VALLE dell’ORCO

MATTEO AND STEFANO DALLA GASPERINA

VALLE dell’ ORCO

Single and multipitch routes from trad to sport climbing Valle dell’Orco & Val Soana

First edition April 2024

ISBN 978 88 55471 268

Copyright © 2024 VERSANTE SUD – Milano (I), via Rosso di San Secondo, 1. Ph. +39 02 7490163 www.versantesud.it

All translation, reproduction, adaptation and electronic registration, either totally or partially, by any methods, are rights reserved for all countries.

Cover image Matteo Dalla Gasperina and Luca Macchetto, Diedro del Mistero, Sergent © Stefano Dalla Gasperina

Text Matteo and Stefano Dalla Gasperina

Drawings and topos Eugenio Pinotti

English translation Alexandra Ercolani

Maps Tommaso Bacciocchi. © Mapbox, © Open Street Map

Symbols

Tommaso Bacciocchi

Layout Chiara Benedetto

Printing Tipolitografia Pagani – Passirano (BS), Italy

ZERO miles

This guidebook is homegrown and locally produced ZERO miles!

This is a “zero-miles” guidebook. It’s locally produced!

It has been compiled by local authors, who live and promote climbing in the area reviewed.

Climbers benefit from local authors:

– locals know the latest news and updates

– locals don’t promote only the most “commercial” spots

– locals invest the revenues from the guidebook in equipping new crags

Local authors promote and respect their area: – they review only the spots where climbing is allowed

– they pay attention in the same way to any different spot

– they meaningfully interact with local actors

Note

Climbing is a potentially dangerous sport in which participation is entirely at your own risk. All the information in this guide has been updated based upon information at the time of publication, however it is vital to evaluate every situation yourself before placing yourself in a life threatening situation or to seek the advice of experienced and qualified individuals.

ZERO miles

This guidebook is homegrown and locally produced

2% of the proceeds from this guidebook are re-invested in material for re-bolting routes and crags

MATTEO AND STEFANO DALLA GASPERINA

VALLE dell' ORCO

Single and multipitch routes from trad to sport climbing

Valle dell’Orco & Val Soana

Preface

Between the 1970s and mid 1980s a generation of rock climbers chose the Orco Valley as their favourite place of choice. As a space for adventure and experimenting, in that fundamental historical passage that led mountaineers to become climbers. Until the years 2000 though the valley remained a niche area, frequented by very few climbers (more or less always the same ones) true enthusiasts of the area, the environment and the type of climbing.

If in the Briançon area there were queues under the rock faces, at Ceresole the only queues were along the winding road, before 1995 without the tunnel.

However we know that fashions change, just like low waisted jeans which every now and then come back into fashion…sometimes with different nuances, but they return. So it is the same for climbing styles and ethics.

After the bolting binge of the 90s thanks to the change in climbers’ mentality (and the technical evolution of the gear) the valley’s rock once again became a great play ground ideal for the new style of TRAD(itional) climbing

In the Orco Valley everyone has found their own space…explorers, pirates, strongmen, sheriffs, Indians, altruists…Some have remained attached to these places, not only for the satisfaction that climbing has given them, but also for the pleasure of experiencing a sunset or breathing in the scent of rhododendrons in bloom.

I do hope that the new generations will be more careful and respectful in terms of history and sensitive to the “beauty” in a general sense; that respect for the rock, for the environment, and that it will become a part of their cultural formation.

I believe that there is no need to talk about what has been made into an ethical debate. A conflict which has filled up pages of magazines and discussions between climbers…but of which all that remains today is forum (and bar) chat.

It is clear that evolution does not pass through bolts, but one evolves with a true climbing culture, a culture which teaches how to manage safety. It is clear that safety and fun depend on our ability and our awareness of what we are able to do, remembering that the value of the experience is paramount.

Recent history tells us of great achievements in free climbing, of many young climbers who have fallen in love with climbing and the history of the Orco Valley tells us of improving new and old sectors but also of old roped parties of “old timers” who open routes by creating elegant and pleasant routes. In recent years, two completely different routes have led many people to discover (and rediscover) the walls of Orco Valley, well-equipped routes that have attracted many climbers.

One might think that many people like to move on terrain that is not particularly challenging or forever search for something new, without any real historical or aesthetic research. I like to think that these routes are an opportunity for many climbers to visit or return to Orco Valley, to enjoy themselves, to get to know it better…and then put themselves to the test on terrain and styles that perhaps inspire a little reverential fear.

Valle dell’Orco is not only for pros, on the classic routes there are cracks which easily welcome nuts and friends and the anchors are bolted, often also suitable for abseiling down.

The great classic routes can be climbed by climbers who have an ‘alpine’ mentality and who are not conditioned by the difficulty of the route, but have pleasure in climbing the historical routes… even if this requires a few rests and some aid climbing (I know what I am saying is outrageous! True climbing is only free climbing!)

To each his/her own ethics. This is just to say that everyone can climb in Valle dell’Orco. You will find a simple welcome, essential, but without a doubt it is genuine and far from the big fashionable tourist areas. A wide portion lies in the Gran Paradiso Park, the oldest Italian national park and this says a lot about the beauty of the places you will come across, rich in fauna, flora and exciting landscapes. Come and try it, the valley is characteristic, original and charming!

Stefano Dalla Gasperina

Pierre Vezzoli, Impressioni di Settembre, Scoglio di Mroz (© Umberto Bado)

Follow Your Instinct

50. Paretina Infelice

51. Piccolo Caporal

52. Archi Neri

53. Torre Paura nel Cervello

54. Serpente di Legno

Gabriele Beuchod by Giulio Beuchod .

CERESOLE REALE

55. Disertore

56. Pietra Filosofale

57. Pian della Balma

58. Sasso del Carro

59. Prato Rotondo

60. Cornflakes

Remembering Bangalore by Elio Bonfanti

61. Sergent ........................ 380

Robi by Stefano Dalla Gasperina 427

Sir Biss by Maurizio Oviglia

Meinerio

Droide

66. Sitting Bull .....................

Atlantide

68. Parete della Grande Ala 472 VALLE DI FORZO .................... 482

69. Small Rainbow 484

70. Pagine di Pietra 488

71. Ancesieu

72. Alpherian

73. Placca Rosa 504

74. Parete del Falco 506

75. Schiappa delle Grise Neire 510 76. Parete dei Cunì 516

Michele Caminati, Rocky Marciano, End of the Flare Area (© Michele Caminati)

Thanks

We would like to thank those, in no particular order, who contributed in one way or another, to the production of this guidebook:

Daniela Micca

Francesco Micca

Gianni Pegoraro

Andrea Giorda

Alessandro Zuccon

Matteo Della Bordella

Bernd Zangler

Jacopo Larcher

Giulio Beuchod

Claudio Bernardi

Ugo Manera

Gianni Battimelli

Alessandro Masiero

Rinaldo Sartore

Paolo Intropido

Luca Macchetto

Paolo Blotto

Luca Ponziani

Simone Pappalia

Andrea Migliano

Federica Mingolla

Didier Berthod

Fred Moix

Michele Caminati

Matteo Michetti Savin

Rocco Perrone

Umberto Bado

Massimiliano Celano

Maurizio Zanusso

Stefano Rapelli

Davide Visconti

Chiara Benedetto

Eugenio Pinotti

Fausto Aimonino

Danilo Aimonino

Davide Facelli

Angelo Riva

Tommaso Lamantia

Manuel Bracco.

Davide Facelli, La Pala Pont Canavese (© Arch. Davide Facelli)

Umberto Bado, Orecchio del Pachiderma, Caporal (© Stefano Dalla Gasperina)

Il nuovo mattino

On the 4 November 1972, the first climbing route was completed on the most eye-catching rocky structure of Balma Fiorant overlooking the hairpin bends of the old road leading to Ceresole Reale in Valle dell'Orco. On the same day, the imposing wall received its baptism with the playful name of Caporal, the promoters and achievers of that feat: Ugo Manera and Gian Piero Motti, certainly did not imagine that that name, invented almost as a joke, would become as famous as it is today. Our common militancy as instructors in the mountaineering school gave Motti and me the opportunity to compare our ideas and experiences. We soon discovered that we had a common vision on mountaineering and future goals; we discussed a lot and started climbing together and formulating many plans.

Great news had come from the United States. Until then, US mountaineering was completely unknown to us; the American attempts on K2 were known, but what was behind them hardly anyone knew exactly. At the end of the 1950s, news came of the ascent of a large granite face, set at a relatively low altitude, in a valley in California, which was completed in November 1958. What was striking was the duration of the feat: 17 days on the wall for the final attack but a total of 47 days of attempts. It was accomplished by strangers: Warren Harding, Wayne Merry and George Whitmore. In Europe they were not used to such long periods of time to conquer a rock face. It was not long before 'the Americans' arrived on the granite of Mont Blanc to demonstrate their skills by establishing new routes that, in terms of difficulty and style, went beyond what had been achieved so far on the most important massif in the Alps.

