François Cazzanelli, Emrik Favre, Stefano Stradelli dream the unimaginable on Mont Blanc du Créton

He had other things in mind, but "the strong Föhn wind altered conditions, forcing us to change plans" explained François Cazzanelli who, last Friday with Emrik Favre and Stefano Stradelli, made the first ascent of Sognando l'inimaginable, a new mixed climb on the east face of the Mont Blanc du Créton (3406m, Petites Murailles, Dent d'Hérens - Matterhorn group).

"I'd had this line in mind for some time" explained the Matterhorn mountain guide. "The first section is obvious and can be seen clearly as you skin up the Vofréde valley towards Château Des Dames. But I'd always had doubts about the feasibility of the upper section: it wasn't clear if the ice continued, whether it would be possible to find a logical line or if we'd be forced to turn back without getting very far."

Taking advantage of a day when conditions were less than perfect, the three decided to check it out. The result is a 600m climb which ends just below the summit, with difficulties in the region of WI 4+ M7. "We left 4 pegs at the stances, where they were really fundamental. For all other belays we used Abalakovs. We descended with 10 abseils. Overall a pleasant outing, difficult, with several demanding but incredible pitches". The route has already been repeated by Giovanni Ravizza, Carlo Filippi and Michele Tixi who described the newest addition to this mountain as "a gem".

by Gian Luca Gasca

Cazzanelli thanks: La Sportiva, Cervinia-Valtournenche, Garmin, Grivel, Julbo, Ski Trab