The accomplished Austrian competition climber David Lama has been making the news recently, but not all of it has been good.
With Jorg Verhoeven from Holland, Lama has made the first free ascent of the huge overhang on Monte Brento, in the Sarca Valley close to Arco. His new route Brento Centro is 1,200m and 8b.
The east face of Brento is characterized by a huge overhanging wall perched above the long slab routes of the Placche Zebrate.
The overhang is one of the biggest in Europe and breached by routes such as Vertigne (1992: 1,200m: 6a and A2) and Il Grande Incubo (1997: 1,200m: 34 pitches: 6b and A4), both relying on a number of bolts in the generally rotten limestone. The last named route took 35 days to complete and involved 17 bivouacs on the wall.
However, Monte Brento is perhaps more famous as one of the premier BASE jump sites in Europe
In 2009 Lama and Verhoeven completed Brento Centro, though were unable to climb it all free. It links sections of Vertigne, Il Grande Incubo and the 2007 route, Universo Giallo (6b and A2).
Starting last month at 4am on the 25th, and with a portaledge already in position below the final eight pitches, the pair started up the route.
They quickly scampered up the initial 400m of slabs and then set about climbing the remaining 28 pitches to the top. Six of these are harder than 8a.
The climbing flowed, Lama took only one fall, and the two found they had time to continue above the portaledge. They reached the top of the wall at 6.45pm, completing one of the longest routes of its standard in the World.
They want to return to climb a variant to the final pitch (8a+), which will lead directly to the BASE jump launch site and is estimated to be 8c+.
Prior to this, 20-year-old Lama, who was Austrian Junior Champion when he was 9, and has an Austrian mother and Sherpa father, had gone to Patagonia with Daniel Stauerer.
Their aim was to free climb Maestri's famous Compressor Route on Cerro Torre. While this is a noble project, the sponsor Red Bull, not surprisingly, wanted to document the ascent.
To do so, it appears the film crew, which included climbers and guides, felt the need to add around 60 bolts to the mountain. Many of these were in locations 'where there is readily available natural protection and where not even Maestri drilled in 1970', said the accomplished Argentinean alpinist and guardian of Patagonian ethics, Rolando Garibotti.
The attempt was unsuccessful. Bolts and a haul bag have been left in place for next season, though there are plans to remove the bolts after completion of the project (after the film crew had left the area, Red Bull hired local guides to remove 700m of fixed rope).
Garibotti makes the analogy to leaving fixed ropes for an entire season on routes such as the American Direct on the Dru, the Fish on the South Face of the Marmolada, or even drilling more bolts and adding ropes to the Nose on El Capitan.
Former American Alpine Club president and Patagonian aficionado, Jim Donini, commented that it was ironic bolts and fixed rope should be used in the process of making an existing climb more difficult.
Just as this time bad weather and dangerous conditions prevented the film crew from removing their gear, the fear is that the same scenario will occur next season.
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