Gian Piero Motti immediately took an interest in the American climbing 'phenomenon': he read all the specialised magazines from America and England, interpreted the most significant articles with careful analysis, and began to translate them for our own magazines. We began to discuss overseas novelties among ourselves, perhaps even idealizing the phenomenon a little.

Among other things, we seemed to discover that adventure could be found not only on the walls of great mountains, but also on rocky structures on top of which pine trees still grew, provided that they required total commitment to climb them. We began to see the rock structures on the sides of the valleys no longer as training 'gyms' for 'big' feats but as goals in themselves. Perhaps unconsciously, we began to look for our own little California. Not that the idea was totally new for our environment, a similar determination had already been implemented by our predecessors on the ‘Parete dei Militi’ in Valle Stretta. From that moment on, Gian Piero and I continued the search for our new horizon together. He knew every nook and cranny of the Val Grande di Lanzo and of course every rock structure; the most promising appeared to be undoubtedly the Bec di Mea, and in January 1968 we established the first route there.

The time spent in the Valle Grande di Lanzo had been great and we had enjoyed ourselves, but on those rocks we had not found that total commitment that we were looking for while dreaming of our little California: too little difference from what had been done before. In my climbing fantasies I kept asking myself where to look for a worthy objective, and certainly Gian Piero was asking himself the same question.

One day the classic light bulb lit up for me: the walls above the hairpin bends on the road to Ceresole Reale. I had looked at them many times on my way to Gran Paradiso, but without formulating plans to climb them. I mistakenly imagined that on those granite slabs one could only make progress with the extensive use of pegs, a type of climbing that I did not intend to do. My experiences with Gian Piero, searching for new objectives at the crag, together with the knowledge gained from reading American, English and French magazines, changed my point of view and almost suddenly

Angelo Riva and Marco Lavatelli, Fessura della Disperazione, 80’s style (© Arch. A. Riva)

I found myself convinced that the crags of Balma Fiorant could be climbed thanks to the technical knowledge we had acquired and without the indiscriminate use of a drill. Immediately I was taken over by a frenzy to take action.

It was a time of splendid autumn weather, so the following Sunday, having left the car on the hairpin bends of the road that climbs to Ceresole Reale, the four of us set off towards the rocks of Balma Fiorant, following the route found by Motti a few days earlier. The two of us, creators of the project, had been joined by Guido Morello and Ilio Pivano. We moved to the starting point identified by Gian Piero and, impatient to get into action, Gian Piero and I tied up together and started to climb. At the moment of starting as Morello's second, Pivano gave up and we continued as a threeman team. Gian Piero led a third pitch, then it was my turn to climb a beautiful and difficult pitch that took us to the base of a smooth compact slab with no cracks. In anticipation of an obstacle of this kind, Motti had brought a hand drill and three compression bolts. Armed with these tools, he set off up the slab, climbed until he felt the need to place some protection, then, in a precarious position, he began to hammer on the hand drill making a hole for a compression bolt. On the third hammer blow, the drill slipped out of his hand and crashed clattering down the wall.

All that was left for us to do was to prepare to abseil back down when we heard a voice calling to us from above. With exceptional foresight, Pivano had climbed up the gully that runs alongside the wall to the summit and, with admirable intuition, had brought two ropes with him. He tied the two ropes together, fixed them to a larch tree and lowered them down the face in our direction, thus ingloriously conquering the summit of the gully with a prusik knot ascent.

Two weeks later, Gian Piero and I were there again to complete the task. The two friends from the first attempt were no longer with us; their place had been taken by Vareno Boreatti and Flavio Leone.

Gian Piero tied up first with Boreatti, I followed, tied up with Leone. The ascent went off without a hitch, wisely we had brought an extra hand drill but only one compression bolt was needed on the slab that had stopped the first attempt. We touched the summit with exaggerated enthusiasm, especially on my part and that of Gian Piero, we had finally started our ‘Nuovo Mattino’ (New Morning).

Back at the base, we celebrated, this time deservedly so, with a bottle of Barbera brought by me to the base of the wall. In the general merriment, we set ourselves the task of giving a name to our discovery: Gian Piero already had in mind the name of the route opened: the Via dei Tempi Moderni. I made a little joke about the name to be given to the wall: our monolith was no less beautiful than the Yosemite Capitan, it was just much smaller and we could place it on a lower hierarchical scale: if that was Captain, ours could well be a Corporal. My proposal was unanimously accepted and Corporal it was.

Ugo Manera

Generation Sitting Bull, the story of a revolution

Messner and the game where you always win

In 1968 in the Cai magazine, Reinhold Messner, a visionary and non conformist, wrote an article that was a verdict 'The Murder of the Impossible'. In a nutshell, Messner repudiated the style of opening the Direttissime routes, the ones that drop straight down like a water drop from top to bottom, opened using compression bolts, drilling holes in the rock and using ladders for progressing. All it takes is a few days off to open a route, he said ironically, and he had nothing against the compression bolts, it's cheap, it lets you climb anywhere, it has only one downside, it kills the game of mountaineering.

Yeah, what's the point of playing a game where you always win, if you remove uncertainty you eliminate adventure.

The 1970s decreed the end of the post-war economic boom in Italy, where everything seemed possible. In Turin, workers no longer had a secure job and there was often great unrest, young people were now critical even of world-sharing wars such as the Vietnam War. For the first time, the television violently throws images of villages with children burnt by Napalm into our homes during dinnertime. In the 1970s young people counted, they were the majority of the population, they were also freer to imagine a new world, on average they were better educated and did not, like their parents, have to run after basic necessities.

Within this picture, the world of mountaineering or climbing was also experiencing some change. Nothing to do with the fanciful reconstructions of those who, not having experienced them, have written about droves of climbers wearing headbands, ready to challenge the impossible.

First of all it should be pointed out that there was a very small number of climbers in the 1970s, the good ones were a very small elite, nothing to do with the 1980s, when also thanks to gear, magazines and the outdoor industry the number of climbers grew exponentially.

Another factor, the average level of the climber was to climb on grade III or IV, in the Rocca Sbarua, dear to the people of Turin, it was normal to use aiders and aid climb sections which offered greater difficulty. It is important to remember that bolts did not exist and everyone had to climb at ease on the grade they wanted to tackle, falling was not even contemplated. Like on the famous Vena di Quarzo opened wearing boots by Gabriele Boccalatte in the 1930s. Twenty metres up tiny quartzes without being able to place any protection, on compact rock, a deadly fall was guaranteed, a masterpiece. A peg was placed almost at the summit (ironically) by Gian Piero Motti at the end of the 1960s, and for the old-timers, including my father, who took me on a reverent training pilgrimage to climb it, it was rightly so a huge scandal! He did not share my enthusiasm for Motti.

Re-discovering Valle dell’Orco

In 1971 I started leading and in 1973 I met Enrico Camanni at the SUCAI ski mountaineering school in Turin. We immediately formed a very close-knit group of very young climbers, we climbed classics in the Dolomites and in Val Masino, and during the second half of the 1970s we were among the first, after the pioneers of the “Nuovo Mattino”, to climb in Valle dell'Orco. We started off at an advantage, because Enrico was already an editor of the mountaineering magazine “Rivista della Montagna” and the information with the sketches came from Gian Piero Motti himself. Gian Piero had recently opened the route Itaca nel Sole, and this was an ill-concealed goal of ours. We tried to figure out from the few indications which was the Torre di Aimonin, but there was no path and we climbed up

Ricky Conterio, Variant of Perucca on Diedro Nanchez, Caporal (© Stefano Dalla Gasperina)

the scree, climbed the route of the Spigolo di Alberto Re, which was beautiful, and the route in the centre of the Grande Diedro, hoping for a new route, but we then discovered that we had been narrowly preceded by a very skilled climber, Roberto Bonis.

Once our fears of inadequacy had passed, we took courage and headed for the base of Caporal, or at least that was what it seemed from the few clues we had. In an absolutely deserted valley, we met Gabriele Beuchod and Roberto Bonelli, orphan of his historical partner Danilo Galante, who had recently died of exposure in the extreme cold of Gran Mantì. Beuchod took a nice photo and advised us to link up the route Tempi Moderni with Itaca nel sole. Gabriele had not yet climbed his masterpiece, the Orecchio del Pachiderma, and we climbed the route following his advice, probably this was the first of this popular combination.

Enrico in 1978 wrote an article of our adventures in the magazine ‘Scandere’, the CAI Turin yearbook, entitled 'Sotto il segno dell'Orco' (Under the Sign of the Ogre) with reports and practical advice on how to use smooth-soled boots. It may make one smile, but there was a big debate going on about their use, especially in the mountains; I myself had climbed all the routes in boots. After Motti and Manera's stories in Nuovo Mattino the Orco valley had fallen into oblivion, they had not been fully understood. Enrico's article was fundamental, it was the first by a visitor and proved that two unknown kids could climb these walls that were thought to be inaccessible to ordinary mortals.

