LARCHER-VIGIANI SEPTEMBER  2006   Marmolada - South-West Wall of Punta Penia. Route made by Rolando Larcher and Roberto Vigiani in the year 2001.   First free climbing ascent: Mario Prinoth and Bruno Pederiva, 12 hours in the year 2005.   10 september 2006: first free climbing ascent as leader of the rope with Jenny Lavarda in 13 long long hours.     ...It's already dark... I'm wearing a front and I'm trying to swallow the last spoonfuls of asparagus soup... but just thinking about tomorrow makes my stomach tighten up... no appetite today... my thoughts are all on the "two-finger" sequences which, with my huge hands, become "mono-finger"... but this isn't what's worrying me, it's those pitches of yellow rock with holds that can fall off at any moment! Nothing to worry about... just a good jump of a few metres... well, maybe more than just a few metres... the bolts are slightly wide apart, well... very wide apart! But my fear is... that if I fall, I'll lose my concentration and as a result also lose my motivation and compromise the success of the climb. Yeah... this route has got me in its grip... it's given me a charge of energy that I haven't felt lately. This route was opened by Rolando Larker and Roberto Vigiani on this fantastic 550m pillar which arrives right at Punta Penia at 3350 m. I've barely made it through the soup when I go out of the bivouac to see where my victim has disappeared to: Jenny Lavarda, young, courageous and inexperienced for such a difficult climb but I managed to convince her to accompany me on this long and tiring journey! It must have been my enthusiasm that convinced her or maybe my "little white lie" that this route was like a training climb... all she need do is imagine one cliff after another! Let's have a drink! I thought of her immediately... for her excellent athletic preparation but mostly for her stubbornness... she could learn the rest directly in the field! It's a full moon... everything is alight... Jenny is sitting on a rock and is watching the immense south wall of the Marmolada transfixed! Ahhh... she can see it now... this fortress... it always has a certain effect when you see it properly for the first time. This wall has its own history... of lives lived... mine especially... because it's here that I did my training when I was still a lad! Look over here!... over there!... the first thing I show her is where you find the famous Pesce niche crossed in ‘81 using a route which I think is one of the most important in the history of mountaineering or anything other! I feel like my grandfather telling a fairy tale to his granddaughter... only that here everything is real... even the years that pass... and all I can do is think of the days I enjoyed and suffered on this wall! You see, Jenny... 22 years ago I was on Modern Times... it was my first route... I didn't know anything... not even where I was or what I was doing! Just like you now! But that's the way it should be... if you don't do it when you're young, when you're strong and reckless... when else? And then... three years later with Marco Sterni, we went back to Pesce and when we arrived at the niche, I found a micro aluminium piton that I still have today in my draw full of mementos and souvenirs! And then... I continued climbing this wall along other lines but with another companion who finally managed to teach me how you protect yourself while climbing when there are no pitons on the route... with Marco I was used to not putting anything between one belay and another... if you could actually call it a belay! I remember when one day we were hanging three lengths from the ground and the belay fell away... and he... my ever-prudent friend saved our lives with a micro-nut at the last second! I always think of my friend who was so patient with me and who followed me on my dreams and taught me everything he knew, but who then went and left me empty, empty beyond comparison. Come on Jenny... it's late and we're going back tomorrow and it'll be a long day... and I'm no longer 20... I need my rest! ... then again... I think a lot more than in the past... and at the belays there are two bolts and yes... we were lucky back then... like we were lucky that other time... and that other time again... ! Bubu             "LARCHER-VIGIANI" ON THE MARMOLADA   The week after Rock Master was, in my opinion, full of strong emotions. While I was training on the structure at Arco, I received an unexpected call from my friend Bubu who asked me if I was free on Sunday so that I could accompany him on the Larcher-Vigiani on the Marmolada. At first I was surprised at his request, especially because of my lack of experience in the mountains... and so, after a competition gone bad, I decided to spend a different kind of day accompanying Bubu in his objective: all organized for Sunday 10 September! In the meantime, on Friday, I went to finish off my first 8c/c+ "Claudio Caffè" on Terra Promessa and, as fate would have it, in the town I