Alessandro Grillo
Finale Ligure: Rocca di Perti - view from Calice Ligure
Alessandro Grillo in azione. 1974

FINALE LIGURE:IL VECCHIO

by Alessandro Grillo

December 22, 2011

The Finale area is magical and rather peculiar:  wild, harsh and with an exceptional landscape.
These white limestone rocks, emerging from the luxuriant and deep green vegetation, are unique in the whole western region of Liguria.
At the end of the 1960s the genoese mountaineers Alessandro Grillo and Gianni Calcagno were the first to grasp the value of this vertical paradise. Alessandro in particular, up to that time involved with alpine walls, will from then on dedicate most of his time to these valleys. The friendship between Alessandro and Patrick Berhault and his frequent trips to the Verdon and the south of France will bring free climbing to Finale, and will then give it ample notoriety with the publication of the first guide by Alessandro.
The Rocca di Perti is one of the first crags to be discovered, and Alessandro bolted the first route with Armando Casula and Armando Simonetti here, in the centre of the north part of the West face, one of the most prominent of the whole area.
Alessandro Grillo tells us the story of this route, called "Il giro delle rondini” or “The circling of the swallows” from which you can enjoy the spectacular low altitude flight
and circling of swallows.

"The Old Man" by Alessandro Grillo
from the guidebook "FINALE Climbing" - Marco "Thomas" Tomassini  -  (click here for the german edition)

Seen from Calice Ligure, the Rocca di Perti looks like the immense prow of a warship from another century, with the elegant North ridge that seems to surge through the waves.
It is the hill with the richest number of stories and legends in the Finale area.
In 1973, its West face, almost two kilometres long and over five hundred and fifty meters high, did not have any routes at all on it and this made it extremely interesting for us. We had to climb that cliff, if possible along a route that led directly to the highest point on the summit. Not an easy job, as the hill in question is made up of high cliffs interrupted frequently by grassy ledges and small hanging gardens.
Look from far off, look from close up, finally the line is singled out. We left for a first attempt, me and “Torio” Simonetti, taking all the gear necessary up to a small cave. We started in an overhanging corner and a U-shaped piece of iron, knocked in at the right point, allowed us to get through the most strenuous point. Above, the climbing was more enjoyable and exposed, not difficult but nice.
After three pitches, we needed to climb an exposed traverse to the left that was dominated by a huge pillar that was completely detached from the cliff and leaning strangely against the rock. The parallelepiped was more than three meters high, about one meter long and half the width. At the base it became really, really small and rested on a tiny step. To pass beneath it, with all that stuff above your head, required more recklessness than courage. The fantastic system of supports and friction that held this huge boulder almost suspended in mid-air seemed like a miracle. We remained dumbfounded at the belay, watching this balance artist that more and more began to look like a… coffin. At all costs this thing had to be removed if we wanted to go ahead with a minimum of tranquillity, also because it would have created a serious threat for all those who afterwards would have climbed the route or found themselves at the base of the cliff. And at that point we didn’t even imagine how many people would have shown up in the years to come.
Torio, expert quarryman, rapidly thought of a solution.
He told me to climb up to the right of the boulder and set up a good belay a little above it.
I climbed up; it was like walking though a minefield. I remember that in that year winter had not yet finished, the cliff, West facing, was in the shade, and a cold North wind infiltrated between the boulder and the cliff, creating mournful whistling sounds. The scene was perfect for a film… Terror on the Cliff. I heard creaks every second and it seemed like the whole hill was moving in the wind. It was one of the few times in my life that I climbed with a lady by my side… Fear. I found two good pockets and fixed the pieces of wood and two long iron bars and belayed on two etriers. I was a little higher and to the right of the boulder. Torio climbed up calmly and having reached the top of the monster he told me to fix the rope. “Now I’ll show you how you do it” he exclaimed, smiling. He extracted from his backpack a fist-sized stone and pushed it between the boulder and the cliff, then he levered with the handle of his hammer. The “coffin” moved imperceptibly, but the stone slipped down a little. He levered again and the stone slipped down a little more. At that point, Torio, hanging on the end of the rope, back against the cliff, planted his boots against the boulder and gently pushed. Gradually, like in a film in slow motion, the boulder began to move, and in a cloud of wind and dust, fell towards the ground. It hit the cliff, described an arc and with an indescribably deafening noise hit the ground where it broke in two. One part broke up farther and stopped, but the other, rounder, started to move unhurriedly and subtly towards the valley. It entered a holm oaks wood, where we thought it would stop. But to our unbelieving eyes it appeared to be a projectile travelling at unbelievable speed. It entered the olive groves below, passed really close to some small houses where the farmers lived, bounced down the cultivated terraces, flew over the road works of the motorway under construction and the main road from Calice to Final Borgo, ending its headlong run in the riverbed with a huge splash.
We were terrified. We were shaking like leaves. With the courage that remained we descended hand over hand the entire trail of the boulder in search of damage and… victims. The area, at that time, was almost deserted, but occasional farmers or woodsmen could have been working in the woods or the olive groves. By an incredible stroke of luck, the only damage was a few broken trees and grazed olive trees. The following morning, after a sleepless night, we read through the local news in the newspapers: no reports of falling rocks in the Finale area!
A few weeks passed, having regained some courage, we returned to the scene, this time with us the faithful Armando, called “Monsieur Luc”, il Vecchio or the Old Man, to friends. He had just turned… 50. We climbed the traverse and quickly reached the summit. Warm hugs for il Vecchio, but between Torio and me only a handshake.
Our scared glances were those of two possible and potential assassins.
The only thing missing was De Andrè singing “Il pescatore”!
From that day on, never again, during the first ascent of a route, have I thrown even the smallest stone from the cliffs of Finale, apart from one occasion, but that’s another story.

34 IL VECCHIO
Alessandro Grillo, Armando Casula and Vittorio Simonetti,
March 1973 6a (5b obl.) 150m
Type of bolting: glued and expansion bolts

P1 6a 30m (Original start, bolted with expansion bolts). Vertical wall and corner/crack with accretions, then slab until the ledge
P2 5b 30m Exit diagonally on the left end of the ledge, continue in short corner, slab and then a crack; exit to the right towards a tree (same belay as Nadia, on an expansion bolts)
P3 6a 30m To the left on a vertical wall for 7-8 meters, then traverse to the left (same belay as Chiodi di garofano on glued and expansion bolts)
P4 5b 30m Climb straight up until entering a crack exiting diagonally to the left (original exit) or straight (belay on expansion bolts)
P5 5b 20m Continue to the right following an easy gully until a small ledge, go to the left and climb a short wall towards the right (belay on expansion bolts)
P6 3a 10m Easy climbing to the summit (belay to be set up on tree)

Easy variation of Il Vecchio:
Half way up the second pitch exit to the left on a ledge, traverse along it passing the second belay of Gold Finger and continue vertically in a corner (4c)

Condividi

Finale Climbing - Marco "Thomas" Tomassini - ed 2011
extract from the guide "Finale Climbing" - Marco Tomassini
Rocca di Perti - West face