Bats with ice axes and crampons WINTER 2006   I had started hanging on the ice axe handles in order to prepare for the winter mixed season ever since November. The Caterina cave is in the Triestine Karst - just 15 minutes’ from my place - immersed in greenery and complete silence. I always find climbing with these tools strange... at times I get embarrassed when a passer-by curiously observes me while trying to understand why someone has to stay suspended for hours at a time at the cave entrance. When they do ask me, my answer is that I’d rather stay outdoors than stay trapped within four walls... they walk away with that "he’s crazy" look on their faces. The cold season arrived which is the best season for mixed. A few phone calls, emails, text messages and the grand tour of the caves begins. It’s like going to the pub with some friends... a chat... exchanging opinions... talking behind someone’s back... a few laughs... and then we climb... we have to! We always look for something new so that we don’t fall into a routine and get bored. There’s always a goal to reach... when all the routes have been done... someone always throws a challenge. The Mario Pinot cave, a few minutes’ from the centre of Campitello di Fassa, was the most popular this year. A magical place... or maybe it was just the fine company... days spent in true friendship and mutual respect. Then it was the turn of the cave in the Landro Valley, surely the most beautiful because of its spectacular routes. I also managed to see the cave above Innsbruck, but that’s another story...   Bubu
				Game over (Innsbruck)       Mister Big Ben (Landro, Italy)       Grotta Caterina (Trieste, Italy)       Laghel (Arco, Italy)       Arco 2004 (Italy)       Cineplex (Canada)       Ueshinen (Switzerland)       Musica e magia       La via è bella       Fly in the wind       Mission impossible