Victor Varoshkin repeats Parallel World (D16) in DTS style in Dolomites, Italy

At the start of May Victor Varoshkin made an ascent that is worth delving into and which certainly flew under our radar, despite it's magnitude: the Bulgarian mountain guide repeated in pure DTS style 'Parallel World', the huge D16 in the Italian Dolomites. Crossing a 60-meter horizontal roof at the crag Tomorrow's World, the route is an extension to the D15+ War Without End and was established after a 50-minute battle on 20 December 2018 by Polish mountaineer Dariusz Sokołowski.

Varoshkin invested over a dozen days on the route and in redpointing the line he has become the first person to repeat this monster in pure DTS (Dry-Tooling Style). Indeed, unlike those who repeated the route before him - notably Young-Hye Kwon, Matteo Pilon & Kevin Lindlau - Varoshkin decided to climb without resorting to an endless series of Yaniro moves (also called Figure Four).

After his ascent Varoshkin explained "The first glimpse of the line had a devastating effect on my mind. The unending sea of quickdraws, stretching over 60 meters above my head, summoned every bit of physical and mental resilience I had. The only survivable approach for a line that refuses to end is step by step. I've always been too spontaneous, chaotic and impatient for such an ordeal, but I proved adaptable. Big thanks to my wife for all her support and understanding. At the same time our little daughter Ada couldn't care less about my vanity struggles. Thanks to her for delivering what's actually real."

Making the most of his supreme form, Varoshkin then continued climbing in the cave on the flanks of Marmolada rendered popular by the late Tom Ballard, and by the 19th of May had he climbed 1st go (in DTS) all the remaining routes in the cave. This list is arguably even more impressive than his send of Parallel World: Fear Index (D12), Edge of Tomorrow (D13), Let Them Eat Cake (D13+), Oblivion (D14), Je Ne Sais Quoi (D14+), Tomorrow's World (D14/14+), Invocation (D14+), French Connection (D15-), A Line Above the Sky (D15)

Varoshkin stated "Right after 'Parallel World' I wanted to understand more about the grading so I can transfer it back home to Bulgaria in the establishment of new dry-tooling lines. That's why I challenged myself to flash all the routes in the cave, as red point climbing never delivers the clear picture. The term 'Flash' may not be the best one as some routes share common sections but my poor memory and the sheer length of the routes certainly made it always feel that way. 'Oblivion' (D14) felt the hardest. Barely having reached the middle of the route and already on the verge of falling, I barely made it to the end. I'm guessing it had something to do with hiking 20k and 1200m vert. with my baby in the backpack the previous day…"

Varoshkin's process and the full send was documented by Alexander Valchev and Branislav Brankov. A documentary, sharing the full story is expected to premiere in autumn 2024.

Link: alexvalchev.com