La perla preziosa, new route on Sass dla Crusc, Dolomites

On 28 August Mountain Guide Nicola Tondini completed the first ascent of his "La perla preziosa" up the beautiful West Face of Sass dla Crusc in the heart of the Italian Dolomites. Tondini spent a total of five days completing the 375m line spread out over a two year period and in the company of first Sartori, then Zandegiacomo.

The new route explores unclimbed terrain right between the ultra classic Diedro Mayerl and Via Messner al Grande Muro and was, according to Tondini, his "dream to make the first ascent on the legendary Sass dla Crusc in trad style." The eigth pitches weigh in at a mightly IX+ (7c+) and apart from 2 bolts on the 6th pitch are portected with trad gear and pegs only. Tondini concludes "My dream was almost perfect. On the one hand I'm sorry about those two bolts, on the other I'm happy about the beauty of the route because 90% of the crxes on each pitch are obbligatory and were climbed free during the first ascent. I only used cliffs and hooks to place pegs and bolts. I think that this route can be highly satisfying for many of those strong climbers who roam the Dolomites in search of "trad" routes and excellent rock."


La perla Preziosa, Sass dla Crusc, Dolomites
11-12 September 2006, 13 october 2007, 12-21 August 2008
Nicola Tondini, Nicola Sartori, Michele Zandegiacomo
Length: 375m, 8 pitches
Grade: IX+ (7c+), R3, II; EX (technical, gear, ambient; complex)
Start: The route starts between "Diedro Mayerl" abd "Messner al Grande Muro". Peg and cairn mark the start.
Descent: On foot down the obvious path.
Gear: Nuts, Friends (Metolius micro: 1-3; Camelot micro: 3-4; Camelot: 2x0.5-2x0.75-2x1.0-2x2.0-2x3.0-1x4.0), slings and kevlar threads, 2 x 60m ropes
Note (1): all pegs have been left in-situ. Thetwo sets of camming devices (Camelot 0.5 - 3.0) are also needed for 3 belays which have excellent cracks and 1 peg at times. Check the topo for gear needed for each belay.
Note (2): the two bolts on the 6th pitch reduce the obligatory crux moves: the hardest sections (VIII+ obl.) are immediately before the first bolt and immediately after the second.
Thanks to Nepa climbing, Keyland, Ferrino (DMM and Edelweiss), Marmot.