Needless to say, Enrico and I were fascinated by Gian Piero Motti's articles on Californian mountaineering, we were mesmerised. Having grown up with Guido Rey's motto inciting us on our CAI membership card to 'Lotta con l’alpe” (Fight with the mountain), we immediately embraced the new vision that put the warlike terms such as ‘assault’ and ‘conquest’ or the ‘hero mountaineer’, all terms that the fascist era had nurtured, into the dustbin: every mountaineer is an Alpine trooper and a defender of the borders of his homeland.

Heroes were those who worked night shifts at Fiat Mirafiori, certainly not us privileged ones who could climb in this wonderful valley, without haste, in tune with the natural environment, leaving the burdensome trappings of the past in the drawer. The routes, it was said, led to the plateau, to the meadows, there were no peaks to place flags on.

Young people now know little or nothing about the history of mountaineering, but why is it that the myth of the Nuovo Mattino is something that still fascinates and attracts so many climbers to the Orco Valley, who want to repeat the great classics such as La Fessura della Disperazione, the route that symbolised an era?

In 1970, a group of enlightened mountaineers founded the Rivista della Montagna in Turin as an antithesis to the swampy Cai magazine. Gian Piero Motti and Andrea Gobetti were among the most prestigious signatures and it is thanks to them that the Orco Valley climbs of the early 1970s became routes where the emotions and visions of a distant but fascinating era could be relived. Without them and the circulation of this magazine, they would have been beautiful climbs, difficult, but no more so than some already done in the Alps. Giampiero and Andrea were able to read their time, grasp the changing vision and transfer it in words that have reached us. One can venture that Nuovo Mattino is also, and perhaps above all, a literary invention based on a revolution that was happening in the climbing world and not only, in society as a whole.

Sitting Bull’s hut

Those of us who started repeating routes in the Orco Valley during the second half of the 1970s noticed that some required a higher and above all, obligatory level of climbing. They had that little bit extra, among them the Fessura della Disperazione, but also the Diedro del Mistero. These are the routes of Danilo Galante and Roberto Bonelli.

Those routes, often up wide cracks, which did not stop where it was problematic to put a peg and protect oneself, were the inspiration for Gabriele Beuchod who opened Orecchio del Pachiderma at Caporal with Bonelli in 1979, and for me who climbed in the same year and in the same style the Diedro Maggiore on the wall of the Inflazione Strisciante, now renamed Diedro Atomico.

In the same year, 1979, in late autumn, I by chance I discovered the Sitting Bull crack, which required all my strength to climb it and also my courage. There were no friends, and I almost climbed the entire final arch by jamming my hands with only one hexcentric, and then with relief emerged cold on the larch tree. At the end of 1979, the Diedro Atomico and the Orecchio del Pachiderma were probably the most challenging free climbs in the Orco Valley. The grade was stuck at VI+. The maximum given, out of modesty, was VI-. Now the Diedro Atomico is graded 6c+. 6c in the 1970s was a borderline grade. For a better understanding it is enough to remember that the first Italian ascent of the Fessura Kosterlitz (6b boulder) was only achieved in 1978 by Roberto Bonelli.

Sitting Bull was more difficult than all the cracks opened up to that time and presented a problem on the crux since only one hexcentric could be placed or a hand in that crack. The friends that were later to be used in the 1980s expanded, you could put them wherever you wanted, the hexcentrics were like big hexagonal nuts, and often ended up at the bottom of the rope.

As luck would have it, the beautiful chalet near the crack belonged to an employee of the Electricity Company where my father worked. Together with Mario Ogliengo, Enrico Pessiva and Marco Degani, I rented it for a short time and it quickly became a reference point for many climbers discovering the Orco Valley and the new jamming techniques. By now everyone knew where we kept the keys, we lost control of it, and it became testing ground of the revolution taking place, with the most challenging test, the Sitting Bull crack, next to it.

As had happened at La Palud in Verdon, Sitting Bull was a must. In 1980, after an ascent in Val di Susa at Foresto and then at Scoglio di Mroz, Jean Marc Trussier, one of the leading climbers in France, arrived in the valley intrigued. He wrote an article in “Alpinisme et Randonnée” enthusiastically about the Orco Valley, describing it as 'the Italian Yosemite', but pointed out that the style of climbing was still a little old-fashioned, compared to the free climbing already practised in Verdon. Trussier met Mario Ogliengo, who described to the Frenchman the various projects underway and what was new. Then Philippe Maclè, a friend of Patrick Edlinger and the one who discovered Ceuse,

Sitting Bull’s hut during the 80’s (© Arch. Andrea Giorda)

Generation Sitting Bull, the story of a revolution

an authority and opener of one of the most beautiful lines in the world, L'Ange en Décomposition in the Verdon gorges, was sent to the Orco Valley.

In 1982, a new article came out in Alpinisme et Randonnée entitled "Libre a L'italienne " Free climbing à L'italienne (!), a consecration and redemption for us who saw those unattainable characters in the magazines. Among our various routes used as testing ground, pointed out by Mario as the Placca del Cacao (extreme slab), the Califfi, the article ended with a real ode to the crack, which in his opinion was the most beautiful, Sitting Bull. Maclè in the article calls the Baita 'Bergerie retape', most likely he too like many had settled within those cosy walls at no expense.

The Orco Valley thus had international consecration and visibility, and had become one of the very few places in southern Europe where a way of climbing that in California or the United Kingdom had already been customary for years was being experimented. Verdon first and foremost, Valle dell'Orco and Valle di Mello with the leader Ivan Guerini became popular and the top climbers wanted to be there and be immortalised like Patrick Edlinger and Manolo (Maurizio Zanolla), who accompanied by Alessandro Gogna climbed Sitting Bull without resting, as the new rules of the eighties imposed. Generation Sitting Bull, these are those guys who were in their early 20s in the 1970s, had a remarkable level of climbing for the time, they were natural climbers, not the result of training. They had a strong self-control to climb away from the only possible protection, a quality that objectively limited their numbers.

How many would climb La Fessura della Disperazione or many other routes today without friends but with a few nuts or hexcentrics? Maybe in sneakers, or with airlite rubber (famous in Val di Mello), stuck on shoes worth three thousand lira, slippers that are unsightly nowadays. They experimented with everything and obviously the EB Supergratton, the first climbing shoes to become popular. The forefathers of this generation in Valle dell'Orco were certainly Roberto Bonelli and Danilo Galante, who went well beyond what today is considered 6b or they could never have done what they did, the routes speak for themselves. Another limiting factor was that the difficulty scale on rock was stuck in the 1930s, at VI+. So at most they gave VI- (!) in Val di Mello they were more free of preconceptions than the Piedmontese and Ivan Guerini provocatively used the VII grade, which meant nothing, only that it was more than VI+, but still not recognised internationally. The climbers of this generation were all explorers and were constantly searching for new rock faces and new challenges.

Discovering Vallone di Forzo

A lesser-known but fundamental figure in the history of Piedmont climbing is Isidoro Meneghin, a true explorer to whom we owe the discovery of many sites that are now famous. Among them is the Vallone di Forzo, a side valley of the Valle Soana. Isidoro involved me in great secrecy, as was his custom, in his discovery, taking me to the small rock face of Pagine di Pietra. He knew that I had climbed difficult cracks such as Diedro Atomico and Sitting Bull and he took me in 1980 to the base of this route with a 60 metre crack. He said to me laughing, in a good-natured tone of challenge, 'Go Giordino' and I climbed it, having to stop halfway on a single hexcentric, because at the time the ropes were short: 40 metres. I then continued with great risks, wedging in some stones (there were no friends and I did not have bongs on principle, too invasive) always free, to the satisfaction of Isidoro who wrote an enthusiastic report highlighting my ‘free’ performance, I still keep his writing with affection. The hexcentric which was hammered in was used as a belay for three people (Biagio Merlo was also there) and the stones are still in place after more than 40 years. The grade was VII at the time now around 6b off-width crack.

Also in 1980, Isidoro summoned Giovanni Bosio, a great frequenter of the Sitting Bull ‘baita’ (hut), to whom we owe much of the splendid route La Strategia del Ragno at Ancesieu. Unfortunately, sensitive and introverted Giovanni followed Motti to his sad fate by taking his own life a few years later. I regret that I never fully understood his discomfort. The conversations in the evenings, at the baita, seemed to me normal amorous torments typical of that age, we would talk about girls, even he would smile but some thought troubled him to a point that perhaps no one could stop him. A

Generation Sitting Bull, the story of a revolution

good-looking boy, strong and intelligent, he would soon become an engineer, when you seemingly have everything in life something is missing, the example of Motti who used the exhaust pipe of his car paved the way for him to end up the same way.

