Big new route on Marmolada (Dolomites) established by Iris Bielli, Matteo Della Bordella, Massimo Faletti, Maurizio Giordani

On a wall every new line, every new route, derives from an idea, from a hunch... It can be either be revolutionary or normal, but it always requires intuition, imagination, dedication to be completed.

Our route began like this, from a futuristic project started at the end of the '80s fuelled by the enthusiasm of Stefano Righetti who, with some climbing partners, attempted a daring line on the far right of the great Specchio di Sara rock face.

Their attempt ground to a halt about 100 meters after the start, below smooth slabs deemed unclimbable without extensive use of aid, something they considered unacceptable. Years passed and a flurry of other routes were added to the first, to Specchio di Sara, to the right and left. All are extremely demanding. All, apart from Specchio di Sara, stop halfway up the face and do not continue to the summit, clearly defining the increasingly predominantly sport climbing aspect that has been emerging in mountaineering.

Massimo Faletti and I often talked about this project, but we only started to lay our hands after having received the go-ahead from Stefano who passed the baton to us and Matteo della Bordella.

Early in September 2022 got our first "taste" of the route and we were optimistic about our chances of success. The unbreachable section was bypassed to the right with a long traverse which gave access to a section of the wall which was still very difficult, but nevertheless climbable.

We cannot undo the history of this great wall by using tons of gear to progress... and we realised we needed new forces so as to respect those ethics we deem paramount. Matteo was an excellent addition, but he too was convinced that more was needed and consequently he asked Iris Bielli, the talented younger climber from the CAI Eagle Team, to join us.

At the end of this summer we met up and, working as two teams, we continued where we'd left off, and climbed the most difficult section in a few days. We then split up and while Matteo and Iris, with a bivouac on a portaledge, completed the lower section to the large ledge, Massimo and I, with a bivouac on the ledge, completed the upper section all the way to the summit. We took advantage of a week of stable weather with temperatures that were ideal, if not almost exceptional, given the time of year.

The result: around twenty pitches, completed by joining forces and optimising our strengths in the best possible way, in perfect harmony despite being a somewhat unusual team of four generations grouped together on the same route. Matteo and Iris returned to free the pitches on 28 and 29 September, grading the difficulties up to 8b max and 7b+ obligatory.

The description? Those who have already been on this wall can easily imagine what it's all about... those who haven't been there yet should imagine incredibly compact rock, vertical if not overhanging, with very few chances to place gear and long runouts between the bolts, cams and pegs. This is what the climbing is like on the lower section while the upper section, above the ledge, has a less sporty but decidedly more alpine feel to it, with beautiful slabs at the bottom and steep corners and loose chimneys at the top.

Why did we call it Madre Roccia, mother rock? Because there is a single common denominator that unites the four of us... and it is that tireless, tenacious passion for vertical adventures on the most beautiful walls in the world.

by Maurizio Giordani

Thanks to: Karpos, SCARPA Climbing Technology