28 Jul Piz Badile

On 1st and 2nd August 2011, Andrea Marzorati, Antonio Gomba and Corrado Trezzi have opened Sogni d’alta quota (Dreams at high altitude) a new route on the northwest wall of Piz Badile (Masino Bregaglia – Group, Central Alps).
The route, equipped with bolts, starts approximately 30 meters to the right of Ringo Star, and runs always at a safe distance, on dihedrals, slabs and walls to the top of the mountain. Crampons and ice axes to reach the start, 14 quickdraws, 60m ropes and a complete set of friends.
 
The route is 820m long (18 pitches) with maximum difficulty 6b+ (obl. 6a). Descent rappelling on the route (one rappel out of the route) or from the North Ridge or from the Normal route on the South wall.
 
Starting point is the refuge Sass Foura (1904m) in Val Bondasca (Switzerland). The team Marzorati – Gomba has been very busy in recent years in the Masino / Bregaglia inventing several lines, often in remote and uncrowded corners

For all the info on other climbs: SOLO GRANITO                      
 
HIGH ALTITUDE DREAMS
 
After climbing many new routes on various faces of the Central Alps, it was our dream to make a new route on an important wall. During a ski-moountaineering day in Val Bondasca the idea just popped up: ”Pizzo Badile, why not?!”. The approach, as usual for us, was “long”, and we already knew the mountain, having climbed it several times by different routes. Our choice fell on the NW face, between Ringo Star and the Bramani.
 
After a reccy in June last year, climbing some pitches in July 2010 and an injury which held us up for a year, finally this year we realized out high altitude dream.
 
We set out the evening of 31 July, as usual with heavy sacks, towards the Sass Furà refuge where we spent the night. In the morning, an early wake-up and we set off for the Trubinasca glacier, where we crossed the wide crevasses and bergshrunds on fragile ice bridges. From the base of the face, we climbed the pitches we’d already reccied very slowly in the cold and with the wet rock.
Towards one o’clock the sun warmed us and showed the immense NW face in all its beauty, making us really want to cliimb it.
 
After several hours of climbing corners, cracks and slabs, we realised that night was approaching (it was 21:30), and we were lost in this sea of granite. We had already planned to bivvy, and the three of us squeezed onto a ledge 2 m long and 40 cm wide: lovely!!!
 
During the night, with rain, wind and the odd flurry of snow, we asked ourselves how our heroes 70 years ago managed in similar circumstances, without the modern gear that we have.The night was long, but we maintained our enthusiasm for reaching the summit, and in the morning, with a clear sky and freezing temperatures, we emerged onto the North arete, a few steps from the summit at 9 am.
 
We were overjoyed, shaking each others’ hands and giving each other pats on the back, and getting a Polish team to take our photos. We calmly and prudently abbed back down the arete, knowing that tiredness sometimes leads to errors.
 
After a few days, when we’d recovered from our efforts, our achievement began to sink in and we drank with our lifelong friends to the fine adventure!
 Andrea, Antonio, Corrado