New route on Middle Huey Spire at Cirque of Unclimbables in Canada

Exciting news from Canada, more precisely from the legendary Cirque of the Unclimbables: a small but strong Italian team composed of Davide Bacci, Enrico Bittelli, Dario Eynard, and Giacomo Meliffi has successfully established a new route on Middle Huey Spire.

The expedition, supported by the Italian Alpine Club (CAI) and the Ragni di Lecco mountaineering club, left Italy on 21 July, inspired by Kurt Albert, Stefan Glowacz, Gerd Heidorn, and Leo Reitzner’s 1995 adventure. Back then, the Germans reached the Cirque of the Unclimbables by fair means to establish Fitzcarraldo (5.12b, 700m) on the north pillar of Mount Harrison Smith. While the 50 bolts placed during the first ascent raised some eyebrows at the time, it’s worth remembering that these climbers were the first to reach the massif without aircraft transport.

In a brief satellite message, Bacci confirmed the ascent: "All good here. Heavy rain, but we managed to open a 400m route at 6c/A3—super tough, two days of work. L’oro dello Yukon (‘Yukon Gold’), with a wild splitter finale on Middle Huey Spire. Proud of the team for giving 100%. Bad weather incoming for days now."

Middle Huey Spire was the expedition’s primary objective. Before departure, Bacci explained: "The Cirque of the Unclimbables is one of North America’s mythical climbing areas, in Canada’s Yukon. If the weather allows us to, we hope to establish a route on either Middle Huey Spire or Mount Harrison Smith—500m granite walls. For the return to civilization, we've chosen what we believe is the most beautiful way: 550km along the Nahanni River, hoping to raft it in 14 days."

Further details will follow on their return. As the Ragni di Lecco, to which Bacci belongs, aptly noted, the satellite message "radiates satisfaction for the new route and the challenging weather conditions which, as always, are key."