The idea

The meeting point was at the crag of Osso, a small south facing wall, perfect for winter climbing. I had never been there before, but I had heard of it through “Lapoterapia: one of the most difficult routes in the area. Bolted by the tireless Maurizio pellizon, and freed a few years later by the strong local climber Alessandro Manini, “Lapoterapia” climbs up the beautiful overhanging crack which is twenty metres long, the grade of 8c had been suggested for this route.

In spite of the attempts by various climbers, it had only been repeated by the very strong climber Gabriele Moroni in 2013.

The beauty of the line is impressive and inspecting the crack I asked myself how it was possible to climb it using only traditional pro, it felt as the most logical solution.
Even if I didn’t have the right gear with me, I tried it nonetheless, using bolts. The moves were fantastic, never to be taken for granted and very physical. After a few attempts I managed to climb it and to this day I consider it one of the most beautiful routes I have ever climbed. I was happy to have climbed it, but as I drove back home I kept repeating to myself that the best way to climb that piece of rock was by using traditional pro.

The route

The meeting point was at the crag of Osso, a small south facing wall, perfect for winter climbing. I had never been there before, but I had heard of it through “Lapoterapia: one of the most difficult routes in the area. Bolted by the tireless Maurizio pellizon, and freed a few years later by the strong local climber Alessandro Manini, “Lapoterapia” climbs up the beautiful overhanging crack which is twenty metres long, the grade of 8c had been suggested for this route.

In spite of the attempts by various climbers, it had only been repeated by the very strong climber Gabriele Moroni in 2013.

The beauty of the line is impressive and inspecting the crack I asked myself how it was possible to climb it using only traditional pro, it felt as the most logical solution.

Even if I didn’t have the right gear with me, I tried it nonetheless, using bolts. The moves were fantastic, never to be taken for granted and very physical. After a few attempts I managed to climb it and to this day I consider it one of the most beautiful routes I have ever climbed. I was happy to have climbed it, but as I drove back home I kept repeating to myself that the best way to climb that piece of rock was by using traditional pro.

The ascent

After just one day, I was, once again, travelling towards Ossola with my back pack full of cams.

I reached the crag at night, and not having a climbing partner, I abseiled down the route to check it out, using my head lamp, to see how to protect myself, and to understand where to place the pro. Except for the first five metres, fortunately the route did not seem to be too dangerous. At night time, lying in my car’s boot, I kept asking myself if it was not too difficult to place pro while I climbed: it was already quite complex to climb with bolts, I did not have a great margin.

The next day I was reached by a few friends and I started to try the route top roping, placing the protection. In fact it turned out to be very complicated and tiring, especially on the crux, placing the cams instead of clipping into a bolt, but after a few hours, I felt ready to give it a go from the ground. I climbed well, but having wasted too much energy placing the cams made me fall on the last difficult move: that section has a nice run out, therefore, in spite of the fall, I was happy that the protection had held. That turned out to be a good psychological test for me. After another attempt which ended on the same point, I postponed the feat to the next day, when everything went well and I managed to reach the “thank god” hold, continuing all the way to the chain. “Lapoterapia” was born as a sports route and will always be a sports route, but I hope that my ascent, in trad style, can prove that an alternative approach to certain lines exists, among other things, Ossola is teeming with them.

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