Civetta North-West, the new guidebook by Alessandro Baù & Luca Vallata

As of 31 July, the new climbing guidebook Civetta North-west is now available from Idea Montagna, featuring comprehensive route descriptions and a historical account for each climb. Below, we present the introduction to the guide by the authors Alessandro Baù and Luca Vallata. Additionally, as a preview, we’re publishing a sample route topo - complete with route line, route details, topo, and history — of the über classic Solleder-Lettenbauer which at the start of August 2025 celebrated its 100th anniversary.

CIVETTA NORTH-WEST
“If we’ve counted correctly, those endless walls are home to 23 “extremely difficult” routes, lined up one after another,” wrote Bellunese mountaineer, journalist and writer Dino Buzzati about the north-face of Civetta in the newspaper Corriere della Sera in 1957.

Since then many things have changed, and many more routes have been added to that endless rockface. The guide you have before you includes the 78 routes that have been opened on its walls since 1895, not including the many route variants. Unlike previous publications that have come before it, this guidebook aims not to cover the entire Civetta Group, but rather to describe only the routes on the north-west face.

We will get to the reasons for this decision shortly, but let us start by emphasising the central role that the north-west face has played in every phase of the evolution of Dolomites mountaineering. This face has been the silent (but not always motionless) witness of numerous important events throughout history: from the first courageous attempts by the pioneers at the end of the 19th century, to what is traditionally considered the first grade VI route in the Alps, the Solleder-Lettenbauer, which celebrates its centenary in 2025, to routes that need to use the letter X to describe their difficulties.

It was Tolstoy who said (to paraphrase) “All mundane routes are the same, yet any adventurous route is adventurous in its own way.” Considering that all the routes on the wall are adventurous, and anything but banal (mind you: banal is an assessment of style, not of difficulty), we felt it would be appropriate to include some historical information about each one, and this decision led us to restrict our research to the North-West.

When compiling this information we aimed to satisfy two principles at the same time: on one hand, the guide is aimed at those who wish to use the guide to climb the routes on the North-West - the climbing community. We have therefore provided all the necessary technical information, such as route descriptions, approaches and descents, and topos, as well as more general tips on strategy. This task was overseen in no small part by Alessandro Baù, who contributed his wealth of knowledge acquired through many decades of avid exploration of the Civetta Group.

On the other hand, for each of the routes that run along the north-west face, we have tried to chronicle the events of the first ascent, in a necessarily succinct but nonetheless accurate manner. In doing so, we decided not to dwell too much on the technical account of the ascents, but rather to capture what we might call the “spirit” of the route, exploring the motivations, backgrounds, and historical and social contexts of the climbers who over the years have made history on this face. In doing this, we hope to provide a greater understanding of the atmosphere that pervaded the iconic walls of Civetta in those bygone days.

The task of writing this guide spanned more than four years, and while we know that time alone is no guarantee of a job well done, we assure you that our time was equally matched by our commitment to the task.

Any suggestions for improving future editions are highly welcome. Please send your feedback to: civetta.nordovest@gmail.com

- Alessandro Baù and Luca Vallata

>> Click here to purchase the guidebook from the website www.ideamontagna.it

Thanks to: C.A.M.P., HDry, Montura

ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Alessandro Baù
Born in 1981 in Padua, he currently lives at the foot of the Euganean Hills with his wife Claudia and daughter Viola. Working as a freelance engineer while collaborating with outdoor industry companies, he also occasionally works as a Mountain Guide and is a member of the Italian Academic Alpine Club. Throughout his career, he has completed numerous traditional and modern ascents across Patagonia, Central Asia, North America, and Africa. He has established many challenging new routes, predominantly using traditional protection and favoring free ascents. A devoted enthusiast of the Northwest Face of Civetta, he has climbed many of the routes featured in this guidebook and is currently one of the area's foremost experts. On Civetta, his accomplishments include first ascents of Chimera Verticale, Colonne d’Ercole, and Zuita Patavina, along with three winter first ascents, six first repeats, and 33 bivouacs on the wall.

Luca Vallata
Born in 1990, native of Belluno but adopted citizen of Erto. He works full-time as a Mountain Guide and practices alpinism in all its possible summer and winter forms. He holds a degree in Mathematics and has been enrolled in the History program at Ca' Foscari University for a year. Currently, he's preparing for an exam in Ancient Numismatics. Throughout his climbing career, he has primarily frequented the Eastern Dolomites, preferring less-traveled paths, though he has also travelled to the Greater Ranges. For the past five years, he's found his personal balance among the forests and mountains of Valcellina, where he believes it's still possible to practice honest alpinism. True to his motto "From Erto to the desert," the only travels that still excite him are those to the Sahara, with particular preference for the Hoggar mountain range. On Civetta, he established the route "Capitani di Ventura," and on the Northwest Face he's made a couple of first repeats.