New Qualido climb in Val di Mello (Val Masino, Italy)

It was September 2020 when I climbed Quote Rosa route on Qualido with Matteo. On that occasion, while climbing I examined the beautiful compact slabs that were suspended to the left of the crux pitch. Once I got down from the wall, I looked at the area more carefully and I began to trace a possible line through a portion the unclimbed wall. But then the dream, like so many others, was put on hold, while waiting for more time to dedicate to this project.

The more time passed, the more it started to become an obsession, but it failed to find a climbing partner who was willing to give it a go. The decisive moment came in June 2022 when, speaking to my friend Alessio, I learned that "someone is bolting a route where you planned yours". Feeling discouraged, I walked up to see the wall for myself and, fortunately, I realised that the new line (which would later become the beautiful Via dei Morbegnesi) tackled a different portion of the wall from the one I had spotted. It was at least 50-60m away from "my" line. Discomfort transformed into joy into happiness but the die has now been cast, the works had to begin...

While descending from a route I talked about the project with my friend Paolo: his reaction, which in the beginning was a mix of astonishment and incredulity, quickly transformed into positive energy when he saw the wall. He realised that he could indeed climb something up there and that we would dedicate the route to our friends Teo & Giò, who had perished the year before while climbing Pizzo Badile.

On a scorching day in June 2022 we started climb the first slabs and, with the risk of dying dehydrated with the freezing point above 4500m, we managed to complete the first 4 pitches. The line appeared clearer and clearer to us and, while returning a second time with Alessio, we managed to establish the first six pitches (which would then become seven), before getting below a challenging section of the wall.

But by now we were motivated. In fact, I had noticed a possible line up a compact slab to the right and, zigzagging between the upper roofs, this seemed to allow us to climb without having to resort to excessive bolting or aid; we are "Weekend warriors", we cannot compete with those who have climbed the routes on the east face and, also for this reason, we wanted to try to do things as well as possible

The next time we enlisted Andrea who, thanks to his young age and ever cheerful and positive warrior spirit, despite the unstable weather helped us open the doors to the upper section of the route. Hhis cry of oy upon exiting the roof was confirmation we were on track!

Unfortunately, due to the poor weather, we have to give up 50 meters below the top and start a fast abseil descent in a hurricane. For over three hours it lashed us with all its might: the icing on the cake was wading through the river in Val Qualido with water up to our waists! Luckily there was a fixed rope...

We needed one last day, in perfect conditions, to reach the summit ridge and finish our route which we dedicated with pleasure to our lost friends: we like to think that some of them were up there with us!