Guillermo (Willie) Benegas

Willie spent his youth climb­ing in North­east Patag­o­nia with his father and twin broth­er, Dami­an. This served as a strong back­ground for a devel­op­ing climb­ing career, which took off when he and Dami­an moved to the States at age 21. They head­ed straight for the big walls of Yosemite, where in the years to fol­low they made over 40 ascents of El Cap­i­tan. Each year Willie has returned to Argenti­na to guide trips on Aconcagua, a moun­tain he has climbed over 50 times. These ascents include the dif­fi­cult South face, and a speed record which he held for five years. In 1995, he made an impres­sive first ascent of the North face of Tran­go Tow­er in Pak­istan. He has since led over 20 Himalayan expe­di­tions, includ­ing nine Ever­est sum­mits, Cho Oyu, Ama Dablam, an attempt on the North face of Jan­nu, and a new route on Nuptse, dubbed The Crys­tal Snake, which earned him and Dami­an the pres­ti­gious Gold­en Piton Award. Willie has also set speed records in Africa on Mt. Kil­i­man­jaro and Mt. Kenya, and with his broth­er, has made three attempts on the high­ly cov­et­ed Pak­istani peak Latok 1 and has done first ascents on the big walls of Baf­fin Island. Hav­ing also climbed dozens of Boli­vian and Peru­vian peaks, he has earned a place among the elite in the world of high alti­tude alpin­ism. Willie is a ful­ly spon­sored mem­ber of the North Face ath­lete team, and a cer­ti­fied AMGA Rock & Alpine Guide.