Italian climber Stefano Ragazzo has successfully rope soloed the famous Eternal Flame route (650m, 7c+) on Trango’s Nameless Tower (6,239m) in the Karakoram.
In a sad reflection of modern times, The North Face dropped its sponsorship of him shortly before his world-class achievement because, according to Ragazzo, he hadn’t done enough Instagram posts.
Ragazzo spent nine days alone on one of the world’s biggest walls. Rope soloing the ‘Eternal Flame’ route had been his dream for years. Giacomo Mauri and Mirco Grasso made the route’s last Italian ascent in 2023.
Stefano Ragazzo alone on the ‘Eternal Flame’ route of Nameless Tower. Photo: Stefano Ragazzo
“In a world where people feel like conquerors of mountains for following fixed ropes to fuel their ego, and where sponsors like The North Face don’t trust in your alpine vision, and they kick you out two weeks before the departure, saying that you haven’t done enough Instagram posts, there is the possibility to be a rebel and to go against the tide,” Ragazzo said after the climb.
Stefano Ragazzo on the Nameless Tower. Photo: Stefano Ragazzo
His Instagram output may have been thin, but not his recent climbing resumé. Last May, Ragazzo rope soloed The Nose on El Capitan. And last year, he opened a new route in Alaska’s Kichatna Mountains with Silvia Loreggian. After the climb, he reflected how much is possible “if you trust yourself, and you work hard, with dedication.”
The Nameless Tower in 2023, when Mirco Grasso and Giacomo Mauri climbed ‘Eternal Flame’. Photo: Mirco Grasso/Giacomo Mauri
