12/05/2026
What do you do with an idea?
For Arc’teryx athlete Amelie Kühne (.kuehne) and her partners Julia Cassou, Belen Prados, and Caro North the question was just the beginning.
“Can we really pull this off,” they wondered.
In their sight was the sheer granite towers of Patagonia, in particular the rarely climbed and steep 1200m South African route up Torre Central del Paine.
Never had an all-female team climbed this route.
“Our goal was clear — a team ascent of Torres del Paine, ideally free. The excitement was huge,” says Amelie.
After facing storms, bitter cold, rockfall, and 13 days on the wall, the team stood on the summit.
“Though we didn’t free the entire route, it was the first all-female ascent. The scale of the climb, the conditions, and the style made it something far bigger than a single objective.”
Congrats to Amelie, Julia Cassou, Belen Prados, and Caro North.
✅ The South African Route, 12c, 1200m
📸: .cassou