CONTRIBUTIONS > MOUNTAINEERING > TO THE COURT OF CIVETTA
Civetta ph. mario sertori
Grand Capucin © mario sertori
Pizzo Badile © mario sertori
Grandes Jorasses © mario sertori
TO THE COURT OF CIVETTA
A story by Fabio Valseschini
April 07, 2011
Fabio Valseschini has done last March rch the solo winter ascent of the route "via dei 5 di Valmadrera".
Fabio sent us this story of the ascent:
In the summer of 2003 the Alps were fantastic; it seemed the high-pressure would never end. We needed to make the most of it! I managed, with several different partners, to climb all along the Alpine chain, climbing historic routes as well as those I’d always wanted to do.
From the north arete of the Badile to the Tofana di Rozes (Costantini – Ghedina route), from the Bonatti on the Gran Capucin to the north-west pillar of the Cengalo (Gaiser – Lehmann route), and finally the Walker Spur of the north face of the Grandes Jorasses (Cassin – Ratti – Esposito route). All were great routes in superlative settings, in close contact with nature, and which filled me with satisfaction and enriched my alpine curriculum.
These and other routes weren’t bad for a “baby alpinist” (33 years of age) who only 3 years earlier was struggling with knots during a rock climbing course. But maybe in 2003 there was one climb I still had to do, that Wall of Walls, the Civetta.
Then, I hardly knew where it was, but when Marco (Marco Perego) suggested climbing the Philipp – Flamm on the Civetta, my reply could only be, “Yes!” I didn’t know anything about the route, or its history, but I wanted to climb, enjoy myself and live that day to the full. With Marco’s experience behind me, I could give the best of myself on the lead. That climb had something special in store. While we were on the first pitches with another team to pass, Marco pointed out a team (it was Rosy Buffa and Claudio Moretto) who we reascending fixed ropes and said:”that’s the route of the Valmadrera quintet, a hard route”.
For me it was all double Dutch, except for the name Valmadrera, which is a little town near Lecco. Later, I’d learn that Valmadrera was also the name of a top climber from Lecco. I wasn’t to know that years later that route would have become of one my projects and dreams. Maybe Marco was pointing out a possible future objective for us, because, as I’ve told myself on other occasions, provided the technical difficulties were not too great for us, we’d have tackled any route in any situation.
Unfortunately life has in store for us events which we simply have to accept. Marco could no longer climb with me; an illness had taken him away prematurely. I’d lost a friend, the best climbing partner I’d ever had, and it was a big shock to my relationship with nature and the mountains. I’d shared adventures and climbs with other partners, but my brain and instinct told me that something was missing, and needed to be replaced!
I had to find the way to pay homage to my friend, and there was no better way than making a solo climb, perhaps even one of those that we were to have climbed together. Another friend Ivo (Ferrari), who understands very well solo climbing, added the icing on the cake. He said I’d have to make the solo ascent in the winter, so that my homage to Marco was even more “worthy”. Everything worked out for the best, or almost.
After that climb, many things in my life changed. I made other solo climbs, hard as well as easy, although difficulty is always relative. It doesn’t need much to give yourself new targets, especially if you combine the desire to climb, to create tough but satisfying projects, the will to let off steam for wrongs suffered but also the desire to enjoy oneself. No obligations, no-one who takes credit for what’s not theirs. It’s you and the face, and someone who’s up there watching you. Over the years I’ve had two guardian angels, and in the summer of 2008 Daniele (Chiappa) was added to the list.
My instincts told me I should have tackled the Civetta, events seemed to point me there, where someone had previously pointed the way. Even those who’d written the history of the face (Gianni and Antonio Rusconi, Gianbattista Crimella, Gianbattista Villa and Giorgio Tessari) had suggested it: the only thing left was the solo ascent in winter! The journey was a long one, and sooner or later I had to start. In the 2008-2009 winter I started with a timid exploration; I didn’t know the area, only having been there the time of the Philipp-Flamm and so I had to see if it was possible to approach the face from the Coldai refuge. The conditions were dangerous, there was too much snow and it was absurd to take risks. On the one hand the fact that for the rest of the winter there weren’t the conditions for the Civetta, and on the other the expedition in Alaska to the Cassin Ridge on Mount McKinley in late spring had distracted me.
Coming back from that expedition, which had been a positive experience in some ways but negative in others, meant that I was more motivated than ever to make a solo climb. During the summer, I managed to make two of the three solo climbs I had planned. I’d added new experiences to my desire for adventure. It was clear that the winter solo project was on the backburner only waiting for the winter, and would soon have come to the fore. So I started to prepare, with a new series of visits to below the Civetta.
I ended up finding an alternative, safer approach and met some people who’d be fundamental for my dream. Cristian, Roberta and Walter of the Capanna Trieste wanted to help, mountain folk who knew what I was looking for. They kept me updated on the conditions and on the meteo, they helped me in the approach and cooked for me as well! I made several trips to take up stuff and study the face with Cristina and Vittorio, almost to the end of the winter. Then in March 2010 there was my attempt with a bivvy after 100 m. There was loads of stuff coming down, and it was clear that the moment wasn’t right, and so to winter 2011.
