Teufelsgeige, new mixed climb in Langental, Dolomites

Last week the usual suspects, Daniel Ladurner and Hannes Lemayer, established a mixed climb in Langental - Vallunga in the Italian Dolomites. A few days after the first ascent of their Airport, the two South Tyrolean mountaineers have now climbed a new three-pitch outing about 30 meters to the right of the classic Piovra ice climb.

Teufelsgeige, or the devil’s violin, climbs a long first ice pitch that due to its proximity to Piovra may well have been climbed in the past. From here though the route breaks out leftwards from 20 meters across rock to join the upper ice flow. This mixed pitch is graded M6 and Ladurner bolted it on lead. "Normal pegs" Ladurner told planetmountain.com "wouldn’t have worked because the rock here is too poor."

The last pitch, climbed by Lemayer, leads to a delicate 10-meter dagger "that can be protected using the sheet of ice attached to the rock below. The climbing appears far more difficult from below than it actually is, since it is possible to bridge out between the various ice mushrooms and the rock."

The two mountaineers were accompanied by Val Gardena photographer Ivan Goller, who took these photos. All belays are protected by bolts.