a mountain — it’s basically 50 years of climbing drama stacked vertically. The old scandal starts with Italian climber Cesare Maestri, who said he reached the top in 1959, only for doubters to spend decades asking the mountaineering version of, “Pics or it didn’t happen?” Then he came back in 1970 and became infamous for using heavy gear and leaving behind a bolted route up the rock, which many climbers saw as turning a wild peak into a metal ladder.
Fast-forward to the latest episode: young American climbers Hayden Kennedy and Jason Kruk made a bold ascent, then ripped out many of those bolts on the way down — and the comment section immediately turned into a civil war in hiking boots. One side was furious, saying the pair removed an “established easement” and had no right to erase something others relied on. The other side cheered them on, arguing the mountain “should have never been bolted in the first place” and calling the old route a symbol of entitlement: if you can’t climb it cleanly, maybe you shouldn’t be there.
And then came the detail that made everyone do a double take: they were reportedly arrested and had 102 bolts confiscated. That sent commenters into full popcorn mode. Some were stunned that bolt-removal could become an actual police matter; others joked the Andes remain gloriously free of selfie lines and tourist chaos. If you want the full soap opera, one commenter even pointed people to Alex Honnold’s podcast, The Greatest Lie, because apparently this mountain now comes with bonus binge-listening.
Key Points
- •The article centers on Cerro Torre’s long-running climbing controversy and the renewed debate triggered by a 2012 incident involving Hayden Kennedy and Jason Kruk.
- •Cesare Maestri claimed the first ascent of Cerro Torre in 1959 with Toni Egger, but that ascent has been disputed for decades.
- •Skepticism about the 1959 claim grew because later attempts on the reported route, the Southeast Ridge, found no evidence of a climb on the final 1,000 metres above the Col of Conquest.
- •The article also presents circumstantial evidence supporting Maestri’s account, including unusual temporary ice conditions in 1959 and Egger’s reputation as an elite ice climber.
- •An ascent of nearby Torre Egger in 1976 found climbing equipment attributed to Maestri and Egger, confirming activity on that adjacent peak even as the Cerro Torre summit claim remained contested.