'Luce e Tenebre' on Punta Pioda, the report by Silvan Schüpbach

From the 6th to the 9th of March, Roger Schäli, Filippo Sala, and I climbed the central section of the north face of Punta Pioda via our Luce e Tenebre. This extremely steep and compact part of the wall had never been climbed before and presented extreme difficulties. It was another milestone in my long-term project to explore the "forgotten" north faces of the Alps.

The north face of Punta Pioda (3,237m) towers impressively in the heart of the Sciora group in the Bergell region. It's hard to believe that, apart from the climb put up by M. Bellica and J. Obuch (20-21/08/1980) on the far right, no one has ever touched this face before.

This wall had fascinated me for years, but every time I planned an attempt, something got in the way. This winter was no exception: in December, I managed to scout the first section with Ines Papert, but at the end of the month I broke a bone in my foot, forcing us to put the project on hold.

On the 5th of March, Roger, Filippo and I finally hiked up to the Sciora Hut. Our backpacks were heavy, but our motivation was high. At the hut there was a lot to do — melting snow, digging out the fireplace, and replenishing the wood supply.

Early the next morning we started the climb. Back in December we had had to climb several slabby pitches in the first section, but now this was nothing more than a simple snowfield, and we quickly reached the first overhanging. We only managed four pitches. The rock was loose and sandy, forcing us to aid climb much of it. I at least tried to free climb as I seconded, which I managed to more or less.

We fixed our first pitches and returned to the hut. Despite our painfully slow progress, we were euphoric. We had reached our first goal: the big snow gully.

The next morning we began our push, planning to stay on the wall this time. The start was hectic, and we only tidied the hut minimally — according to the log book, no one else had been there all winter, so we didn’t expect any visitors.

After what proved taxing work, we reached the end of our fixed ropes by midday, hauling all the gear we’d need for three days on the wall. Filippo and Roger continued climbing while I set up the bivvy. In the afternoon, I spotted two climbers approaching the hut. Of all times, I thought to myself — we should have cleaned up better. On the other hand, I told myself, the cleared fireplace, stocked wood supply, and water left on the stove should make up for the mess. But I was wrong: by the time Filippo and Roger returned to the bivvy, we were already being called out on social media.

Of course, we felt guilty and knew we’d made a mistake. No one wants to clean up after others. Still, we were surprised that these accusations, from a fellow climber we knew well, didn’t come to us directly but were instead aired publicly. I tried calling to apologise, but he was couldn't be contacted, so I had to send a WhatsApp message instead.

A cold night full of doubt followed. Tackling the difficulties of this wall was one thing; being the villain at the same time was another. The next morning, we told ourselves: now more than ever! The frustration gave way to determination, now we had to give it our all and finish this route.

Luckily I started that third day by leading a nasty, tight chimney — the perfect distraction to clear my mind... Higher up, I climbed a steep, diagonal crack that led us to our final bivvy spot. My intentions were good as I free-climbed at around M8, placing cams behind huge, loose flakes while sand and dirt drifted into my eyes. But my resolve quickly faded, and I switched to aid climbing — slower but safer. Later, I gladly handed the lead over to Roger, who brought us to the bivvy ledge with the last daylight. Poor Filippo was supposed to have a rest day but ended up jugging and hauling through the overhanging traverses all day... arriving at the bivvy just as exhausted as the rest of us.

The fourth day freed us from the cold night. I was pretty spent and relieved when Filippo took charge. He led with one rappel and through a gully onto the normal route. From here he quickly guided us across mixed terrain to the summit and into the sun. Finally, some warmth!

This incredible, grueling adventure in the wild, unknown mountains of our Alps will stay with us for a long time. It was our first climb together, and we worked perfectly as a team.

In the future, we hope all mountaineers will follow the rules for winter hut use (ourselves included!) and that conflicts will be resolved through direct conversation rather than via social media.