Musica e magia Music and Magic FEBRUARY, 2004   I've been doing the road between Sappada and Santo Stefano di Cadore for about 15 years now but I've always been too preoccupied or in a hurry to take the time and see the all-too-evident overhang with ice candles that hang in mid air... a blind man could see it... it's sitting there just a few metres from the road above the "dell'aquatona" parking lot.   I had the same energy and enthusiasm that I had in the winter of 2000 when I was running around the Alps looking for mixed routes; but the problem remained finding ideal structures for this sport. I was trying to find out whether there were any caves or overhangs but unfortunately unless someone is in the game, it's hard to understand exactly what I was looking for... whereas the experts tend to keep it all a secret! I finally discovered that there is an overhang where Diego Mabboni opened an M9. I immediately called a "local", Gino De Zolt, to get some info and see whether I would disturb the peace by opening a new route or two. His frank and straightforward answer left no doubt: "If you feel like working your arse off, go ahead by all means!"   Unfortunately it's not always as easy getting sincere answers from mountaineers who are jealous of their own valley... it's a question of intelligence, sensitivity and common sense that not all people have...   I ran to the place and immediately saw a magic line before me and in a few hours with two ice pitons, three normal pitons and six bolts I started marking the 35-metre route. The day after... Ha! Life is great because so much can happen... I tried doing the route... and my partner was a beautiful girl from abroad! I'd rather not say her name, it was just like a fairy tale... I was in the right place at the right time! And so, at the first try I nailed it! A great M10! At the base there were two curious ice climbers from Gorizia who were following my every move. Later on two Hungarian guys and another two guys from Ravenna joined them. Once I'd come back down, the first thing I did was gather my gear and make a celebratory toast.   The two ice climbers from Ravenna: "We know just the place to have a quiet drink - Franz's Wine Bar in Sappada!" It's amazing how all you need is a group of friends, a bottle of wine, conversation and the right atmosphere to make a great party.   Tra un giro e l'altro salta fuori la domanda di come chiamerņ questa via. Between one round an another we debated how to call the route. It took me a moment or two but then it came to me... a joke about how a man meets a woman and the woman says something about music and magic... that was it... first you make a little bit of music together and then you disappear! We all burst out laughing and then someone said that was the perfect name for the route... Music and Magic!   What a great name! It really captures the feeling of the moment! The funniest part of the evening though was trying to translate the joke into English for the Hungarians. In the end they too agreed it was the perfect name.   After another couple of rounds some more Hungarians arrived ...and I knew there was only way to finish the evening... with a little bit of magic! I decided to return to Domegge di Cadore where Ghin and his family were waiting for me for dinner.   Great, great, great... it was a day I will never forget! I just have to say though that without these moments of bonding and friendship, opening up a route just wouldn't make any sense.   Bubu
				Game over (Innsbruck)       Bats with ice axes and crampons       Mister Big Ben (Landro, Italy)       Grotta Caterina (Trieste, Italy)       Laghel (Arco, Italy)       Arco 2004 (Italy)       Cineplex (Canada)       Ueshinen (Switzerland)       La via č bella       Fly in the wind       Mission impossible
				Photos by Fabio Dandri