On September 21, Vivian Bruchez, Aurelien Lardy, and Jules Socie skied a big wall on 3,002m Aguja Poincenot in Patagonia. The Whillans-Cochrane route (5.5/E5/300m) had been skied once previously, by Andreas Fransson, who described the ski descent as the steepest and most exposed line of his life.
Bruchez skiing the middle section of Whillans-Cochrane. Photo: Vivian Bruchez
Bruchez wrote on social media that he agreed with the difficulty: “I have the same opinion [as Fransson], 11 years after his death I can confirm that I have never skied something as difficult as this line.”
“It’s a wall that, from a distance, the ramp looks wide. But in reality, at its narrowest part, it measures 1m and 80cm wide, suspended with 1,000m of space under the skis. I honestly didn’t measure the slope because I was getting scared, but I think it was 60°,” Bruchez added.
The following day, the team made a second ski descent. This line was less exposed and they named it Mini-Whillans (5.3/E4/300m).
The two lines on Aguja Poincenot, skied by Bruchez, Lardy, and Socie. Photo: Vivian Bruchez