The unaware climbers

Grade and difficulty today is everything, in the 1970s it wasn't, adventure and general engagement were the measure of a route. New climbers experimenting, going further afield, are not unique to the Orco Valley. Manolo himself recounts in his book how, at the end of the 1970s, he had started climbing in a new way, repeating old routes by free climbing them with traditional pegs, which in the Dolomites often means precarious. It now turns out that he had perhaps gone beyond the grade of 7a, but The Sitting Bull Generation as we called it, was often, as Roberto Bonelli confessed to me, totally unaware. Then, around 1980, Marco Bernardi appeared in Valle dell'Orco, an immense talent who opened lines up to 7a, he too unconcerned of the fact that the protections were very distant. He repeated himself in Sardinia and in his extraordinary solo climbs in the Alps.

But it was Bernardi, like Manolo, who would soon become the forerunners of a radically different season. In the Orrido di Foresto in Valle di Susa, in 1980, Patrick Berhault, just back from a conference in Turin on the VII grade, showed a small group of locals, Gian Carlo Grassi, Franco Salino and Bernardi how to climb without ever hanging off pegs. The advent of bolts would do the rest and already in 1982 Bernardi opened and freed the single pitch Strenous at Orrido di Foresto, grading it 7c+, not to exaggerate, today it is certainly closer to 8a, at the time the hardest grade in the world. The bolts allowed him to make mistakes, fall and try again, unthinkable in the extreme climbing of the 1970s.

Gary Hemming, a Californian idol from the 1970s, used to say: 'only memories and photographs should remain of your climb', preaching clean climbing. We at Sitting Bull, in the wake, often didn't

Andrea Giorda on Sitting Bull, 1981 (© Arch. Andrea Giorda)

Andrea Giorda on Sitting Bull, 1981 (© Arch. Andrea Giorda)

even want to use bolts or bongs, but only nuts and hexcentrics. With bolts everything changed, the scenery, the rocks, the type of climbing also changed. The climbers multiplied, we discovered Buoux, Ceuse, Finale Ligure, the Garda area, Sperlonga. Verdon, Valle di Mello and Valle dell'Orco were no longer the places of experimentation or revolution.

1972-1982 the golden decade of the Orco Valley comes to an end

In 1980, in Turin, thanks to the volcanic Andrea Mellano, the first Italian to climb the North Face of the Eiger, the Palavela, the first large indoor climbing gym opened to the public in Italy. I inaugurated it, as a promising young climber, together with Reinhold Messner and Wanda Rutkiewicz and was chosen as instructor for the courses. I noticed the absence of Gian Piero Motti, who was never really convinced by indoor climbing gyms. Training became systematic, there was no longer any room for adventure riders and that even slightly romantic world of discovery of the Sitting Bull hut. Enrico Camanni was already at the time, more attentive than I was to the changing customs, he told me

Apparel and gear for mountaineering

that we were the last witnesses of a way of climbing and a world that had now passed away. The path had opened to climbing competitions, organised for the first time in Europe by Mellano and Tuttosport journalist Emanuele Cassarà. The competitions took place after a thousand controversies in Bardonecchia in 1985 and were a great success, which still endures today.

In 1982, Franco Salino, a skilled climber from Bussoleno, with Massimo Ala and Bruno Fabretto climbed the splendid Rattle Snake on the Caporal. The combination of Orecchio del Pachiderma, Itaca nel sole and Rattle Snake is perhaps the most beautiful and great climbing line in the Orco Valley and one of the most beautiful in the Alps on granite. With an autumn stake by the ‘baita boys’, Mario Ogliengo, the very young Roberto Perucca and myself, the last great natural line of Sergent was opened, Nautilus, today perhaps the most repeated route in the Orco valley.

This route closes the golden decade of the Orco Valley, 1972-1982, that of the great climbing revolution. Those protagonists then dedicated themselves to bringing techniques and the new higher level of climbing to the mountains, in 1988 the ‘Baita’ was bought, a road arrived and the baita was destroyed to replace it with a luxurious villa.

The 80s, the new leading characters and the first 8a

The history of the Verdon of the Mello Valley and the Orco Valley did not stop, but climbing in those places as well as in the Orco Valley from the early 1980s onwards no longer had anything revolutionary or groundbreaking about it. By then, with guide books being published, modern gear being used, the spotlights of international evolution were pointing elsewhere, where crag climbing, sport climbing, was born. Alessandro Gogna's books, such as the 100 Nuovi Mattini for the first time showed climbing without mountains in the background and climbers who with great slack and nuts, climbed very difficult grades. Alessandro had masterfully captured the spirit of this generation that had made the revolution of the 1970s and immortalized it in this 1981 book that was an inspiration for the following generations. In 1984, the first female ascent of the Fessura Kosterlitz must also be remembered. Paola Mazzarelli, after her stay in Great Britain, climbed it smoothly and with excellent technique.

Mario Ogliengo tries out smeary cimbing on his Placca del Cacao, 1981 (© Arch. A. Giorda)

Among the new protagonists, inspired by the 100 New Mattini, there is certainly Daniele Caneparo, who discovered amazing lines such as Elisir d'incastro, but to see a real step forward in difficulty, compared to Manolo, Edlinger or Bernardi in Valle dell'Orco, we have to wait for climbers of whom too little has been said, such as Roberto Mochino and Massimiliano Giri. The two accomplished an absolute and futuristic masterpiece for those who now speak of trad, the free ascent on precarious pegs and nuts of the Cannabis at Sergent (1986!) a 7b that is still very difficult today for those who climb without technique. Not content, Mochino bolted and then freed, again with Giri, the extreme, for the time, Gli Angeli della Morte 7c+ (1987). Mochino and Giri were among the strongest climbers of the new generation. Roberto, when he was very young, had touched experimental peaks of bolting with his Fragilità Cerebrale at Sergent in 1983. It was also Mochino who discovered the roof of Legoland, bravely attempted by Caneparo but never freed.

The very strong climber Giovannino Massari also left his mark, but for an 8a we have to wait until 2002, when the Italian climber Rolando Larcher freed Colpo al Cuore by Gabriele Bar and a wellknown climber from the valley, Claudio Bernardi, now a Mountain Guide. Another great route opener with dream lines is Manlio Motto, with various climbing partners including the talented Rinaldo Sartore. His routes at Torre di Aimonin still set the mark, not to mention the masterpiece routes of Ancesieu in the Forzo valley.

To return to the splendour of the golden age and see Orco Valley appear in international magazines, we have to wait for the ascent of Green Spit in 2003, declared at the time as the hardest crack in the world (8b/+) by the Belgian climber Didier Berthod. Another great international exploit is certainly Christian Brenna's first free ascent with Marzio Nardi in 2003 on Itaca nel sole (8b on bolts and nuts). What can I say about Adriano Trombetta, my companion of great climbs, an often discussed and divisive character, but his death has left a great void. He was enthusiasm and passion made in person. A great climber on cracks, in 2013 he also brought the very famous Nicolas Favresse and Sean Villanueva to the valley, first on Sitting Bull and Shitting Bull, which Favresse freed. Then on the corner Legittima Visione, bolted by Trombetta himself and freed by Villanueva. The first Italian to repeat the route was Federica Mingolla.

In recent years, also thanks to the international meetings and the climbing guide books written by Maurizio Oviglia translated into English, the Orco Valley has a worldwide reputation. Oviglia is a great connoisseur of the Orco Valley, he was often Caneparo and Mochino’s climbing partner.

The classic routes, even today, those of the golden decade, are the most sought-after, Didier Berthod himself knew and was attracted by the Fessura della Disperazione. But the search for new possibilities in the Orco Valley, with new protagonists, does not stop, such as boulder climbing. Climbing in Valle dell'Orco no longer has anything legendary or extreme about it; droves of climbers want to enjoy themselves on this splendid granite with the thrill of putting in a few friends, safe in the knowledge that they will arrive at a comfortable bolted anchor point. But a sort of intimate feeling that comes from these rocks and the spectacular quality of the rock face, make it a place which is out of the ordinary, one that leaves a deep memory in the soul, like climbing in Val di Mello or Verdon, the natural cathedrals of the history of the 1970s revolution.

The golden years are a distant echo, impossible to comprehend now where means are unlimited, where everything is social and programmed and where everything revolves around the difficulty and the grade. The Roman climber Andrea Di Bari, a pioneer of sport climbing in central Italy, recalls in his biography Il Fuoco dell'anima (The Fire of the Soul) how in 1982 Gianni Battimelli took him from the Roman suburbs to the Sitting Bull hut, for him it was the discovery of a place of peace and beauty, difficult to forget, a world that was changing, trying to bring the qualities of man back to the centre, in harmony with the natural world.

