Alpine Logistics

Our objective was Becco di Valsoera, a 600m-high granite face in the heart of Gran Paradiso National Park. Rifugio Pontese is just a 45minute walk from the car at the head of a long, wild valley.

The apex of climbing and the meaning of summer for me is having the conditions to climb high up on a rock-face lost in the depths of some mountain range. The week-end promised perfect conditions; little wind, high temperatures and not a cloud in the sky. Not a minute to loose!

Friday evening we hoisted our packs up and onto our backs and in no time we were at the refuge. Inside it was already buzzing with other climbers and walkers all discussing their plans for the next day. The refuge owner came around asking each of us what time we wanted breakfast.

The route we wanted to do, Perego-Mellano, is on a west-facing pillar near the head of Piantonetto Valley. Although the climb is quite long it isn’t difficult so it’s no use getting up before dawn only to freeze in the shade until the sun comes round at noon, so the alarm was set for 6 o’clock.

What we hadn’t bargained on however was that on the other side of the valley is another well-known rock face which faces east and has a very long approach: it requires an early start to avoid going into shade. That night we shared our dorm room with a group of aspirant guides who were all heading to this east facing wall. At four o’clock an alarm went off and so it was that an hour later people were still bustling about getting ready and we couldn’t get back to sleep. We decided we may as well get up and have a leisurely breakfast.

Outside it was cold, the tops of the mountains were just catching the first rays of sunlight but the bottom of the valley was still in the shade and a light breeze was blowing. After two hours, having walked along the valley and up a steep scree slope, we were at the base of the climb.

A couple of other parties had left before us and were just starting up the first pitches so we took our time getting ready. I knew it’d be several hours before the sun would come round so I put on all the layers I had. We geared up with friends, nuts and quick-draws. After a winter of sports climbing on limestone we were no longer used to having all this metal hanging around our waists.

Cracks, corners, flakes and small overhangs led the way up. The going was slow because of the number of people on the climb. The summer so far this year has been unusually bad so with such a good forecast everyone had flocked to the mountains; there were people from all over Italy sharing the route with us.

Finally the sun lit the rock with its golden glow, a long awaited moment! I raised my head skywards to soak in some warmth.

My feet defrosted and I was much more relaxed. The last few pitches were old-style climbing; I could imagine climbers from the 1950s with their boots and hemp ropes back and footing their way up some of these off-widths and chimneys…a style that a lot of modern climbers, myself included, are not very used to and find decidedly awkward!

It was a glorious day. The sky was perfectly blue and we had a fantastic view across the whole of the eastern Alps: rock faces and snowy peaks as far as the eye can see. We topped out at roughly 3200m and began a series of abseils down an adjacent more modern, bolted line to the right of the climb we had done. The belays took some searching for and a couple of times my heart sank as I thought the ropes had got caught but luck was on our side and with a bit of tugging they came down.

As ever it was a relief to get down, take off my harness and put on some more comfortable shoes. We carefully descended back down the scree slope, interrupted half way by a group of impressive male ibex rutting. They were apparently so caught up in their fights that we went un-noticed: it was an amazing sight.

Back in the hut red cheeks and noses, wild hair and big smiles summed up that a successful day had been had by all. Everyone shared their stories over a delicious meal of risotto, chicken, salad and cake before turning in for bed.

Did we have the energy to go up again tomorrow for another route? We set the alarm for 5 o’clock. However that night I lay in bed listening to the wind howling outside and the windows rattling; the weather had turned and we’d be in no hurry the next day.

I had that glowing sensation of being warm and cosy in bed whilst nature was letting rip outside…the day’s efforts soon sent me into a deep sleep.