met Bubu at Arco who shed some light on the route... what I should and shouldn't bring and other technical details... I was already excited about this new experience! On Saturday I dove towards the Fedaia Pass where Bubu and I were to meet. That same afternoon we took the cable car up and took a lovely walk up to the Bianco bivouac where we spent the night, ready to start off fresh the next morning! In the evening we ate light... Bubu more so than me, and for the first time I saw him without a beer in his hand... unbelievable! He was so concentrated on his project, maybe one of the few times he has been so serious and motivated!!! After dinner, I left the bivouac to admire the splendour of the mountains... it was incredible!!! A full moon lit everything around, the south wall of the Marmolada was lit by the small lights of those bivouacking on the wall... total silence... a spectacle full of emotions... it seemed to me that I had gone back 10 years to the weekends in the mountains with my parents... I'd missed that feeling! It was all so beautiful... I sat on a rock outside the bivouac and admired the beauty of the mountains for a good half hour listening to Bubu telling me the history of the Marmolada with all its characters and routes. Oh no! Here we go... a mountaineering lesson! We went to sleep around 9 so that we would be as rested as possible for the day after. At 5 in the morning the alarm went off and after a strong cup of coffee we set off... I felt strange the moment I woke up... a bit nervous, I couldn't even eat my stomach felt so tight! I couldn't be nervous... but when I got to the bottom of the route I realized I was nervous because I had no idea what to expect... I tried to calm down and not show Bubu how I felt because this was the day that he had to get it right... I had to be calm and do my best to motivate him... even though he was already so motivated... and let him feel that he could trust me. At 7 we left... late as usual... what can I say, he's so slow... I'm always in a hurry and nervous... he's just the opposite... and off we went on our great adventure... I started off feeling motivated and really wanting to climb, especially after succeeding in my project just two days earlier. I was feeling a bit nervous, not knowing what was ahead of me but at the same time composed because I was going to share this new experience with someone I had complete trust in. This was also the reason why I decided to take this project on, because I knew that the person who I trusted and respected would teach me and help me discover the fantastic world of dry-tooling. So, why not try this new experience? The first pitches went smoothly, a couple of explanations regarding belay manoeuvres, safety, ropes I should take care didn't get knotted... and lots and lot of climbing on a marvellous rock... full of holes... two-fingers, mono-finger, crimpers... in other words, everything... incredible! After 5 pitches the effort and strain began to take its toll and I started having to rest here and there... wow... it sure was good to climb and have such emptiness below me!!! What an incredible feeling! Meanwhile, Bubu was climbing fast and fluidly and with every pitch he surprised me more and more... how much strength and energy does he have?... I didn't say anything as I didn't want to distract him. When we finished the last pitch, 7b, it was almost dark... I could barely see a thing and I was starting to feel a little uneasy... but I held on till the end... nothing was going to make me stop... my forearms were aching and the skin of my fingers was falling off... I was exhausted! We finished the route at 8 in the evening after 13 hours of climbing, belays, manoeuvres, a fight here and there for the mistakes I made because all this was new to me. When we got to the top of the pillar I congratulated Bubu on completing his project and inside I felt incredibly satisfied for having made it to the top, even though I rested a bit more than he did... this mountain had always been very important to me. I started climbing in the mountains and arriving a Punta Penia for me was an immensely satisfaction. After 10 years I had returned to the mountain... my experience in this new world may have been limited, maybe one or two routes at level 4 with my dad when I was younger, but I can guarantee you that this was the number one mountaineering experience I have ever had. I rediscovered emotions and sensations that I had forgotten about and I found them again thanks to this new experience... I was very happy to have had the possibility to go with Bubu and I thank him for his patience and for putting up with my inexperience. I had a great time... for one weekend I left what ties me to the world of competitions and training and I enjoyed the marvellous world of the mountains like I did in the old days... .and I did it in excellent company!!!! Jenny Lavarda				"Larcher-Vigiani" MARMOLADA Report   Photogallery
						Photos by Fabio Dandri