After the trip to Frankenjura the motivation for sport-climbing raised a
lot and at the same time the summer broke out, the temperature started to get hotter
so the only thing to do to escape from this terrible hot weather is to leave to
the mountain in search of cooler condition.
Actually the best summer destinations are in the south of the France where
within a radius of 100 km there is a very high concentration of amazing crags like
the well-known Ceuse, Entraygues, La Suame, Rocher de Brumes and many others.
But It was not the time to leave the country again because It was the
time to back on the books and to University but my mind was still remembering
the great moments spent in Germany, so I needed find an hard project to work, close to my home, since I couldn’t leave the country for a while.
It was not very difficult to find it because I've been waiting all
winter long to try it but still just to be finally able to come back on that
amazing sport climbing place that make me psyched every time. The crag is called
“La Benedizione” and it is situated in the upper part of Gressoney’s valley,
and offers an extraordinary quantity of beautiful lines featured by sustained
endurance climbing on all-natural crimps and pockets on a super granite
quality. The most important things to know about this place are that the
environment is very strict because you have to cross a large waterfall to
access the bottom of the sector, where it’s impossible to stay dry; then the
bottom of crag is not very comfortable and you must always be careful what you
do. The last thing but not less important is to keep in mind that everything
you climb from 6b+ to 8b range is graded very hard, everything should be
upgraded of at least half a grade, but all of this things are not enough to
keep me away from this outstanding crag.
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| "La Benedizione" crag, Gressoney (ITA) |
Sometimes is very hard to try to understand why just few people spend
their summer weekends to climb here, in a place where a climber has everything
he needs: stunning routes , a picturesque landscape, fresh condition but
nevertheless I guess that you have to be so fond of climbing where the beauty
of the routes comes before of its grade. Most of the climbers prefer to get a
8a route without bear in mind of its beauty and without much effort instead try
to send an easier dream-line which however can engage you for much longer time but that in the end will give you an immense
gratification anyway. This crag is the proof of all that I said.
Every summer I climbed not a lot here because I was used to spent a lot of
time out of Italy as I had 3 months of holidays so I’m never been able to send
things harder than a 7c, but this year that I’m at the college I have the
summer exam session so I have to climb here around.
The first time I came here this year was at the beginning of June when we
come back from Germany, and the route my brother and I were going for was
“Lucky Man 8C”. This line is situated in the middle of wall and It is the first
part of “SS26 8C+” opened by Alberto Gnerro in 2006. The route is something like
35 meters long and counts about 70 moves or more but the climbing is not just
pure-endurance but it’s also boudery because the hardest part of the route are
the first 15 meter (25 moves), around 8b+ route that allow to get into a slopy
rest. From here, there are still 20m (45 moves) route of about 7c+ where your
endurance come in.
I got “Easy Rider 6b+” as warm up as usual and then I decided to try
sent an old project called “L’anestesista 7c+” where 2 years before I fell off
on the easy part because a foot slipped off. I decided to try this one because
despite being the best route in the crag I needed to start to put some endurance on my forearm because the past months I was used to do mostly boulders or short routes
like in Franken, so this routes counts about 70 moves as well so It was the perfect one
to train it. I put the quickdraws on and I brushed it up from the dirty that
the winter brought.
I was able to crush this gem on my second go of the day, but It was a
big fight till the chain because when I clipped it I was superrrr pumped and I
felt my body exhaust.
In the meantime Andre figured out the beta on Lucky Man and just before
the sun hit the wall I got an attempt to test the moves. I did all of them
quite well so I started to dream.
The next 3 sessions of work went very well, I started to work the both
two sections separately; I was able to get second part without hang on and to
make promising links on the first one. Every time I was going always better and
my beta was improving more and more because just one push with of a foot a
little bit different could make the move easier, till when at the 3rd
session I decided to change my beta for the second crux of the first part
because I felt so hard to do it in the original way. Basically I used the very
same hold but taken in another way and with different hands that makes it hard
as well but way better for my climbing style.
June 22, I planned another session in the crag with my brother and many
friends of mine so It was the 4th day on the proj. I got usual warm
up on the 6b+ and on the 7a+ and then I was ready for the first attempt. I got
my skin warm and I started to climb move after move and in one second I was
down for an hold wet. I was pissed but I took a rag and I dried up the wet
hold. I decided to take a long rest because I known to have just one more try
because my skin was destroyed and It was pissing out water.
After about one hours I decided that it was the time for the last try;
this time the hold was dry and I got the good hold that divided the 2 section
of the first part. I chalked up, I took the side pull with the right hand I upped the feet above
the little roof, I took the intermediate and I fell down to catch the last good
crimp, few moves before the rest point. I take a breath and I re-climbed the
move where I fell down and I got the rest-point, I shaked my forearm and I was
able to do it till the chain without hanging on. I was super happy because I
was getting closer and closer so on the next days every tries could be the
right one.
My skin was destroyed but I was not still tired so I decided to get one
try to check the moves on “GLORY DAYS 8A”, an outstanding 35/40 meters with
very long thrilling run outs.
I was excited as nobody else to come back there very soon, even just to
enjoy this outstanding place because it makes you forget everything.
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| Glory Days 8a, Gressoney Credit: Andrea Zanone |
The work on the route was going very well despite sometime I felt not
enough strong to pull off the proj nevertheless my motivation was always very
high because I guess that this is the typical progress when you try hard stuff.
Sometime you feel close enough to say “Yes is possible”, but many time your
body is not able to give 100%, feeling tired or just not convinced enough to
take it down. However the best thing to do is to think positive because one day
you will be able to tick the route.
The last day I was in the crag, I started to feel a bit of pain on my
right shoulder after the usual warm up but I didn’t pay much attention and I
kept climbing anyway. I did 3 tries on the proj and on the last try I thought
for a moment to have done the hardest part but everything was blown away cuz my
right hand slipped off as it has been wet.
The day finished very well anyway because I was able to send “Glory
Days” after an epic war against the pump. I was really satisfied.
The next day my shoulder starting to be more painful, I had a constant
pang on the arm but I had never expected that it will be something problematic.
The evening besides the pain, I saw that when I moved the arm my shoulder blade
came out, It was like I had a ball on my back. I was speechless and a bit
afraid because I didn’t know what to do and my mind had already understand that
I had stop climbing for a while.
The
Monday morning I went to the doctor that diagnosed a strained of my thoracic
nerve due to overload training or due to a big effort and said to me that I had
to stop climbing for at least 2 weeks and then I would have to go back for another
visit.
Now it’s 13 days I rest and more have to come, but I have to think
positive. I would like to say thanks to my friends that have support me, It has been very helpful and
great.
Now i'm off to Friedrichshafen Outdoor Fair in few hours, I’m super psyched to be there.
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