Andrea Giorda CAAI – Alpine Club UK. January 2023

Useful information

How to arrive by car

Arriving from Milan, Genoa and Aosta and reaching the motorway exit for Ivrea, follow the SS565 for Cuorgne/Castellamonte/Valchiusella and after 15 km follow directions for Ceresole/SS460. Having arrived at Pont C.se along the Orco valley, continue along the SS460 for Soana valley, go through the village and follow directions for Ronco Canavese-Valle Soana along the SP 47. Arriving from Turin by the Torino Caselle/Airport highway, follow directions for Ceresole Reale/SS460 as far as Pont Canavese.

Eating and sleeping

Soana Valley

Locanda della luna, Hotel restaurant-bar, Ronco Canavse, tel. +39 3475502896, www.locandaluna.com

Osteria delle Alpi, restaurant-bar, Molino di Forzo, tel. +39 340 7624834.

Orco Valley

B&B Valle Orco, Sparone, tel. +39 3480078289, bnbvalleorco.altervista.org

Camere d’aria Guesthouse, Locana, tel. +39 3204478762, www.cameredaria.eu

Edelweiss, bar ristorante, Locana, tel. +39 3209260008, Albergo La Cascata, bar-ristorante, Noasca, tel. +39 3404729334

Rifugio Muzio, Chiapili di Sopra, tel. +39 347 1932853, www.rifugiomuzio.com

Chalet del Lago, Hotel bar ristorante Ceresole Reale, tel. +39 3402912420, www.chalet-ceresolereale.it

Pizzeria Le fonti, Hotel bar ristorante Ceresole Reale, tel. +39 3477110309, www.fontiminerali.com

Camp sites

Area camper, Locana, tel +39 349 6957441, www.avventuragranparadiso.it

Campeggio Piccolo Paradiso, Ceresole Reale, tel. +39 347 5404390, www.campingpiccoloparadiso.it

Useful phone numbers

Tourist office Locana tel. +39 0124839034, ufficioturistico@comune.locana.to.it

Tourist office Noasca tel. +39 0124901070

Tourist office Ceresole-Casa Gran Paradiso tel. +39 0124 953186

Visitors Centre Parco Gran Paradiso tel. +39 0124 953166

Medical emergency and Mountain Rescue tel. 112

Carabinieri address: Via Caduti per la Libertà 2 - Locana tel +39 0124 83101

Forest Service tel. +39 0124 901025

WEBSITES

www.gulliver.it

www.comune.locana.to.it www.comune.ceresolereale.to.it www.planetmountain.com www.pngp.it

Weather forecast

www.arpa.piemonte.it www.nimbus.it

Mountain Guides

www.guidealpinetorino.com www.granparadisoguide.com www.guidevalleorco.com www.guidealpinepiemonte.it

Bibliography

Alessandro Gogna, Gian Piero Motti, Escursioni e arrampicate nel Canavese, Tamari, 1980. E. Andreis, R. Chabod, M.C. Santi, Gran Paradiso, CAI/TCI, 1980.

Gian Carlo Grassi, Gran Paradiso e Valli di Lanzo. Le 100 più belle ascensioni, Zanichelli, 1982.

Alessandro Gogna, Rock Story, Melograno, 1983.

Roberto Mochino, Maurizio Oviglia, Arrampicate in Valle dell’Orco, Melograno, 1987.

Maurizio Oviglia, Rock Paradise. Arrampicate classiche e sportive nel Gruppo del Gran Paradiso, Versante Sud, 2000.

Maurizio Oviglia, Valle Orco dal trad all’arrampicata sportiva, Versante Sud, 2010.

Gianni Predan, Rinaldo Sartore A Sud del Paradiso, Sartore Rinaldo Editore, 2018.

Matteo Della Bordella, Il bombarolo, Acqua Chiara (© Tommaso Lamantia)

Land-air signs

Yes INTERNATIONAL

FOR HELICOPTERS AND

WE NEED HELP WE DON’T NEED HELP

Land-air signs Red flare or light

TECHNICAL DIFFICULTY

No Red material / red flag

FR Free climbing grade followed by the obligatory grade and the possible aid climbing grade in brackets. Two examples available on the right.

UIAA Grade of the hardest section followed by the obligatory grade plus the aid climbing grade in brackets. Two examples available on the right.

7b (6a, A0 obl.) 6c+ (6b obl.)

VI (V+, A0 obl.) V+ (IV, A1 obl.)

Paolo Intropido, Il Maialone, Dado (© Sefano Dalla Gasperina)

PROTECTION

S1 Normal protection system such as on cliffs. Average distance between bolts: 3,4 metres. Potential length of fall: some metres; fall without danger.

S2 Distant bolts and compulsory passages from one bolt to another. Potential length of fall: a maximum of 10 metres; fall without danger.

S3 Distant bolts, almost always compulsory passages. A distance of sometimes more than 5 metres between bolts. Long falls but not very dangerous.

S4 Very distant bolts (more than 7 metres), compulsory passages. A fall can potentially cause an injury.

S5 Bolts more than 10 metres apart, compulsory passages and parts where a fall can surely cause an injury (fall on terraces and ledges or directly to the ground).

S6 Partially bolted but far from cruxes, long parts (more than 20 metres) from which a fall could be mortal.

OVERALL EFFORT

I A short route which takes only a few hours, near the road and with an easy approach, pleasant surroundings and easy to retreat.

II Multi pitch route on a wall which is higher than 200 metres, easy approach even if it might require quite a long hike in, easy to retreat.

III Long route over 300m, severe surroundings, requires almost the entire day to be climbed. Might require a long approach walk and any retreat might not be quick.

IV Route situated far from the valley floor. It requires an entire day to be climbed. The retreat can be complicated and possibly not along the ascent route.

R1 Easy to protect, always solid, safe and numerous protections. Few compulsory passages. Potential length of fall: some metres; fall without danger.

R2 Fairly easy to protect, always solid and safe protections, smaller in number. Compulsory passages between protections. Potential length of fall: some metres; fall without danger.

R3 Difficult to protect, not always good protections, bolts rather distant from each other. Long compulsory passages. Potential length of fall until 7-8 metres, fall with possible injury.

R4 Difficult to protect, scarce and/or unreliable and/or distant protections which could allow just a small fall. Long compulsory passages. Potential length of fall until 15 metres with possibility of losing the anchors. Fall with a high possibility of injury.

R5 Difficult to protect, scarce, unreliable and/or distant protections, which could allow just a small fall. Long compulsory passages. Possibility of long falls that might lead to the ground with consequent serious injuries.

R6 Not possible to protect but for short and insignificant passages far from cruxes. A fall could be mortal.

V Very long route, big wall style, usually requires a bivvy on the wall. Retreat is difficult, severe environment.

VI Big wall which requires multi days to complete the route, high mountain environment, difficult to retreat.

VII All the features of a sixth grade route, but intensified, as in the case of Himalayan big walls which require to be on an expedition.

READING SCHEME

This description takes into account a number of factors which include, besides the beauty of the rock and the pitches, the surrounding environment, how peaceful the area is and anything that can make a crag splendid, beautiful, deserving or not at all interesting This evaluation is personal and individual.

The description takes into account the distance between each protection placed and their position in relation to the route.

This indication refers to the average amount of people found at the crag during the recommended period and with ideal climatic conditions.

General indication which evaluates how comfortable the terrain is where one stands to belay. In some crags, even if the majority of the bases below each pitch are comfortable, for some it might be necessary to tie in or balance on a small terrace.

This indication is useful when planning any transfers, especially in case there are many people with more than one car: if the car park is not big enough or difficult to find we recommend to use the least possible number of cars or to use public transport.

The indications of how long an approach walk is on foot from the cark park, to the base of the crag or the first sector you reach, is calculated at an average walking speed considering even the weight of the gear (rope, back pack, quick draws, climbing shoes, water, clothes etc). The length of time can vary on the basis of the climatic conditions and terrain. For example in late autumn, some paths may be totally covered by leaves so as well as losing the tracks, walking becomes slower. Same thing happens in case of steep access during hot summer days under the beating sun. The indication is personal and variable depending on other factors which can affect the times of the approach walk. approach time

beginners school fit for family

This indication highlights the crags which have the ideal pitches for beginners or for anyone climbing for the “first time”. The bolts on these routes are usually very safe and placed nearby even if some exceptions might exist.

This indication should not be confused with the presence or not of easier pitches but simply to make it clear if it is possible to reach the base of this crag with small children or if a constant control is needed on the part of the adults. Many crags are often not ideal for families or small children due to exposed ledges, difficult or dangerous approach walks, rock fall, or the presence of a busy road or other objective dangers.

BRINGING CHILDREN INTO A NATURAL ENVIRONMENT IS NONETHELESS RISKY. THE AUTHOR’S INDICATION ONLY TRIES TO HELP ADULTS FIND THE AREAS WITH MINOR OBJECTIVE RISKS. IT IS OBVIOUSLY UP TO THE PARENTS THE FINAL ASSESMENT OF THE AREA IS THE CONSTANT ASSISTANCE TO MINORS.

