Big Breithorn mixed climb by François Cazzanelli, Leo Gheza

Anticipating the winter season, on 30 September the Italian mountaineers François Cazzanelli and Leonardo Gheza established a new mixed climb on Breithorn Centrale in ther Monte Rosa massif. The route is called Estate Indiana, Indian summer, is located on the complex and fascinating north face, and was climbed in with just cams and ice screws.

Following Cazzanelli's hunch, the two alpinists reached the Guide del Cervino hut on late on 29 September, then left at 05:15 the following morning for what turned out to be a challenging and long day out in the mountains. The approach across the morrain took almost 5 hours and after crossing the Bergschrund they began the ascent.

The route tackles a direct line up the wall, directly below the large pillar of Torre Maggiore: a 300m, 70° slope led to a series of gullies which, after an M5 pitch, led to the base of the pillar. This provced to be the cruxof the erntire route and was climbed on the left, following a corner which was difficult to see from the base.

On some of these pitches, which breach difficulties up to M8 AI5 R, Gheza explained, "you have to pay close attention to the rock which remains firmly stuck to the wall thanks to the low temperatures, ice and refreezing." On the last pitches the rock quality improves significantly and a series of gullies led to the top. The two reached the summit of Torre Maggiore at 7 pm, just in time to enjoy a "crazy" sunset.

"It was a truly magical moment" commented Cazzanelli. "We really enjoyed the last rays of sun: on the north face we'd been cold, and at the belays we wore a down jacket and thick gloves. So we really appreciated the sunset on one of the peaks in the heart of Monte Rosa even more than usual." The pair then quickly descended down the normal route on the other face and returned to the Guide del Cervino refuge.

The route proved particularly challenging, both due to the technical difficulties and the severe, isolated ambient. Cazzanelli explained: "The face is vertical, at times overhanging, furthermore it was not always clear how we'd pèrotect ourselves, and we often had to climb long runout sections. Estate Indiana is a route without a single easy pitch, acutally all are sustained. Leo and I swung leads. On two pitches, the rock qualituy is by no means excellent; you can climb it, but you need to be careful."

Gheza concluded "In addition to having opened the route in single day, the greatest satisfaction was having being able to complete it clean, without resdorting to placing bolts or pegs. We only had a handfulò of cams and ice screws with us, and those proved enough for the whole climb. It was a full day climbing into the unknown, a great adventure."