Papillon, 1st repeat of the great icefall at Brissogne, Valle d'Aosta

It was back in 2003 when Alex Busca, Ezio Marlier and Massimo Farina made the first ascent of Papillon, the icefall located above Brissogne (Valle d'Aosta). On 01 February 2011 this magnificent drip was repeated for the first time, by Marco Farina, Remy Maquignaz and Thomas Scalise Meynet. This is what Marco Farina had to say about the route...


"On 1 February 2011, 8 years after the first ascent at the hands of Alex Busca, Massimo Farina and Ezio Marlier, we finally decided that it was worth giving the route a go. We had spent numerous years eyeing the line and we were now joined by Remy who, right to the last moment, chose not to know where we were heading.

Papillon is right there foe everyone to see. When you go shopping all you need to do is look up and it's there, when you exit the motorway for Aosta it's there, when you go bowling it's there in front of you... for Thomas and myself it was almost becoming an obsession.

Instead of vegetating in the usual valleys and repeating classic lines, on that day we decided to retrace the steps of three people who in those years were not only the absolute top of what alpinism had to offer in Valle d'Aosta, they were also trying to make us youngsters - but not only us - understand that there were still many adventures to be found at home. All you needed to do was look upwards.

Papillon is an escape from the habitual, from the monotony of usual places. A small anecdote: a head torch will always be found useful! Check it out to see what we mean!

by Marco Farina

Icefall Grade Length Beauty Papillon IV, 4, M6, 5° 250m Nice route, far from the usual ice climbing destinations...