Steep skiing: Pizzo di Coca first descent

Mario Vannuccini continues to explore his local Orobie Alps. After the first ski descent off Punta Livincina in Val Masino and the first ascent of Goulotte del Pioda on Monte Pioda in the Masino-Disgrazia mountain chain, the Italian Mountain Guide has now carried out the first ski descent (and possible first ascent) of the North Couloir of Quota 2885m on Pizzo di Coca.


PIZZO DI COCA
by Mario Vannuccini

The line, which is circa 650m high, leads into Vedretta di Marovin at circa 2200m. The slope angle in the upper section is circa 50° (at times even steeper), while during the lower third it is circa 45°.

We carried out the descent in non-ideal conditions: numerous deep ice veins and hard packed snow forced us to circa 250m of "derapage" in the middle section of the descent, which can be graded E1, 5.3.

The 1957 guidebook "Alpi Orobie" published by Monti d'Italia describes our line as "an unclimbable gully on the Arigna face." The couloir lies parallel to the famous Pizzo di Coca NW gully which was first climbed way back in 1889 (Baroni-Cederna-Valesini) and first skied in 1987 by Luisa Angelici and Antonio Boscacci. It is reached from Arigna (Ponte in Valtellina) by ascending the valley to Bivacco Resnati and Vedretta di Marovin.