Day one, the 16th of July: We climbed the first 4 pitches of "Alpenliebe", 500m (7c) on the North Face of Cima Ovest. This route was established in 1998 by Hainz and Astner. The weather was super cold and we thought it was too cold to go for a push at that stage so we left the 4 first pitches fixed. I had been up there a few weeks earlier in much better conditions. So our plan was to wait for warmer temperatures.
Day two, the 17th: We decided it was too cold to go do Alpenliebe so we opted for an easy day getting some meters under our belt so we climbed "Gelbe Mauer", (300m 7a+) on Cima Piccola. This route was opened by the late Kurt Albert and Stefan Glowacz in 1996 (7a, 7a+, 6c, 7a+, 7a, 7a+, 6c, 6c, 6b+). Given that this route is in the sun and we still did not feel warm we figured we would need the temperature to increase significantly in order to free "Alpenliebe" and the forecast did not really give us much in that way but we decided to go and see what it would be like on top of P4 the next day.
Day three, the 18th: We went back to the top of P4 on "Alpenlibe" and after much deliberating we decided to call it quits. We thought it was a bit too cold to be certain we would be able to free the route. It was about 4 to 6°C and some wind. We packed up but left the fixed rope in place for a future attempt…. We went down to Cortina to get on to the internet and take some pictures and info of the Donnafugata from the website of www.planetmountain.com. We then drove to the valley of Torre Trieste and hiked up to Refugio Vazzoler where we arrived just before 8pm.
David taking a photo down the wall on "Alpenliebe", Cima Ovest
David taking a photo down the wall on "Alpenliebe", Cima Ovest
Mayan on here way up the wall on "Alpenliebe", Cima Ovest
The Megalodon you encounter on top of P4 on "Alpenliebe"
Day four, the 19th: We departed Refugio Vazzoler for "Donnafugata" 750 m 8a at 4am and the rest will follow in the coming blog post… But we started Climbing…
Day five, the 20th: Climbed the last pitches and descended for some hydration and well deserved food.
Day six, the 21st: Hiked down to our cars! Business done to some extent... We hope to be back for more.''
