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La
Luna Nascente, VI+, A0, 9 pitches.
Val di Mello, Italy.
Sure, I'll give Salathe Wall in Yosemite the prize as the
most impressive climb I've ever done. But when looking strictly
at multipitch free routes, not many can beat the ultra classic
granite outing of La Luna Nascente. Overall too, little compares
to the experience of climbing in Italy's Val di Mello. It's
pretty and peaceful with granite waterslides and huge walls
full of awe inspiring routes. The valley bottom is without
vehicle access and still farmed in the ways of old. Imagine
a pristine Yosemite 100 years ago.
Shown here is the incredible corner on the fourth pitch. Jacob
Cold following.
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Jacob is starting the exciting 7th pitch on a humid summer day,
that later culminated in considerable downpour. To get from
that nasty OW over into another five star crack system, Jacob
had to do some very exposed moves across steep rock. The whole
route is quite sustained at .8-.9, with the occasional harder
move. To get off the ground there's a few aid moves out of a
wet, unattractive cave into a burly traverse under a roof, before
the amazing cracks and corners begins. The very finish is a
memorable 200' traverse along a faint quartz dike with sparse
pro, to finally reach easy ground. I've climbed this route a
number of times, and have a feeling I'll return for more. Summer,
1987. |
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