I got little climbing done, but had made new and important friendships. During the spring and summer I made two new solo climbs, one I’d been aiming for a long time, another of the projects planned with Marco on my home mountains, and the other in the Dolomites, still on the Civetta. I’d never given it any consideration, but its name, via “degli amici”, sounded good to me. It was the right name for the new friendships I’d made during the winter. This climb, moreover, let me look at my winter project and a solo is never to be discounted! It’s you and the mountain and, in this case, another good climber, Paolo Crippa.
While I was casually explaining what I was doing to do to Uolli (Valter, the guardian of the Tissi Refuge), I learned that the first solo, the solo that for many people counts the most, had been made in a single day by this top climber, like me from Lecco. This fact increased my curiosity, I’d heard of him but never met him, and repeating his solo would have been a way of learning something about him. Paolo soloed the route in a day; it took me two and a half days. Some route finding difficulties and a thunderstorm slowed me down, but I had estimated the route would have taken me two days. I was in no rush to become a star climber, and this experience had been enjoyable for me and I’d made more new important friendships. After Uolli, Paola and little Eliana it was the turn of Venturino (guardian of the Torrani Refuge). E was another top-class climber who knew the Civetta like the back of his hand. All had contributed to making these days unforgettable.
During the summer I climbed with Dario (Spreafico), another top Lecco climber, with whom you don’t just climb great routes but for one reason or another you end up having a great adventure. A better apprenticeship I couldn’t have asked for!
And so the time for making preparations for the winter came round again, by the autumn all the gear was already up there near the face and the Civetta was already wearing its winter coat. I’d hoped to be first this time, but once again the face got there before me! The autumn passed, and before you knew it, it was winter. It was hard for me to find the right moment, since I’ve just started a new job. Mid-January boded well, with the high pressure established over the whole Alpine chain. I needed to make the most of it! With Cristina, Frenzis, Vittorio and Walter I make my way to the start of the route, and the moment I’d waited so long for had finally arrived. I was ready for the climb and they were ready to keep an eye on me.
The conditions, which on the first two pitches seemed ideal, on the third pitch were laborious and filled with problems. I had to work out how to advance metre-by-metre and how to self-belay; it was like climbing with your eyes closed. It took me four hours to climb the pitch, hoping that above the conditions improved. I carved out the bivvy with the axe and spent a worry-free night. Twenty metres the following morning convinced me that I was probably wasting my time, and I sadly abbed back down the route. I managed to carry the immense load back up to the Tissi refuge, continually sinking into the snow.
The starry night with the full moon and the fantastic natural show, all just for me, calmed me down and made me see reason; in the morning I was once again hopeful. I only needed to wait a few weeks and have a little bit of luck. The high pressure continued, and I knew that it wouldn’t last forever, so at the start of February off I set again. We set off Sunday after work, and towards 10 pm we were at the Trieste hut. The next day at dawn, Frenzis and I set off for the rifugio Tissi, with my holiday schedule foreseeing if I could be at the foot of the route by 1 pm, I’d have a good chance provided conditions were OK.
In fact, after all the preparations, by 1 o’clock I was ready to pick up where I left off three weeks earlier. This time I felt more determined, and prepared to spend 10 days, if it were necessary, to realise my dream (I’d previously planned for 5-6 nights).The conditions weren’t that much better but I was definitely more determined, I wanted my efforts to yield concrete results, given the time I dedicate to the mountains and with everything that all my friends had done for me. In half-a-day I was at the bivvy of my previous attempt, and the next morning I tackled the section where I’d turned back before. This time I was calm and determined to overcome the section without taking extreme risks; for me, the risk must be commensurate with my enjoyment. I managed to overcome a difficult section and started to feel part of the face, and no longer a fish out of water. With each step I took and each piece of protection that I placed, my confidence increased, and I felt like one of those monsters in the comics.
There’s no limit to one’s imagination, it’s nice to dream without having to account to anyone except for yourself and a group of friends who are dreaming, suffering and happy with the adventure that’s unfolding. Pitch after pitch everything was working out well, the difficulties made the adrenaline flow and I had to remain concentrated when climbing solo, but staying focussed helped me bear the cold and remain calm in the most risky sections. Bivvy followed bivvy, and each day I was higher on the face. My spirits rose day after day, maybe too much but it helped me to concentrate and not feel the accumulated fatigue of the previous days’ climbing. I felt that I was climbing well and all my friends in the valley and at home started to share in the taste and joy of the fulfilment of a dream, mine but, at the end of the day, also theirs.
La Civetta tried, half way through the last day, to make my topping-out on the summit more difficult than I’d planned, with wind and snow, a last obstacle before the celebration. Its way of saying goodbye, probably, to I who until only a few years ago didn’t know it at all. But I’d always respected it, right from the first time I found myself at its foot. A dream born far away almost by chance, but, if I may say so, brought to fruition by the desire to enjoy oneself totally tuned-in to the face which permitted all this.
I thank all those who participated and helped with this climb, and my friends who support me in all possible ways.
Fabio Valseschini ph. coll. Valseschini
Pizzo Cengalo © mario sertori
Tofana di Rozes © mario sertori
Civetta © mario sertori
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