Alexander Huber frees Pan Aroma 8c on Cima Ovest di Lavaredo, Dolomites

Alexander Huber has done it again. Six years after Bellavista the German has now added "Pan Aroma", another 8c through the great roof up Cima Ovest di Lavaredo.

The route follows the first 5 pitches of Bellavista, then continues along this line for another 12m through the roof, before bearing off 180° in the other direction in search of an independant line through the immense 40m roof, first climbed in 1968 with the use of aid by Gerhard Baur together with the brothers Walter and Erich Rudolph.

Alexander's new line zigzags through the original aid route, exploring the terrain to the left and right to climb the roof free, before finishing up the via Cassin to the summit.

Huber began his work in progress in June this year together with the South Tyrolean Martin Kopfsguter, then redpointed the line on 26 July in the company of Max Reichel and Franz Hinterbrandner. On the day of their ascent the three statred late and after having climbed through the roof improvised a bivvy, to reach the summit early the next morning.

"Yes, reaching the summit is always important" Alex told us. "And here in the Dolomites the climbing is always fantastic. It's difficult to find something similar elsewhere. I feel it's worth underlining that the 8b+ pitch is 60m long, while the roof is breached with 11 new bolts. But the route is anything but a ladder of bolts. It's fairly demanding both physically and psychologically, you have to know how to climb above quite long run-outs."



Pan Aroma
Cima Ovest di Lavaredo, Dolomites
Grade: 8c
The pitches: 7b, 6c, 6a+, 6c+, 7a+, 8b+ (60m, 7 bolts), 8c (20m, 4 bolts), 6c, 6c+, then exit via Cassin.
Gear: set of quickdraws. Friends and nuts not necessary