Is it difficult to find the car park? With a simple scan of this code through one of the many available apps it is possible to activate the navigator through your smartphone which will lead you directly to the car park. The coordinates refer to Google maps.

qrcode parking

Piantonetto Valley, Teleccio lake with its rock faces (© Stefano Dalla Gasperina)

Pont Canavese - Locana

The area covered in this first chapter, together with the historical crags of Bosco and Frachiamo, during the last years has seen new sectors develop where it is ideal to climb during all seasons and is characterized by various climbing styles. Even though in the lower Orco valley, the rock is not the characteristic Gran Paradis’ gneiss, thanks to the good will and the passion of some climbers new sectors have been cleaned and bolted. Most of the new crags are dedicated to medium high difficulties, thanks to the young Manuel Bracco and the veteran Stefano Rapelli, but there are also more accessible sectors such as the brand new Falesia di Sarro.

Orographic right hand side:

Camporella

Falesia di Luca

Boetti

Sarro

Parete dei Corvi

Bosco

Ivan Cesarin, Legend, Bosco (© Stefano Dalla Gasperina)

CAMPORELLA

This secluded crag developed during the winter of 2020/2021 when due to the covid restrictions it wasn’t possible to exit local, communal territory. The cleaning work and bolting was done by Stefano Rapelli and Daniele Chiolerio with other volunteers supported by Mountain Sticks who supplied the bolts and anchors. Bolting S1+.

ÙÙÙÙ

ÙÙÙÙ

ÙÙÙÙ

ÙÙÙÙ

ÙÙÙÙ

ACCESS

From Cuorgnè, follow signs for Campore (cemetery), reach the end of the road and park near the railroad crossing.

APPROACH

Cross the railroad crossing and turn left, passing in front of the religious shrine. Cross the meadow aiming towards a wooden gangway. Cross it and after a couple of metres turn right along a small uphill path which diagonally goes to the right. Follow it until the scree and in view of the rock face, keeping to the right, reach it in 10 minutes.

CAMPORELLA

Cuorgnè

Cuorgnè - Campore

Pont

1. PIPISTRELLO 6c 23m Difficilt mantleshelf move. Exit variant to the right: DECISO E PRECISO 7a

2. PICCOLA QUERCIA 7a+ 21m Slightly overhanging wall

3. L’INGEGNERE FANNULLONE 7a 20m Wall with edges

4. CORVO BOMBARDIERE 7b 20m Slightly overhanging wall

5. SOLOSETTEA 7b+ 20m Slightly overhanging wall

6. INGANNEVOLE 6c+ 20m Wall with distant holds

7. IN SACRIFICIO DELLA QUERCIA 6a 23m Corner

8. L’APPRENDISTA STREGONE 6a 22m Vertical wall with good holds

9. IL POLACCO 6b 22m Vertical wall with edges

10. IL VETERANO 6b 23m Balancey moves

11. JOINT VENTURE 7b 23m Overhang

CAMPORELLA

GRUSINER

1000m

SOUTH

ÙÙÙÙ

ÙÙÙÙ

ÙÙÙÙ

ÙÙÙÙ

ÙÙÙÙ

1h

The wall lies on the extreme right of the Acqua Chiara bastion, further up than it, like a balcony on the rock face. Two pitches climbed by Randall and Whittaker.

ACCESS

Park in a small car park (space for 8 cars), before Gera and where there is a road which leads to the left onto a bridge. This section of road is straight for 300m, quite recognizable.

APPROACH

The wall is on the extreme right of the Acqua Chiara bastion, above it, as if it were on the second floor. It climbs up through the woods, aiming towards the very large waterfall as a means to access the crags above. Inconvenient walk through thorns (60 minutes of approach walk).

GRUSINER

Frazione Castelletto

Pont Canavese

Ceresole Reale

Orco torrent

01. I’ll sleep when I’m dead

Tom Randall, Pete Whittaker, 2009.

Difficulty: E5 6b (French 7a+ )

Total length: 25m

Fingery crack, then wide enough for hands, then final roof.

02. No rest for the wicked

Tom Randall, Pete Whittaker, 2009.

Difficulty: E4 5c (French 6c)

Total length: 30m (2P)

Two off width pitches.

03. Più forte sarà l’espressione

Fred Moix and Justin Marquis 2024.

Difficulty: project

Located just left of “no rest for the wicked”. It’s a 45 degrees steep wall protected at the beginning with gear and finishing on bolts. Futuristic line.

GRUSINER

Fred Moix & Justin Marquis, 2024

ACQUA CHIARA

1250m

SOUTH-WEST

ÙÙÙÙ

ÙÙÙÙ

50'

The wall above the hamlet of Gera, immediately attracts one’s attention for how compact the rock is.

The route was opened by F.Salino and M.Demichela, during the 80’s along an interesting route, called, probably ironically La via più bella della valle Orco (the most beautiful route in the Orco Valley), but then for many years it was left unexplored, until A.Torretta and M.Giglio sensed the wall’s potential, opening two modern routes of high difficulty.

The exploration then continued with routes opened by Massimiliano Celano to the extreme right and by Anna Torretta in the central sector. Even Oviglia opened another three lines, mainly up cracks, after more than twenty five years from his first route on this wall.

Unfortunately the wall is not frequented much and its access is always quite inconvenient. Ideal during mid-seasons, it is possible to climb here even during winter time in absence of snow.

ACCESS

Driving up the Orco valley, before the hamlet of Gera, level with the rock face, just before an isolated house, park to the right in a dirt covered opening.

APPROACH

Just before the hamlet of Gera head under the high voltage pylon and find the cairn on the side of the road. Walk into the field and cross it, then keep to the right walking along a large boulder and entering the chestnut woods. Follow the tracks with cairns as best you can, up steep terrain, aiming towards the right side of the wall. The start of “La Falce e le Betulle” can be reached in approximately 30 minutes. For the left hand sector of the wall, just before reaching the rocks, traverse to the left, level with an opening along grass and thorns (challenging) then go to the extreme left side of the wall, where a section among rock steps allows you to reach the leaning slabs at the base of Fragola Party and the routes on its left (50 minutes).

DESCENT

For each route the descent is described.

CLIMBING STYLE

Mainly technical walls with edges even if there is no lack of cracks.

Matteo Della Bordella, Il bombarolo (© Tommaso Lamantia)

CAPORAL

1550m

SOUTH and WEST

ÙÙÙÙ

ÙÙÙÙ

40'

Visible from the road, before taking the long tunnel which leads to Ceresole Reale, Caporal is a gigantic granite boulder, for how compact it is and for its shape, it is not difficult to understand why the first ascentionists imagined it like a miniature of the famous Capitan. The south face, named Scudo, which is extremely compact, is carved out by narrow cracks covered by aid routes each one has marked a passage in the evolution of this style, to then become testing ground for climbers who have made the first free ascent.

But it is coming from the old road and heading up the path, that it is possible to admire its complexity.

Running up the middle of the wall, the line established by the first ever alpinists is evident, carved out by a large ledge. To the left the rock face appears compact, carved out by long undercling corners carved out by slabs and covered by small cracks where Lungo Camino dei Comanches and Sole Nascente run up.

To the left of a large chimney which becomes a gully, where Tempi Duri runs up, between whiteish corners, Strapiombi delle Visioni runs up, the wall ends with the very evident Diedro Nanchez, formed by the connection of the overhanging and compact walls, where the more difficult routes were opened, free.

The two great combinations are recommended: the first 3 pitchs of Itaca nel Sole + the last 3 pitches of Tempi Moderni, one of the most famous and gratifying combinations for those who arrive in Valle Orco for the first time; Orecchio del Pachiderma + Rattle Snake a classic combination for those who love jamming, it offers cracks of different sizes and of remarkable physical effort.

ACCESS

New approach: from the main opening of Sergent and from Pianchette. The access of the old road of Ceresole, from the long tunnel after Noasca has been closed. To access Caporal there are two accesses: A)From the car park of Sergent, Campeggio la Peschiera, follow the old road downhill towards Noasca. Go through the barrier which prevents cars from passing, follow the road, 2 hair pin bends and a short rock tunnel for roughly 1,5km until the tunnel’s last opening, signs for Caporal on the tunnels’ wall. From here follow an evident dirt road slightly uphill towards Noasca, turn left following the road then straight to the right, cairns and stone with metal step. Follow the evident track and the many stone cairns.

Cross a long slab over to the right (facing uphill), right under the vertical line of the rock face. At the end of the slab, keeping to the left, along tracks, head to the base of Caporal 35/45 minutes from the car park just as many on the way back.

Umberto Bado, Orecchio del Pachiderma (© Stefano Dalla Gasperina)

B) Following the road which leads to Ceresole Reale, after the Noasca hair pin bends, do not take the tunnel. Follow the road uphill to the right and then left straight away, downhill, to reach the hamlet of Pianchette (start for Tramonto are, Piramide, Cubo, Falchi etc…) Park and follow the old road for roughly 1.5 km, passing under the area of Massi del Caporal and after a couple of hair pin bends, in front of the tunnel’s opening, turn right and “take an evident dirt road slightly uphill towards Noasca” and follow the previous signs. 40/50 minutes from Pianchette, a bit less if downhill.

