Cima di Val Scura - Manolo and Diego route

It's raining. It's the middle of summer but it's raining every day now, which is absolutely normal in the Dolomites.

In summer, periods of high pressure frequently alternate with periods in which meteorological instability reigns supreme. This, needless to say, is a period of instability. Finally, it seems that a day of good weather is upon us and the desire to take a trip to the mountains is not lacking, I hear Gio and immediately we understand that we have a problem: the walls will be soaked! We do a briefing, take a few hours to think and in the end we decide to play the Vette Feltrine card.

The Feltrine are wild mountains and their walls are protected by long approaches that usually discourage the less willing.

Given their low altitude we know well that the best period to visit them is the mid-seasons, but we are equally convinced that with an August like this perhaps a trip could also be done.

The goal is the Manolo and Diego route at the top of Val Scura, an old acquaintance of mine, I had already tried it on a gloomy October day about ten years ago with Carlo, but partly because of the bad weather and partly because after the first pitch we understood that the days were shorter than expected, we wisely descended. I want to get back into the game, and I hope to close the account that has been pending for too many years.

The path is steep but all in all it passes well between one chat and another. We are not in a hurry we are here to live a day in the mountains in company as we usually do.

As soon as the wall opens up to us we are captured by some enormous grey slabs to the right of our route, we know how to run some very challenging routes, where all the strongest Feltre climbers still try their hand at it and put themselves to the test, testing the courage of previous generations.

Together with the impressive slabs we also see our line, unfortunately the first pitch is soaked, but we, perhaps too optimistically, think that it will dry out.

We arrive at the base and of course it hasn't dried. We falter as we rest sitting on the grass, it's so nice in the mountains that I'm almost losing the desire to climb. Those mountains have always given me a great sense of peace and tranquility and today is no different.

Shortly after Gio gets up and says that maybe it's time to leave even if he's wet, since it's already midday and the route will certainly give us a hard time.

The first pitch can be tackled straight on aid or a little to the right in free climbing. Usually we prefer to avoid aid but given the wet we form a relay and set off. Fate decides that my partner gets the first pitch, I had already climbed it during the first attempt and I remember it quite well and, as much as I can, I try to provide useful information to tackle the difficulties that on the report should be a maximum of V+.

I arrive at the belay and congratulate Gio, we take stock of the situation and understand that the route forces us to enter power mode, keeping in mind that the V+ is a completely different thing compared to what we have just faced.

The report mocks us by proposing difficulties that are certainly much lower than those we encounter, now I understand why it is rarely repeated.

I climb up with a lot of effort, the higher I climb the more I think that the time we went down we had made the best choice for that day!

Our forecast regarding the temperature turns out to be unreliable and an incredible heat swells our feet and does not allow us to concentrate on the difficulties which, always according to the report, should never be extreme.

We arrive below the key pitch, the report indicates some pitons, but we only see one. Gio starts and quickly sends back the piton that is about four meters above the belay, in the meantime he turns and with an unreassuring look he makes me observe how the piton comes off by removing it with his hands. Impossible to tackle the step calmly, he descends climbing and makes various attempts that are not very fruitful.

I'm hanging in the void from some badly placed nails and a loose nail separates me from my companion, a situation that is far from pleasant and we were asking for it!

Gio returns to the belay and we reason together about what would happen in the event of a fall. There is little to reason about, the bolt would not hold and the fall would be directed to the belay, if it were a bolt we would not care much but a belay in these conditions worries us a lot.

Gio begins a work of persuasion according to which I am in better shape than him and therefore I should try. I am actually not so convinced, I don't think I want to take that risk. First of all I am absolutely not in better shape but above all I am much less lion-hearted than him! My way of going to the mountains does not include these risks, we also talk about this while hanging from the belay we scrutinize the pitons.

In the end we have to make a decision and frankly going down for the second time would make me very sad, I decide to try but with the stipulation that at the slightest doubt I would not have tackled the step and would have gone down. I arrive at the shaky nail I send it back but I don't feel at all safe, I go up and down a few times and then I give up.

We don't even know how long we've been hanging there, we have a huge responsibility, not only our safety but also that of our companion. To this, even if it is also a component of our work, we never get used to it and we always try to risk as little as possible.

Gio convinces me again, again I go up and again I go down, the situation is starting to make us laugh a little, we start to joke about how stupid we are until it becomes tragicomic when, in our little theater, we imagine how much our friends would laugh if they saw us going up and down like hamsters.

I return to the stop and start to think: the step I have to take is around VII, perhaps VII+ (even if the report suggests an optimistic VII-), one of the many steps of that difficulty that we have regularly faced for years.

I continue to think, evaluate and re-evaluate. I set off again for yet another attempt but this time I reach the usual crux, I greet the dancing nail that insists on observing me grinning, and I take away the satisfaction of making him feel my peak.

I grab the crimps and think: if there were a bolt we would already be at the top, we know how to do these steps, let's do them. Luckily there is no bolt, forcing me and my partner to face our insecurities and our demons.

I squeeze the holds perhaps even more than necessary, but between me and the flight there are only my hands and they have to be solid, very solid.

Gio rejoices. Another 30 difficult meters where I have to stay calm, protect myself and not make mistakes, I concentrate and give it my all. I climb, I protect myself, I climb. This is the plan. Time doesn't count anymore, all that matters is climbing, protecting yourself and climbing again. Summit!

At the top I feel tired and empty, in the following days I thought and thought about that climb and the lesson it had left me: Manolo and Diego had courage!

Overall the route is very beautiful, the pitches are never banal and in some places you absolutely must not take the wrong route or the difficulty will be even higher. Unfortunately the fantastic compact grey limestone is a bit clogged with grass given the low altitude but I still feel like recommending it to lovers of the genre. Definitely bring a hammer, friends, nuts, a great desire to get involved, a good dose of experience and above all a trusted companion.