Clean Corner on Pfattner Wände in Val d’Adige, Italy

Many times, while driving past on the motorway, I had stared at that massive hundred-meter corner rising at the southern end of the Pfattner Wände. One day, I even did a drone reconnaissance mission and was surprised to discover that fixed gear and some anchor bolts were already in place on the wall. A few days later, I was lucky enough to meet Luca de Giorgi, who had placed that gear and was looking for motivated people to help push the project forward — which promised to be seriously tough.

And so, one day, he took me up the route, and I was immediately hooked. The corner was just as beautiful as it looked from the motorway — solid and with good cracks throughout and solid. The final section, which opens up to #5, was something truly incredible!

The moves seemed feasible right away, though certainly not easy. The main challenges appeared to be a thin crack section midway, which looked hard to protect, and a small roof just below it. While climbable, the roof had loose blocks and flakes of questionable stability, making any kind of protection tricky.

An alternative to bypass the roof was offered by a small corner, reachable via a short diagonal pitch. Unfortunately, this section required mostly bolt protection, but it featured steep, engaging moves—unlike the lower part of the main dihedral, which was much easier and dirtier compared to the pitches above the roof.

And so began a long process of cleaning and making the route safe, which took about two seasons before I could finally attempt a free ascent. The send went down in June 2023, but I waited until now to publish the route — only after returning with Luca and Matthias to take photos that do justice to its beauty.

– Michele Caminati, Bolzano