DESCENT

Abseil down:

• Diedro Nanchez

• Rattle Snake+Camini, along this descent, the most popular it is best to follow the following itinerary: from the exit of Tempi Moderni or Sole Nascente, make a long semicircle to the right, facing uphill, crossing a slab and following a corner ramp downhill I/II, exposed, it is best to remain tied up, to reach an evident pulpit. Where the first abseil anchor is situated (last anchor point for Rattle Snake). First 35m abseil to the ledge, first anchor of Rattle Snake, Raumer anchor with chain, bolt and ring. Second abseil 35m on the large ledge, facing uphill move to the right, Kinobi anchor with chain bolt and ring. Third 35m abseil on the vertical line, until an anchor to the left of the Camini, Fixe anchor with chain bolt and ring. Fourth 45m abseil to the base of the wall.

• Rivoluzione Raumer anchors

• Crazy Horse Raumer anchors.

PARETE DEI FALCHI

PLACCA DEI CAVALIERI PERDENTI

PARETE DELLE AQUILE

CAPORAL

PICCOLO CAPORAL

PARETINA INFELICE

MASSI DEL CAPORAL

HANA-BI

Pont Canavese

Ceresole Reale

Orco torrent

barrier

old state road

tunnel

Federica Mingolla, Itaca nel sole (© Federico Ravassard)

Itaca nel sole

by Gianni Battimelli

It was a photograph that pushed me into the arms of the “Ogre” (Orco in Italian). A blurry image in a book which talked about speleology, “Una frontiera da immaginare” by Andrea Gobetti. Four colours: the red t-shirt of a climber lost in the tawny ochre of a granite wall and the black spot of a crow hovering against the blue sky. It was all there, and the caption was an invitation to travel: “Towards the Cosmos, Ithaca, the Sun (El Caporal)’. It waited a few years, my journey to Itacha. Then one summer in the Brenta mountains, I met another Andrea, who told me more about the valley and its routes, about the crack he had just discovered and climbed near the hut he had chosen as his home with other friends from Turin. The invitation to travel was repeated, and this time with a compass and a safe landing place.

More than forty years had passed since my first foray into the valley with three friends from Rome to discover the new El Dorado of climbing. Andrea and the hut were waiting for us with a warm welcome. And there were the encounters with wellknown and lesser known figures from the climbing world, the convivial evenings around the large hot stone on which sausages were being roasted, scraped hands from the cracks and the shimmering mirror of Ithaca finally becoming reality. The Ogre had kept its promises and we kept our promise to return.

Two years later (other friends, other tour) we were back at the hut. Which was, however, too small to

accommodate a few months later, the entire group of the SUCAI mountaineering school, which left Rome for a week long course on granite climbing, and began a long frequentation of the Fonti Minerali, where Daniela’s pizzas never had enough chilli pepper. And between a Cannabis and a White Totem, we got to know something else, which together with the beauty of the rock created the special attraction of the valley: a certain dimension of what used to be, which spreads around the rock faces of a mountain sometimes gentle sometimes severe, far from the crowded and tamed postcards of fashionable places, or the discrete kindness of Pier who led us to explore the bowels of the great Serrù dam, and then toasted us at sunset with a good bottle and a wheel of toma cheese, with the last of the sun rays diving into the lake.

I have returned many times, because it is always to Ithaca that one must return. And many things have changed. The hut is no longer there, as well as the green meadow from which the Kosterliz boulder rose, now set back on the concrete of the outer part of the new tunnel on the new road. And Pier is no longer there, since his work on the mountain has taken him away. But the splendour of the granite in the sun has not changed. And the last Ithaca which I climbed after just hitting seventy, was not so different from the one I first climbed. It just took a bit more effort.

Angelo Riva, soloing on Specchio di Itaca, 1992 (© Arch. Angelo Riva)

(© Marco Spataro)

01. Via dello spigolo sud-est

Flavio Leone, Ugo Manera, 19 April 1973.

First free ascent by Maurizio Oviglia and Francesco Arneodo, June 1986.

Difficulty: 6b (5a/A1 obl.)/R1+/II

Total length: 200m (7P)

Gear: the route is partly bolted. Bring nuts, friends and a few pegs, 10 quickdraws, two 50m ropes. This route is a bit discontinuous and with sections which are not very logical and presents a few nice sections. The last pitch comes out to the right with a series of traverses and great rope drag.

02. Il sogno di Jack

Rudy Buccella, Jacopo Bufacchi and Valerio Folco in 4 days between 1997 and 1998.

Difficulty: V big wall scale, max 6a/A4

Total length: 200m (6P)

Gear: there are some bolts along the route. This is what the first ascentionists used and recommend to bring: 13 pecker, 6 kbs, 10 Las, 5 angles n. 1, 5 angles n. 2, 3 angles n. 3, 2 angles n. 4, 15 copperheads n. 2, 15 copperheads n. 3, 6 copperheads n. 4, 1 circle head n. 3, 2 set of camalot, 2 set of Tcus, 1 set of nuts, 1 set micronut, 1 set ball nut, 2 rivet hangers, 1 pointed chisel to remove the copperheads, various cliff hangers (2 grapplin pointed, 2 standard pointed, 2 leeper pointed, 1 big fish pointed, 1 spoonbill pika n. 2 and one n. 3, two 50 m ropes…ooff!

Great aid route, surely one of the most difficult on this massif and currently of the Western Alps. Keep in mind that the grades are a lot more stiff compared to the old routes (seventies) and it is important to bring the American gear described, unless one wants to considerably increase the difficulties of the route. The first ascentionists warn that some pitches, in case of a fall, are potentially very dangerous. Be equipped for bivvies on portaledges or with fixed ropes.

For a repetition or for further explanations it is possible to contact the route opener Valerio Folco who is available to supply any advice.

03. Crazy horse

Ezio Cavallo and partners, 1976.

Difficulty: 6c/A2, 5a/A3/R2/II

Total length: 150m (7P)

Gear: the route is unbolted, except for the last pitches where some pegs have been left along the difficult sections and the sections which are possible to free climb. Bring 2 sets of friends, nuts, pegs eventually rurps, 15 quickdraws, two 60m ropes. The anchors are bolted, connected with a chain, only useable for the descent.

One of the more Yosemite like routes on the wall, not very well known and not repeated much. In spite of some attempts to free it (Oviglia, Mochino, Arneodo, 1986 then Farina over the last few years).

04. Via della rivoluzione

Gian Piero Motti and Ugo Manera, 1 October 1973.

Difficulty: 7c+ max or 6a+/A2+, originally 5a/A3/ R2/II

Total length: 150m (5P)

Gear: the route is almost entirely bolted. Bring nuts, micronuts, friends, currently there should be no need to add other pegs, 15 quickdraws, two 60m ropes.

This route is immersed in a beautiful natural environment exposed along the first pitches which run up the Scudo del Caporal.

It can be considered the most logical and elegant route of Caporal. Free climbed by Massimo Farina in 2003 and graded 7c it was re-graded 7c+ by Larcher second climber to repeat the route. Whether you free climb it or aid it this route is a marvellous itinerary because of the exposure and its surrounding environment.

From the car park of the tunnel follow the tracks with cairns and climb up until you are under the rock face. Once you are under the shield, head under the vertical line of the route following a leaning slab to the right. Old fixed rope

P1 The first pitch is beautiful, initially on flakes, then up a vertical corner, S1 with bolt, with chain. 6a+

P2 It follows a wonderful and vertical pitch. Follow the crack entirely (if free climbing the moves are very complicated on small edges) when the crack ends, the old compression bolts, which had broken

the difficulties, the various days needed for a repetition, the grading of the new age aid (a lot stiffer than classic aid) make this route one of the most difficult routes in the valley, definitely more difficult and dangerous than the nearby Fragilità Cerebrale, opened however, 15 years earlier.

For a repetition and for more clarification it is recommended to contact the route opener Valerio Folco or consult his website.

41. Gnu wave

Anita Manachino, Alessandro Patrito, Luca Vecchio, Jacopo Alaimo, summer 2001.

Difficulty: 6b/A3/R3/II

Total length: 110m (6P)

Gear: the route is partially equipped with bolts and pegs, including the anchors. Useful gear for a repetition: 1 single 50m rope, 1 50m service rope, eventually fixed ropes, 1 set of complete camalots, 1 set of camalots up to n.2, 1 set of TCUs, 2 series of nutballs up to n.2, 10 micronuts, 10 LA, 5 KB, 5 angles, 4 rurps, 2 pecker,s 15 alluminiumheads n.1-2-3, a few handmade copperheads, 2 cliff (Talon BD), 30 carabiners, webbing (to go round the pegs), 1 chisel to take the copperheads off and something to be comfortable on the anchor (at least a chair).

