Kindergarten opened on Col Bechei (Dolomites) by Daniele Bolognani, Davide Dallago

It was the atmosphere and the exceptional rock quality of the Spalti di Col Becchei that made me fall in love with this place. After repeating some of Simon Kehrer’s routes, while walking to the base of Ey de net I noticed a beautiful blank section on the south face.

On the 12th of July, Davide Dallago and I decided to try climb a new route. To be honest, where I initially wanted to climb we spotted an old thread, but moving 20 meters to the right was all we needed to find our ideal line. Our ground rules were: bolts only at belays, push the limits with trad gear as much as possible, and no aid climbing between protections.

The second and third pitches challenged us hard, and the compact rock forced us to place 5 bolts. We managed to finish the route by swinging leads and in a single day, but by then it was late. Freeing the two crux two pitches would have to wait.

We returned on August the 3rd to redpoint the route. Everything went smoothly. We abseiled back down to the base and, given the time, quickly repeated the nearby La Salvana put up by Kehrer and his wife Marta.

Kindergarten is a modern route that requires skillful placing of trad gear, with bolts on only the most compact sections. All threads have been left in-situ, and the belays feature two 10mm bolts each (except the first, which has a bolt and a pge). The route was established groun-up without the use of aid; all sections were climbed free between one piece of gear and the next. The rock quality is fantastic and extremely rough, and the panoramic setting is one of the most stunning in the Dolomites.

- Daniele Bolognani, Lavis, Trento