“Day 40 On The Wall … Oh Boy”

“Day 40 on the wall, 9 days till the visas expire. Ropes are solid cables of ice. Oh boy.” —Myles Moser

In Chile’s Torres del Paine National Park, where the Southern Patagonian Ice Field breathes chaos into the sky, Americans Myles Moser, Trevor Anthes, and Harry Kinnard have completed one of the most committing big-wall ascents in recent memory: a 41-day first ascent of Paradigm Shift (VII 5.12+ A2; 4,000ft ) on the Central Tower of Paine.

The route, established over nearly six...