Brenta Dolomites: three new Cima Uomo climbs by Luca Giupponi, family & friends

June 2025: I find myself in the Brenta Dolomites, in Val di Tovel – mountains that are so dear to me and so close to home. Twenty-two years ago, I opened the first route in this area. On these walls, a little way away from it all – from the limelight and the classic routes – I have spent countless days climbing, but above all sharing genuine moments with friends, with the natural surroundings and with my dreams. It is a place that lies deep within my soul: I climb there even when I’m not physically there; the walls and views have become ingrained in my memories.

Now, as so often before, I'm here with Rolando Larcher. Walking up the steep Val Madris, we share stories and pieces of our lives, and before we know it, we've reached the base of our new line.

We stand at the foot of Cima Uomo, to the left of the classic Spigolo dell'Om, where we had glimpsed a possible line. We set off without hesitation. The pitches unfold exactly as we'd envisioned from below: nothing extreme, but technically demanding throughout. The belays are perfectly situated and exceptionally comfortable, allowing us to savour the surroundings, the rock, and the climb itself. After two wonderfully enjoyable days , we sit happily on the summit meadows, gazing out at the peaks and walls around us. A journey through memory – on many of these walls we've left a piece of ourselves. E la vita scorre... And life goes on...

Another day brings me back with my wife Ulla, my daughter Elsa, and my brother Davide. We head to the west face of Cima Uomo. The ropes bond our family, and the holds echo the passion that has shaped our lives. Thus, Family Dance is born – a pleasant slab climb on beautiful rock, moderate in difficulty yet never to be taken for granted. The name was inspired by the nearby classic Moon Dance, now a modern classic.

For our third adventure, it's just me and my brother Davide. It's October, autumn – one of the most beautiful months for climbing on these walls. We aim for a south‑facing pillar of Cima Uomo, where I've already opened two routes: Picchio Rosso and La Felicità del Nomade. To the left of the latter lies Gran Torbolon, established by Stefano Grandi, known as "Ston" – a local legend and pioneer who put up many routes here in the '80s and '90s: steep, physical sport‑alpine testpieces. He forged them ground-up without a drill, using hand‑placed pegs and primitive hand-placed bolts. Sadly, they've fallen into disuse and deserve new bolts and reequipped belays – it's a shame really that they are forgotten and rarely repeated.

Between La Felicità del Nomade and Gran Torbolon, I had spotted an inviting section of rock. I love the first day of forging something new – that moment when intuition meets discovery, when a dream confronts reality without shortcuts. Here, we had to commit fully to open five pitches of fantastic rock, which we named Brothers. Our route shares the penultimate belay with Ston's line; from there, his goes left and ours goes right.

All three routes, as is our custom, were established from the ground up without using aid. Skyhooks were only used to place the bolts; the routes were subsequently freed. Thank you, Brenta, and thank you, climbing partners! Happy climbing.

— Luca Giupponi, Ruffe, Val di Non

Giupponi thanks his sponsors: La Sportiva, Mammut