Sincronía: All-Women Team Conquers Cerro Steffen’s West Face

Photo: Courtesy Paloma Farkas

In one of the most isolated corners of Patagonia, three mountain guides – Angelina di Prinzio, Paloma Farkas, and Catalina Unwin – have completed a spectacular new alpine route on Cerro Steffen (3,300m). Their 900-meter line, Sincronía (M4 WI4, 60°), climbs the unclimbed West Face, an achievement made even more impressive by the harsh approach, unstable terrain, and a rope catastrophe on the very first pitch. Their ascent – detailed in a feature for Outside Magazine – adds a rare and remarkable chapter to the climbing history of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field, where Cerro Steffen had not seen a successful ascent since 1965.

A Three-Day Approach Into Absolute Isolation

Reaching Cerro Steffen alone is an expedition. The team traveled to the end of Chile’s Ruta 7, hired a boat from Villa O’Higgins, and crossed the volatile Lago O’Higgins – an 85-kilometer stretch of water so unpredictable that even boat captains require a “weather window” to approach its far end. Once ashore, the climbers began 22 kilometers of demanding trekking, navigating a broken lateral moraine rim rather than the glacier itself – a choice made solely for safety, not convenience. Two and a half days after leaving civilization, the climbers saw Steffen’s West Face for the first time. Minutes later, disaster struck.

A Core-Shot Rope on Pitch One – And a Decision

On their very first pitch of climbing, a volley of loose volcanic rock sent down by Di Prinzio core-shot one of their two ropes. Farkas was hit by a rock. Miraculously, no one was seriously injured. “We were clipped to the West Face of Cerro Steffen, about to embark on the biggest adventure of our lives,” the team told Outside Magazine.

With only jury-rigged rope systems available and 900 meters of unknown terrain above, the three women made a crucial decision: to continue upward.

Their plan included a single overnight bivy:

“We carried a tent with us because we wanted to spend one night on the wall,” Unwin told Outside Magazine. But the mountain had other plans. But the mountain had other plans.

A mid-height “snowfield” turned out to be ancient, bulletproof glacial ice – far too steep to chop a platform. As darkness fell, no ledge appeared. The team climbed until the very last light, eventually settling on a tiny ice shelf. They spent the night sitting upright, clipped to a rock anchor, feet shoved into sleeping bags, the tent body wrapped around their legs. Farkas summed it up simply:
“It was a rough night.”

At Dawn, Mate – and a Change of Heart

By morning, their spirits shifted. The team brewed mate – the warm, caffeinated ritual that keeps many Patagonian climbers moving. They also received an inReach message: the summit was closer than expected.

“We looked at each other and decided we might as well go climbing,” they told Outside Magazine.

The Final Push: An Unlikely Passage to the Top

The upper wall revealed friendlier terrain:

• solid mixed pitches
  
• no further rope damage
  
• an improbable route circling a menacing snow mushroom
  
• a last ice pitch led by Unwin

By 10 a.m., they stood on a windless summit, one of the rarest gifts Patagonia offers.

Why Sincronía?

Reflecting on the climb, Di Prinzio told Outside Magazine how meaningful the all-women team dynamic was:

“Climbing with the girls, I could really see my potential… Sometimes with guys they assume they’ll lead the hardest pitch. Here, it felt so natural. Someone wanted a hard pitch, they just went for it.”

Unwin added: “Everything felt so synchronized… it came together in such a magical way.”

The name Sincronía was born.