Andrea Milani frees Absinthium at Capanna Bill, Dolomites, Italy

Taking advantage of one of the last days of this strange autumn — which until just a few hours earlier still felt like full summer — on Sunday 23 October Andrea Milani freed Absinthium at Capanna Bill above Passo Fedaia in the Dolomites.

The route is an extension of The Search, the 8c+ line freed in 2009 by Mario Prinoth, and proof of how difficult that first part is lies in the fact that so far only Luca Zardini had managed to repeat it, back in 2010.

In June Milani made the third ascent of The Search, and last week the 25-year-old aspiring mountain guide finished the logical progression all the way to the top.