Contrary to last season (which was very dry), the Alps are enjoying a good old-fashioned winter. It is cold and snowy, and local climbers are making the most of it.
Some climbers have long-term projects in mind and will wait weeks for their dream ice routes to coalesce. On other occasions, new lines are revealed to the climbers’ expert eye as they gaze up at the mountains. Such was the case two weeks ago, on one of the most famous peaks in the Dolomites.
Two days on the Civetta
Civetta is famous for its mighty limestone walls, especially the 1,000m-long northwest face. In winter, downhill skiers watch its flanks as they slide around the massif, which lies in the middle of the huge ski area around Cortina d’Ampezzo.
While driving through the region, Frenchman Matthieu Maynadier and Italian Francesco Favilli caught a glimpse of what looked like a potential climbing line. The line was on rock and ice, up a gully on the East face of the peak.
“[We made a] quick call to guide Christian Casanova and went off for two days of fun,” Maynadier wrote on social media.
Climbing on Civetta’s east face. Photo: Mathieu Maynadier
The result is a 560m mixed route with difficulties graded as M6+/WI5. Favilli, Maynadier, and Casanova climbed the route in two days, on Jan. 15-16. They used only retrievable gear (no bolts). Once on top, they descended by the via ferrata degli Alleghesi.
The climbers on the new route. Photo: Mathieu Maynadier
Maynadier is a professional climber with an impressive resume of new routes and first ascents. Last year he opened a new route on Meru South (Garhwal, India), one of our top expeditions of 2023.
Yet, the new route on Civetta was his “introduction to Dolomites’ alpine climbing,” he said.
Route topo. Photo: Mathieu Maynadier
