Alessandro Zeni wires 'Wu Wei,' 9a multipitch in Val Nuvola established with Riccardo Scarian

Italy's Alessandro Zeni has taken his undisputed technical skills from sports crags up into the mountains and, together with close friend Riccardo Scarian, has established and now freed a route that has all the characteristics of becoming a benchmark climb for the best in the world.

The route in question is Wu Wei, a 180-meter line on the SW Face of Picco delle Aquile, a subpeak of Monte Coppolo above Valnuvola in the Feltrine Dolomites. It was while establishing Shakti back in 2011 that Scarian noticed the smooth slab to the left, and in early 2016 he teamed up with Zeni to forge the new route ground-up. The resut is five demanding pitches, one more beautiful than the other according to the first ascensionists, with an obligatory grade of 8a and the crux slab settling in at 9a max.

Zeni made the first free ascent on 16 August, after having unlocked the crux pitch in mid-July and after an excellent attempt in early August; he climbed a full 170m free, but was stumped just 10m from the top on the last 8b pitch. Knowing that it was now feasible, five days later Zeni returned for the redpoint, belayed by habitual climbing partner Scarian. The 55-year-old is close to the send, too, and this would obviously be a fitting end to their ascent

Pending further information, it's worth reflecting on what Zeni wrote on his Instagram handle a few weeks ago. Speaking about the crux pitch, he stated, "I can only say that, taken on its own, I consider this the most technical and complex pitch I have ever climbed."

Alessandro Zeni thanks his sponsors La Sportiva, Karpos and Grivel