As often happens, for quite some time I had been drawn to the idea of opening a climbing route on the Central Wall of Piccolo Dain. Every time you go down to the Sarca Valley to climb, there it is, right in front of you.
I suggest the idea to my friend Davide, and we get organised with all the necessary gear. The first pitches go quickly: the line encourages us because it is logical, independent and consistent in difficulty. Halfway up the wall, however, an obvious roof cuts horizontally across the line. Will it go?
Once again, we are surprised: not only does it go, but it is also entirely climbable. The rock is outstanding and the climbing is genuinely fun. We link together a series of five beautiful pitches, on solid rock and with difficulties that always stay around the same grade. We could not ask for more.
The result is a sport-style route on high-quality rock. The climbing is always rewarding, with the right level of commitment, fun and well protected. The rock is richly featured, with slabs, pockets, cracks and flakes. After the first two pitches, the wall immediately becomes more vertical and a dreamlike sequence of pitches begins, between 6b and 6c. Every pitch is worthwhile, especially L5, where you overcome the roof with elegant, fluid climbing, and the following pitch, L6, rich in subtle details and characterised by a dense pattern of flakes.
The route was opened over several sessions, after careful cleaning work. To repeat it, 16 quickdraws and a couple of slings are enough.
