Roger Schäli establishes Tierra del Fuego rope-solo on Roda Val della Neve in Switzerland

Over a period of five days this summer Swiss alpinist Roger Schäli made the first ascent Tierra del Fuego on Roda Val della Neve in his backyard mountains. The new route has been described as demanding and was established in an extremely pure style: ground up, rope-solo and, apart from bolts at the belays, trad. The route follows an obvious crack system on the righthand side of Roda Val della Neve for 350m past difficulties estimated at A2+ 6c, after which a further 250m of UIAA IV lead to the summit.

Schäli explained "Roda Val della Neve is a hidden gem with two faces. Towards Albigna it shows itself with a broad and rounded back, while its northern aspect is a surprisingly mighty face, whose compact rock casts its shadow over the roads all the way down on the valley floor.

I was immediately impressed by this cold, forbidding wall. Interesting fact: there are some very interesting, historic climbs such as Niedermann (by M. Niedermann, E. Näf, U. Hürlimann, and P. Frei, 1975) or Nigg (by L Blättler, E. Neeracher, P.Nigg, 1968), which provide some great crack climbing. The summit book is a bit of climbing history too, with autographs by famous climbers such as Romolo Notaris or other great local mountaineers.

But what interested me much more were the many sections of the wall where no one has climbed before. In particular, the direct line through the steepest sector of the wall caught my attention. So my decision was quickly made to establish a new route: "Tierra del Fuego".

For me, the climb also reminds me once again of the beauty of Switzerland. I'm fascinated by how adventurous spots can still be found in my backyard. For me it is clear that this will not be the last route in this Graubünden side valley."

Links: rogerschaeli.ch, La Sportiva, Petzl