‘Mission Impossible’ in Valsavarenche (Italy) restored and repeated after 20 years by Niccolò Bruni, Francesco Civra Dano

Mission Impossible is the quintessential mixed climb, a spectacular line located right in front of the "legendary" Haston Cave in Valsavarenche, established and freed by legendary Mauro Bole back in 2001. The few repeats in the following years include some of the greatest names in climbing. The first that spring to mind are Stevie Haston, Kurt Astner, Massimo Farina, Ines Papert, Dmitry Bychkov, Alexei Tomilov, Scott Muir, Robert Jasper, Ueli Steck, Ryan Nelson and Jared Ogden. But who knows if others have attempted this masterpiece of modern mixed climbing in the years since.

Unfortunately, after the first repeats, the route fell into oblivion for about 20 years. In our opinion for two reasons: first, because the ice doesn’t form every year, and second, because it’s protected with pegs, some of which are dubious, others of which are fairly runout, followed by an exit on ice where you need to remain calm while the last peg gets further and further away.

While driving past the line in December 2024 we noticed that curtain had formed and that the exit was in perfect condition. That’s when the motivation kicked in for me and my friend and colleague Francesco Civra Dano. We’d already restored several historic climbs in the past such as X-Files, Twin Peaks and Tsunami, and on the 8th of January, excited like two kids, we decided to go and try Mission. We spent three days there, hanging upside down on the overhang, restoring the climb. We placed traditional pegs, removed some unstable rock, carved a path through the ice to create an exit, and set up a solid belay.

In the following weeks, every time the weather was bad and we couldn’t work, we rushed up to give it a go; it became a real obsession. Finally, after several attempts, we both managed to clip the chains — Francesco on the 30th of January, and me on the 1st of February. We were in disbelief and overcome with joy. We can’t deny that, overwhelmed by emotion, a little tear rolled down our face. It was tough, we'd given it out all, but most importantly, we believed it could be done. And, crucially, we motivated each other immensely.

For years we'd dreamt about this route, looking at photos of Bubu, Massimo Farina, and Kurt Astner hanging upside down below that huge roof in various magazines, one of which, Pareti, Francesco had kept meticulously for 24 years.

Finally, the dreams turned into reality, and under that huge roof, upside down, this time we were the ones. A dream come true. Mission Impossible, for a moment, was also ours.

by Niccolò Bruni