July 28th to 31st 2019: Granite Climbing – Pizzo Badile Northeast Face

So powerful, aloof and smooth, it appears to the viewer: the northeast face of Pizzo Badile in Bergell. It is all the more astonishing that the first-time climbers have found their way through this seemingly unstructured bulwark of compact granite. Riccardo Cassin, to whom I pay the highest respect at this point, once again proved incredible astuteness as he found a route over cracks, dihedrals, ledges and chimneys to the northern edge, which finally led him to the summit. After the beautiful “Via Felici” at the Albigna reservoir, which I used with my guest for training, we started the next day: we followed the 25 pitches in enjoyable granite climbing and I noticed – as in almost every alpine climbing tour – once again: not the key pitches (here rated with VI +) are (purely emotionally) the most difficult, but the notorious “V-chaped chimney” in the upper part of the route (currently rated V, originally with III !!!); a very low-grip passage, which probably every (sports) climber of today “teaches the meaning of fear” …