First climbed in 1935 by M. Molteni and M. Camporini, the Molteni Camporini Route on the Southeast face of Piz Badile is a long, complex, and exciting path up the Italian side of the iconic shovel. The Piz Badile’s North Face is home to one of the 6 great routes in the alps, the Cassin. However, if you are looking for sun, exposure and excitement, the Molteni Route will whet the adventurous appetite.
The Molteni Route is a 14 pitch, 500-meter journey that starts in the centre of the wall under a pair of left oblique dihedrals. The route climbs the Southeast face via slabs and dihedrals before reaching the famous crux traverse at the 9th pitch. There is a fixed rope for those who want it. Further climbing leads to the spur which is followed to the hut on top of the Badile.
Access to the South face of the Piz Badile is typically made from Rifugio Gianetti which is in the upper Porcelizzo Valley at 2534 m of altitude. The only means to access the Rifugio Gianetti is via a number of hiking trials. The most direct of these is the 3 – 4 hour trail from Bagni di Masino. The trail is approximately 7 km long and climbs approximately 1300 metres from low down in the coniferous forest at the base of the Val Porcelizzo. From Rifugio Gianetti, a weaving but often undefined path can be followed to the Piz Badile. Allow 45 minutes to approach the South Ridge and an hour for the Molteni Route.
The Climb – James and I had been invited to a birthday party with some of the San Martino Locals the night before. A small party was held outside under the stars in a hidden area in Val Masino. We partied until the early hours of the morning before retreating to a cave which we were bivvying in.
As expected, we were not fast getting going the following morning, the red wine headache pounding at my temples. After a laboured , we walked to the benches and began the task of arranging the rack and prepping bags.
Similarly, to climbing L’albero Delle Pere, we did not have an English guide. Instead, we had an Italian one which we translated via Google translate.
The Molteni is an alpine route with a long walk in so we slimmed down the rack as much as we could to lighten the load. Ingredients were purchased from local shops, sandwiches made and bags packs.
At about 15:00 we drove to Bagni di Masino. There is a small parking on the left-hand side of the road, which is manned before 17:00 and a parking ticket is required. Obviously, we did not have the right amount so haggled with the staff who accepted the handful of coins and let us park. We were on the trail by approximately 16:00. Low down in the Val Porcelizzo, the forest is thick, and the view limited. Passing through the buildings of the Gr Hotel, which look like they were built during the World War, felt eerie but we soon left this behind as we started to gain height. Carrying sleeping gear, cooking equipment, food, rack, and ropes between us, it was to be a sweaty walk. Head down and pressing on, we hiked above the tree line and the view of the surround peaks is truly spectacular. A 360o panorama of dramatic ridgelines, steep faces and below the green tranquil valley.
The path is obvious and sustained. It has relatively short-lived sections of “flat” ground before the quad crushing ascent continues. After about 3 hours we reached the Gianetti hut but we weren’t staying the night. Dropping down away from the hut we found a suitable bivvy spot with protection from the wind. The difference in temperature the 1300 m elevation caused was significant. As we began boiling water, the cold was setting in, so I wrapped up in my sleeping bag.
After eating our rations, we set our alarms for an unpleasant 04:00 and got our heads down. Tucked up in my sleeping bag and bivvy bag I was pleasantly warm. Apparently in the night James was nervously watching a block of black clouds in the valley over, seeing lightning flashes inside the turbulent mass of air. I slept through all this and woke up with the alarm to prep the obligatory coffee.
Caffeine quota fulfilled and a morning ration each we stashed our bivvy gear and headed towards the Badile.
There is a vague path from the hut but it is not very clear, a few cairns can be found but mostly follow the path of least resistance. After about an hour we were at the base of the route racking up.
The Molteni Route is the biggest alpine face we had climbed and we both felt the creeping anxiety of the day to come. James was leading the first pitch and with slight trepidation he started. During the first 2 pitches, 3c & 4a, we were feeling clunky. Gear placements were fumbled and climbing flow was not to be found. By the third 5a pitch we felt pretty warmed up and were moving nicely.
Pitches 4 – 6 are 3a’s and the translated description for the first 2 read “continue without compulsory route, always keeping slightly left”. Here I climbed up an obvious, large but unprotected ramp until reaching a good belay. James then continued to climb across the slab looking for “Il Buttone” and the bolted belays.
We didn’t find the belay so when the 60 metres of rope were running out he belayed in a corner as per the description. It was here that we realised we should have climbed up a few meters before heading leftward. Now we were at the base of an unknown corner.
It was my lead and as I started up the corner, I felt anxious entering the unknown. As it turned out, climbing the corner was brilliant. It required plenty of bridging and there was interesting climbing throughout the pitch. I was continuously on edge hoping that I wouldn’t reach a dead end but after approximately 55 meters, with only a meter or two of rope to spare, I reached the bolt and piton belay at the start of the 9th pitch. Later we checked the topo and which confirmed we transitioned across to route 58 and I linked the top of a 4a pitch into a 5b.
Now we were stood at the start of the crux pitch, which is a thin, technical traverse. This can be overcome easily by using the fixed rope which protects the traverse before climbing the dihedral to a bolted belay. I am sure I have said this before but “we are not aid climbers”.
James stepped delicately down onto the traverse, clipping the bolt the rope was attached to and smoothly stepped crossed. The movements had to be precise, aiming for the small edges with your feet and maintaining body tension. James cleanly climbed the traverse.
When I climbed, I was surprised how thin the edges were, this felt far harder than a 5b pitch without the use of the fixed rope. In contrast, the dihedrals after involved thuggy climbing.
The next pitch was a 40 m 4a which climbed to the far edge of the face, then followed brilliant rock to the top. Pitch 11 read “traverse left, climb a fireplace”. We took fireplace to mean “chimney”, but this description seemed illogical. From our position we should follow the spur to the top.
A guide caught us up and when I asked him about the chimney, his answer was “your guide is wrong, follow this to the top.” I didn’t tell him we had translated the guide via Google but thanked him for the tip.
The final pitches are interesting flowy climbing on good rock until it flattens off and the spur is followed to the emergency bivvy hut. A short scramble later and we were at the top of the Piz Badile.
A few high fives, a sandwich and an admiration of the view later and we were ready to start the descent. We had planned to descend via the normal South Ridge. When looking online we heard many horror stories of complicated descent including abseiling off to the side too early. However, with the good visibility the path was obvious. There were few parties who had ascended via the South Ridge and as such it was quite clear how to descend.
Caution should be taken when preparing an abseil on the in-situ tat. There is an unnecessary amount of various cords at each abseil. It is easy to see how the descent could be difficult in poor conditions.
After 9 hours, 6 up, 3 down, we were at the bottom of the Badile. Ropes off and bags packed we started the walk back to our bivvy spot.
DISASTER!!
As we neared the Bivvy spot we spotted a few sheep mulling around our bags. We both ran over shouting at the sheep to clear them off. Initially, there was no damage until I found the remains of my chewed hat. What a loss.
Rather grumpily, I made a quick round of coffees and then we started the long hike back down the valley. By this point, my legs were exhausted. The previous few days and the ascent of the Molteni route meant I was in a poor condition and the hike was torturous. Even with the heavy legs we made it down in good time for a wash in the bracingly cold water in the river before returning to San Martino to gorge on copious amounts of pizza and beer.
What an adventure.
Sources:
- Val Di Mello Guidebook – Mario Sertori
