Laura Pineau grabs Greenspit in Valle dell'Orco

These past four weeks have been a journey of patience, persistance, and hard-work. When I started trad climbing two years ago, I was researching about the most beautiful cracks around the world that I'd want to climb in the future. Seeing Babsi Zangerl on Greenspit made me dream of becoming strong enough to also do it one day.

Climbing Butterfly Circus in Ticino earlier this summer woke up a fire in me to climb other hard European cracks. I quickly set my sights on Greenspit and gave it a few tries in early July. Conditions were terrible, with humidity being at its highest due to constant rain. The idea was to come back mid-September when the weather would be on my side.

My first sessions back on it were dedicated to figuring out all the moves again as well as understanding where to place the gear. After a few days, I could do the beginning easily but faced an obstacle: the crimps! On their own I could hold them pretty easily but I soon as I reached them from the start, my right hand couldn't hold the crimp long enough. It took me four different sessions to finally find a new beta and realize that I could actually send the route. After unlocking the crimps, I climbed further and further each session, feeling more motivated than ever.

On Saturday 5 October Marco Sappa, Giacomo Meliffi and I headed to Greenspit. The wind was blowing, conditions looked good from the distance so I knew it was time to go all in. I experienced a moment of perfect flow, my body knew each movement deep down, and after seven quick minutes I found myself clipping the chains. Not only was this a special moment for me, but it became magical for all of us when Marco did La Pura Pura (8c) and Giacomo also sent Greenspit!

by Laura Pineau

GREENSPIT
Greenspit in Valle dell’Orco, Italy, is one of the most famous crack climbs in the world. The crack was originally bolted in the mid eighties by Roberto Perucca with green bolts, hence the name, and in 2003 Didier Berthod chopped the bolts and led the route with pre-placed gear. After his pinkpoint ascent the Swissman returned in 2005 and placed all gear on lead. Over the years the 12m horizontal roof has become a coveted test for some of the world’s best crack climbers.