SPERONE CROZ SUMMER  2005   We arrived at the summit of the pillar of the Croz peak on Sunday the 4th of September. Incredible!!! Starry sky... we had never seen such stable weather and in the end this weather would allow us to finish this difficult climb. As a matter of fact, in a month and a half of withdrawals and returns home we managed to finish the route in ten climbing days. To tell the truth I thought that the wall and logistics were easy! It was anything but easy, least of all because we were always drenched due to the rain, the cold and unpredictable snowstorms. Our motivation and stubbornness didn't let up until we finished the 38 lengths of rope with an elevation gain of 1100 metres and a maximum difficulty of 7c, especially in the climb down to the portaledge with only one front and the ropes which continually got twisted... but then finally at 5.30 in the morning we got into our sleeping bags. We had talked about the characteristics of this route quite a lot with Mario and we inevitably compared it with Women and Chalk, which we'd opened together four years ago. Both of us agreed that even though the Shipton Spire wall is 6000 metres, the north of Joasses was the harder of the two. The route in Pakistan has single lengths which are technically more trying, especially for its continuous verticality whereas this route isn't always vertical, with parts of friable rock with verglass and the low but all too present risk of rock falls which kept us on our toes every minute of the way... and this doesn't even count the severity of the bad weather we encountered. Our goal was always to open a route on sight but this wasn't possible on all the pitches due to our not wanting to look for other solutions following other lines further to the right or to the left of the one we were on. We didn't find much sign of others who had gone before us so we didn't really know whether we had followed the same cracks mainly because when free climbing you look at things with a different eye even though we did see a piton here and there. At the 25th length it looked like the only solution to getting away from the final overhang and arrive at the second snowfield of Croz was to free climb the Manitua crack: A3+ VIII-. We made a few attempts at making notches with small underclings but it all seemed useless... not impossible... but so time consuming that the right decision was to let it go and find another way out. And so with a traverse to the left we found a dihedral where we rested and which lead to the snowfield with the 26th length, a 7c, the hardest of the entire route: a slightly overhung slab, difficult to protect which looked like another difficult pitch to open. We place three bolts in the final 15 metres of the slab and spent a couple of hours finding the best sequence but it was only the next morning that we unexpectedly managed to free the pitch... and that only because the snowfield didn't effect the holds... and so we decided to continue to the top and finish the route. When we arrived in Leschaux at the end of July the locals thought we were crazy... and when they asked us what we wanted to do we answered that we wanted to open up a new route along the nose that hangs from the Croz spur! They were shocked and worried but gave us the benefit of doubt: the "nose", "le Nez" in the local tongue, was bound to become a classic route in time! Le Nez is a modern concept route. Free climb the ascent with good rests in preparation for rap routes. The rock is almost always good quality but above all the route is well protected from rock falls…nevertheless the risk is always there. We hope that these qualities and time itself will make this route a classic which will be repeated and give much satisfaction. Maybe the word "modern" goes only so far as to summarize these qualities... which young and old rightly need! First of all I'd like to thank Mario who, as for Women and Chalk, from the first to the last day was the one with the balls and worked hard until the end. In moments of my discomfort and emptiness he held the reins and lead me to the top of Croz. Next, I'd like to thank Stefano Panni who bought the gear to the base of the wall and finally, the owners of the Leschaux refuge, Babette and Rodrigue, for their warmth and passion. Finally there's Fabio... good old Fabio... who no doubt will come with us the moment the weather is good again because his photos always manage to evoke what's the most important thing of all: the emotion, the effort and the commitment of the climbers. Despite the fact that he's forever telling us that he will never come with us again we always manage to convince him that the next time will be easier ...even though it never is! Bubu				SPERONE CROZ (Grandes Jorasses) Photogallery 04.09.05   Photogallery 24.08.05   Photogallery 23.08.05   Photogallery 06.08.05 Photogallery by Andrea Gallo   Photogallery by Fabio Dandri Report   The picture of the route
						Photos by Mauro Bole and Mario Cortese