Nice aid route, it covers an old aid attempt made by Mario Ogliengo (Via dei Califfi), During the ascent some compression bolts were removed on the first pitch and the holes were used for the progression using cliffs. The route can be considered half way between the classic Fragilità cerebrale and the Yosemite style Supersonic. All the anchors are bolted with 3 bolts and anchors 2, 4 and 6 are equipped with chain and 2 maillons for abseiling down.

P1 Climb up the first difficult slab with a series of moves on cliffs (possible to free it) and reach the arch shaped corner with a delicate mantleshelf move; climb up the arch shaped corner until you reach a bolt, climb the successive slab with cliffs (using the little holes made by the old compression bolts) and with a series of moves on copperheads reach the anchor point. 20m, A2+/6a

P2 Climb up the narrow crack until the small grassy ledge. 25m, A2

P3 Reach and climb the flake until the anchor. 15m, A1 or 6b+ free climbing

P4 From the anchor point, traverse over to the left until you reach a slight crack which you climb with heads almost until it ends; just before it ends, traverse to the right (crux) and along another crack reach the anchor. 20m, A3

P5 Climb up the short slab until a large ledge. 10m, 5c

P6 Climb the fine crack and with difficult run-out reach the last anchor. 25m, A2+/5c

With an easy traverse a few metres long it is possible to join up with Fragilità cerebrale.

LOST ARROW

42. L’eroe dei due mondi

Maurizio Oviglia, 1999.

Difficulty: 7a/S1/I

Total length: 25m

Gear: the route is bolted, bring only quickdraws Short boulder section at the start and then overhanging crack jamming and bridging. Originally graded 6c+ it is now graded 7a after an edge was broken on the starting boulder.

43. Gli Angeli Della Morte

Roberto Mochino, Maurizio Oviglia, Patrizio Pogliano, 1986.

First free Roberto Mochino, Massimiliano Giri, 1987. Difficulty: 7c/+/S1+/I

Total length: 70m (2P)

Gear: bolted, rebolted in 1999.

First pitch nice technical crack (6c+) frequented quite a bit. Second pitch not repeated as much on an extreme wall with edges with short very intense sections and fingery. According to some a very stiff 7c.

44. KTM

Roberto Perucca 1998, picked up and ended by Giovannino Massari in 2001.

First free ascent by Federica Mingolla.

Difficulty: 8a+ S1/I

Gear: bolted.

Umberto Bado, Orco Verde (© Stefano Dalla Gasperina)

Ivan Cesarin and Rinaldo Sartore, Fessura della Disperazione (© Alessandro Masiero)

45. Cinquetredici

Maurizio Oviglia, 1999.

First free ascent: Maurzio Oviglia, 1999.

Difficulty: 7c+/S1/I

Gear: bolted.

Slabby pitch which requires the great gift of concentration, good fingers and good footwork. Second repetition by C.Marchi, third and fourth G.Cortese and G.Massari who lowered the grade to 7c+.

The first part of the pitch is on tiny crystals, where the starting bulge is more difficult.

After a relative rest the style changes and it joins up with edges with difficult reachy moves.

The end of the pitch traverses, where the left hand has nothing and you can’t gain too much height.

46. Ve la do’ io l’america

Maurizio Oviglia, 1998.

Difficulty: 7b/S1/I

Total length: 25m

Gear: bolted.

Starting variant to the right of Cinquetredici which avoids the first difficult part of 7b, substituting it with a 7a first free by Maurizio Oviglia.

47. Il signore nero

Alessandro Gogna, R. Kiegfield, June 1976.

Daniele Caneparo climbed the final variant.

Difficulty: 6a+/R1+/I

Total length: 30m

Nice corner crack add protection with nuts and friends, even large, only one bolt in situ.

48. Il senso della vita

Maurizio Oviglia, Daniele Caneparo, 1999.

Difficulty: 6c+/7a /S1/I

Total length: 30m

Nice technical climbing on a vertical arête and edges, bolted.

49. Mary Poppins

Roberto Perucca and co.

Difficulty: 5c/R1/I

Total length: 25m

Gear: entirely to be protected bring friends and nuts.

Nice diagonal crack, introduction to jamming. Central Sector

Mary Poppins and via Locatelli

50.

Difficulty: 7b

Bolted itinerary, to the right of the crack, probably opened by Giovanni Massari.

51. Back to reality

Didier Berthod, J. Arder, 18 August 2003.

Difficulty: 6b+/R2/II

Total length: 100m (3P)

Gear: the route needs to be entirely protected. Bring an aray of camalots up to 4BD, 10 quickdraws, two 50 metres ropes.

Corner crack on the upper part of the wall. The second pitch tackles a wide crack, then the route comes out between two triangular roofs.

52. La settima tromba dell’apocalisse

Adriano Trombetta, Luca Daniele, S. Veller, September 2002.

First free ascent by Adriano Trombetta, 2005.

Difficulty: 7c (7a+ obl. and A0)/RS3/II

Total length: 120m (3P)

Gear: friends from 0,3 to 3 (BD).

Aerial and difficult route. First pitch with very difficult obligatory section (7a+) and starts on loose rock.

The route runs up the upper part and to the right of the wall. The start can be reached along a steep gully on the right side of Lost Arrow or following one of the routes along the lower part.

53. Trasparenza eolica

Gian Carlo Grassi, G. Marino, 24 April 1977. First free ascent by Adriano Trombetta, 2003.

Difficulty: 7a+ o A2/R2/II

Gear: bolted anchor with abseiling rings, in situ some old 8mm bolts, bring pegs, nuts a set of friends, two 60m ropes, Interesting and aesthetic route, for a long time forgotten and climbed free recently (before by A.Trombetta who graded it 6c+ and just after by Didier Berthod who, without knowing about the previous ascent, graded it 7a+). However the route needs some pegs and in a few sections the crack has grass in it, therefore it doesn’t seem easy to free climb up it directly.

Let's discover together the most beautiful cracks of the Valle dell'Orco!

Crack climbing courses

How to use rock protections

Accompaniment on request along the classic routes that have made the history of the Valle dell'Orco

Fessura della Disperazione, 3rd pitch, Sergent

Mike Kosterlitz

by Gianni Battimelli

He was already a legendary figure when I joined the editorial staff of the ‘Rivista della Montagna’ magazine in the early 80’s.

The mythological dimension surrounding him in the Turin environment, and which shone through every anecdote recounted about his vertical adventures (which ranged from the 7 metres of the famous crack to the great walls of Badile, Dru and the Dolomites) were emphasised by his enigmatic disappearance into thin air. There were rumours that he had abandoned climbing for health reasons, but apparently nobody knew what had happened to him.

Sometimes weird coincidences happen. In 1988 I was on sabbatical leave in Washington, and by pure chance saw the announcement of a seminar at Brown University of Providence, held by a Professor Michael Kosterlitz. Putting two and two

together and hoping it made four, the result was correct. The Professor Kosterlitz, to whom I had written asking him if he was by any chance "that" Kosterlitz, was indeed him. I went to see him as soon as I could and we had a great day reminiscing which I turned into a short article for the magazine. It was the first time Kosterlitz had gone back to talking about mountains and alpinism (his alpinism), after being forced to retire due to a debilitating degenerative illness. He seemed happy that we remembered him. For me it was very emotional to unexpectedly hear stories and anecdotes 'live' from the principal actor. Of physics,  which was in fact our professional common interest - although in different sectors - we hardly spoke at all. I saw him again in Turin, when he returned almost fifty years later, to the university to receive his honorary degree, and in Valle dell'Orco to see his "fessura

da Nobel", adorned with a plaque for the occasion. The highlight of the evening at the Cappuccini, with the hall and corridors crammed with an incredible crowd of people, was when Ugo Maner waved in front of his face the bunch of nuts which Mike had used during his first ascent of Pesce d'Aprile. But the best tribute which Kosterlitz could offer his past Torino climbers was his intervention the following morning at the university, dressed solemnly in his academic robes. Whoever was expecting , as usual under these circumstances, a learned dissertation on the esoteric research which had earned him the Nobel Prize, was disappointed. Kosterlitz allowed the others to talk about physics. He expressed (I am condensing, but not betraying the gist of his speech) his debt of gratitude to Turin because, apart from

the fact that you ate and drank good wine at reasonable prices, it was very convenient for abandoning the study of elementary particles and escaping to the mountains to ski or climb. And because of one of these escapes to the rock faces he missed the deadline for sending his job application to CERN in Geneva, and ended up accepting a much lesss prestigious post in an English university where he met Thouless, who convinced him to change his speciality and start on the line of research which would produce fundamental results. “If I had gone to CERN, I would have become one of the many high energy theoreticians; fortunately, thanks to the diversion offered by alpinism, I missed that chance and ended up winning the Nobel, and am grateful to your city for this".

Fessura Kosterlitz during the 80’s (© Arch. Andrea Giorda)