Luna Nascente (VI+/A0, 320m), Val de Mello, Italy
With the Piz Badile seemingly inaccessible – thanks to the 4 million cubic meters of rock that had collapsed on Piz Cengalo – we headed straight for Val de Mello – 2 hours north of Milan.
We arrived in Mello in the middle of a cold front. Rain had passed through recently and the temperature was bitterly cold and windy. The campsite was empty. Not the most inviting place and certainly not the most promising start to the week.
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| The campsite now looking more inviting with some sunshine |
However in the following days the weather improved and we jumped on the large granite routes the next day. We started on Peloso/Nirvana (HVS, 200m roughly). This starts as a protectionless slab (pretty easy though), followed by a real wandering HVS sort of climb.
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This was followed the day after by the classic Il Risveglio di Kundalini (E1 5B, 400m). This route was amazing despite the middle section being a little disjointed (some terrace scrambling could avoid the crux pitches ). The highlight was a 40m splitter crack that was a bit spicy with only a single rack of cams. The second half of the route was soaking wet which made the climbing desperate. I had to aid through the crux due to it being running with water. I wasn't quick and we had a couple of parties of trainee mountain guides behind us who were getting a little impatient. The final two pitches were super exciting with some exposed positions and the final move of the entire 400m was on soaking wet rock. We also had some interesting route finding issues (whats new) with some weird down climbing and some rather disturbing belays on loose flakes and pegs that you could just pull out with your hands. It was a big day!...
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Following a rest day and a day of single pitch sport climbing Pilar and I headed for the next logical step up. Luna Nascente (E2 5B,320m). An Alpine classic it is higher, has a longer approach than Kundalini (it starts where Kundalini ends) , and is more sustained. The climbing is quality throughout and we were privileged to have the route to ourselves. The approach is a long slog up the hillside after which you have to find the start. This is a bit tricky and we struggled until Pilar spotted a peg and piece of tat that drew our attention to the first pitch. The first pitch is essentially a V4 boulder problem protected by small wires. I aided the move which seems to be what the majority of climbers do (I’m not a boulderer and I didn’t want to waist time and energy on this). Once the approach and boulder move has been surpassed you have 8 pitches following a crack system. Every pitch is awesome. Memorable pitches are Pitch two – thin crack, pitch five – layback crack, pitch seven – pendulum traverse, pitch eight – easy but gearless traverse, pitch nine – spicy runout slab. Great route!!
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Our trip ultimately started and ended in Val de Mello. Our plans to head to the high mountains never materialized however on our final day we hiked up to the Gianetti refuge just to grab a glimpse of the Piz Badile and get some mountains scenery.
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