New winter routes up Pizzo del Becco

B.A.L. - BOCIA ALPINISTI LOMBARDI - DISPATCH 1.0 by Tito Arosio

On 8 and 9 December 2012, in a remote corner of Lombardy’s mountains a dozen or so youngster (bocia in local dialect) met up to climb together. Many had never met previously and it’s likely that otherwise they’d never have met up; they gathered knowing they shared the same love: alpinism. Saro and I got the idea of organising a meeting for young climbers while chatting as we realised that there was a small number of young climbers who didn’t know each other, so why not meet up?
Temperatures down to -10°C, gusts of wind which hurled us to the ground and spindrift blowing in all directions didn’t manage to dampen the desire to climb of a small group of young climbers who met below the sloped of Pizzo del Becco (Orobie, Val Brembana , Bergamo). They’d come to take part in the first ever BAL Meeting (Bocia Alpinists from Lombardy) and while the conditions were far from ideal, the love for climbing beat both the cold and wind. The aim was to get the chance to climb with new parthers and there could be no better way than to test the ropes with a series of spindrift burst… 6 teams comprised of 13 climbers, average age 22, from four different provinces (Milan, Lecco, Bergamo and Brescia), ventured up the routes of Pizzo del Becco e Spallone del Becco, joined by three members of a Catalan female climbing club. The following routes were climbed: Agazzi + Couloir dello zocolo on Pizzo del Becco, Super Mario on Spallone del Becco, Becche al Becco with a variation on Spallone del Becco and two new routes up Spallone del Becco.

SPALLONE PIZZO DEL BECCO
Fò di B.A.L.
First ascent: Giulia Venturelli, Maurizio Tasca, Saro Costa, Alessandro Monaci, Paolo Grisa - 8 December 2012
Grade: III - WI 2 - M5+
Height: 250m
Gear: no gear left in-situ, take two 60m half ropes, a set of camming devices up to # 4, a set of nuts, quickdraws and slings, some pegs.
Notes: two starts possible (see photo), the route joins the final two pitches of Becche al Becco.

Beccati questa Goulotte
First ascent: Saro Costa, Francesco Rigosa, Michele Tapparello - 9 December 2012
Grade: II - WI 2 - M4
Height: 250m
Gear: no gear left in-situ, take two 60m half ropes, a set of camming devices up to # 4, a set of nuts, quickdraws and slings, some pegs.
Notes: the route joins the final two pitches of Super Mario (possible abseil descent down this route).

Bo
First ascent: Tito Arosio, Giulia Venturelli - 9 December 2012
Grade: II - WI 2 - M4
Height: 250 m
Gear: no gear left in-situ, take two 60m half ropes, a set of camming devices up to # 4, a set of nuts, quickdraws and slings, some pegs..
Notes: the route joins the final two pitches of Super Mario (possible abseil descent down this route).