'Grande U' skyline enchainment in Val Bondasca completed by Benjamin Bosshard & Filippo Sala

Val Bondasca, a very special place for me! In the winter of 2023, I made the ascent of the Gran Diedro on Badile, in 2024 I climbed the Cassin route, once again on Badile, and in the winter of 2025 I made the first ascent of "Luce e Tenebre" on Punta Pioda. Three climbs that shaped my approach to the mountains, far removed from the crowds, exploring places rarely visited in winter.

Yet, after all these winter adventures in Val Bondasca, I was almost ashamed to admit I’d never been there in summer! In this valley, so special to me in the coldest season, I wanted to do something equally special in the warmer season, and the choice felt obvious from the start: the great "U" of Bondasca—the enchainment of all the peaks between Passo della Turbinasca and Passo Cacciabella. In my opinion, the most beautiful skyline in the world!

And so, on the 29th of July, I met up with Benjamin Bosshard, one of my most trusted climbing partners, in Bondo. After packing our gear, we went to bed with the alarm set for 4:00 AM.

We set off at 4:40 AM on the 30th of July to cover the 1,700 meters of elevation gain that separated us from Passo della Turbinasca. We moved at a steady pace, knowing a very long day lay ahead. From the pass, we headed toward Pizzo Turbinasca, the first summit of a traverse that would take us over 17 peaks in total.

An endless series of ups and downs on perfect rock led us across the next summits: Punta Turbinasca, Punta Sant’Anna, Pizzo Badile, where the final ridge section pushed us with pitches up to 6b. Our first real break came here, on the summit of Badile. It was 3:00 PM.

The traverse continued with Punta Sertori and Pizzo Cengalo. By now, fatigue was setting in, but we stayed motivated knowing the Tita Ronconi bivouac wasn’t far. Only the Pizzi Gemelli remained…

Well, the Pizzi Gemelli turned out to be the most challenging part of the entire traverse — loose rock, route-finding difficulties, and exposed sections. At 9:00 PM we finally reached the bivouac, where we ate and slept a few hours before setting off again toward Cima della Bondasca, the lowest point of the "U." From here, only the Sciore traverse remained.

Luckily, this went faster than expected, and by 11:00 AM we were already on Punta Pioda which marked the end of the real difficulties. All that was left was to follow the normal descent route and tag the last summit: L’Innominata, and shortly after, Passo di Cacciabella. From here, we looked back at the entire traverse in all its grandeur—it seemed impossible we’d actually done it. A dream come true!

We finally took off our harnesses and raced down to Capanna Sciora, where we were welcomed with a delicious chestnut cake before continuing the descent to Bondo.

We arrived at 4:40 PM, exactly 36 hours after starting, having covered 29 km and 4,900 meters of elevation gain. We were exhausted, and I still couldn’t fully process what we’d accomplished. I need some rest to gather my thoughts, but I knew I was happy.

Once again, Ben proved to be an exceptional climbing partner, and I’m sure our adventures together will continue for a long time.

- Filippo Sala, Agarone, Ticino