CARBONDALE — Between eye-popping clips of audacious athleticism and sweeping landscapes on the opening night of , local climber Hayden Kennedy delivered his first public address since igniting an international firestorm during his wildly successful climbing mission to southern Patagonia in January.
The lanky 22-year-old in January sparked what is likely the most polarizing debate in climbing this decade when — after pioneering a bold ascent of Cerro Torre’s daunting Southeast Ridge — he and partner Jason Kruk chopped more than 100 bolts installed in 1970. The line of some 400 bolts were drilled into the steep granite route by a controversial Italian climber who left a gas-powered compressor chained the route.
The rock star Kennedy – who only recently began exploring mixed-climbing and alpinism after a career ticking off the world’s most difficult sport climbs – was able to swiftly free climb through precipitous pitches and bypassed the bolts.
Atop the storied peak, the two climbers made a unilateral call.
“We wanted to give respect back to Cerro Torre,” said Kennedy, clicking through slides showing groups of 10 or more bolts in a single frame. “There’s never been democracy in climbing. It’s kind of a rebel sport. Climbing is the art of freedom.”
Upon arrival at the village El Chalten, Kennedy and Kruk were arrested and spent a night in jail. Now only the world’s most skilled alpinists could climb that route up Cerro Torre and many lamented the sudden loss of access to the iconic peak.
Kennedy remains stoic amid the storm, convinced he returned the peak to its rightfully challenging state.
“We should rise to the occasion to climb Cerro Torre,” he said.
