Aguja Rafael Juárez is a mountain in Santa Cruz Province, Argentina.

Description
Aguja Rafael Juárez is a 2,450-meter-elevation (8,038-foot) summit in the Andes. The peak is located 1.58 kilometers (1 mile) south of Fitz Roy and 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) northwest of El Chaltén, in Los Glaciares National Park of Patagonia. Precipitation runoff from the mountain's slopes drains to Viedma Lake. Topographic relief is significant as the summit rises 1,550 meters (5,085 ft) above Laguna Sucia in two kilometers (1.2 miles), and 1,450 meters (4,757 ft) above the Torre Glacier in 1.5 kilometers (0.93 mile). The first ascent of the summit was made in 1974 by Rick Silvester, Dan Reid, Paul Braithwaite, Martin Boysen, and Leo Dickinson via the west face and south ridge. The toponym, which translates as Rafael Juárez Needle, was applied by the first ascent team to honor Argentine mountaineer Rafael Juárez (1954–1974) who perished with his climbing companion when they fell into a crevasse on the Adela Glacier on January 22, 1974. The peak was originally called "Aguja Innominata" (Nameless Needle) by Louis Lliboutry in 1952. The nearest higher peak is Aguja Saint Exupery, 0.45 kilometer (0.28 mile) to the south.

Climbing history
Established climbing routes with first ascents:

Anglo-Americana – 1974 – R. Silvester, D. Reid, P. Braithwaite, M. Boysen, L. Dickinson
Kearney-Harrington (West Face) – 1988 – Alan Kearney, Sue Harrington
Piola-Anker (North Ridge) – 1989 – Daniel Anker, Michel Piola
Lüthi-Dominguez (East Face) – 1989 – Peter Lüthi, Carlos Domínguez
De Klerk-Brugger (North Ridge) – 1991 – Andy De Klerk, Julie Brugger
Corallo (West Face) – 1994 – Fabio Leoni, Ermanno Salvaterra
Bonapace - Hevia (North Ridge) – 1995 – Tommy Bonapace, Julián Hevia
Artebelleza (North Face) – 2002 – Anke Claus, Carsten Von Birckhahn
Quilombo (West Face) – 2004 – Zack Smith, Heidi Wirtz
Como No! (North Face) – 2005 – Jon Walsh
Blood on the Tracks (North Face) – 2005 – Freddie Wilkinson, Paul Tureki, Dave Sharratt, Taki Miyamoto
Los Sanjuaniños (North Ridge) – 2012 – Gabriel Fava, Wenny Sánchez, Roberto Treu
Tiempo para la Playa (North Face) – 2012 – Mikey Schaefer, Kate Rutherford
Davis Robbins-Schaffer (West Face) – 2015 – Crystal Davis-Robbins, Jonathan Schaffer

Climate
According to the Köppen climate classification system, Aguja Rafael Juárez is located in a tundra climate zone with cold, snowy winters, and cool summers. Weather systems are forced upward by the mountains (orographic lift), causing moisture to drop in the form of rain and snow. This climate supports the Rio Blancas Glacier below the east slope, and the Torre Glacier to the west. The months of November through February offer the most favorable weather for visiting or climbing this peak.

Gallery

See also
List of mountains in Argentina

References

External links

Weather forecast: Aguja Rafael Juárez
Aguja Rafael Juárez (photo): Pataclimb.com