Close to Heaven established on Mt. Demirkazik in Turkey's Aladağlar by Federica Mingolla, Alessandro & Rolando Larcher

“You’re the closest to heaven that I’ll ever be... and I don’t wanna go home right now...”

I hum these words written by the Goo Goo Dolls as we hike up to our basecamp, right at the foot of the north face of Demirkazik. Rolly, Ale and I - that's our team for this adventure. The idea of establishing a route with Rolly has always fascinated me, and doing so with young and talented Ale, I admit, is like putting the cherry on top of an already perfect cake.

We had left Italy with a clear idea of where to place our fingers and the front of our climbing shoes, thanks of course to Rolly who knows this place like the back of his hand. He had taken photos of the face and already envisioned where we might climb. As things turned out, we didn’t stray far from that line he’d imagined. Experience can’t be bought, and he’s earned every penny of his, having opened 97 routes around the world (this one is actually his 98th!).

As I hum the lyrics to Iris, I turn to Rolly and say, “You know, it would be beautiful to name a route ‘Close to Heaven’. It’s the privileged situation we all feel when we climb - so close to the sky and ‘heaven’ that it hardly feels real.” He replies that it’s a nice name, but that’s where the conversation ends…

Then, two days later, we’re caught in a heavy afternoon downpour. We’re on the wall, enduring yet another rainstorm after days of unstable weather, and we’re all tired of this situation. As always, we decide to leave everything stashed in our blue haulbag and abseil down to base camp. The descent is long, but with the static lines fixed on the wall, it’s a whole load easier. We descend and get soaked, completely to the bone as the water gushes down in bucket loads!

Then the worst thing immaginable happens: a roar from above warns us of what’s about to hit us. Rolly ducks under the roof at the first belay, Ale is still high on the wall, so they are both safe. While I… I am right out in the open, on a ledge with nowhere to take cover.

I instinctively press myself against the wall and try to shield myself as best I can. All hell breaks loose from above… stones crashing around me like meteors. I start screaming in fear, but I can’t do anything because I’m on abseil with the ropes through my descender and I can barely move. I crouch down and hold my breath. It lasts an eternity.

I get hit everywhere, but only my head and right knee bear the brunt. Needless to say, this never happens again, because afterwards, we only return to the wall in stable weather. But everyone’s clever with the benefit of hindsight.

The fact is, everything happened so fast that day: the climbing, the abseil, the rockfall, the rescue by my partners, the descent to the valley, the hospital… I obviously thought that that was the end of my trip. It was already a lot that I was still alive and in one piece.

Instead, fate gave us another chance! Nothing broken, just a lot of pain and a few stitches to my head. Three, two, one days recuperating at the campsite run by Recep and his family, and we were back on the wall to complete unfinished business.

And so that song took on a deeper meaning, our route found a musical backdrop to the adventures we experienced up there. The north face of Demirkazik has finally been climbed free via a new route by three Italians who share a strong motivation and this beautiful, utterly pointless love for climbing.

- Federica Mingolla, Turin

IN SEARCH OF NEW CHALLENGES by Alessandro Larcher
Turkey 2025, my first expedition! Finally, after graduating in early July, a summer of freedom and climbing lay ahead! I was craving new challenges, new adventures, and so at the start of the year I’d told my father I wanted to go to Turkey with him and Federica.

As soon as we arrived, I was enchanted by the landscapes and the beauty of the walls. From the photos I’d seen it looked stunning, but once there, everything turned out to be far better than I’d expected. I’ll leave the technical details of the ascent and the route description to my partners. What stayed with me though is certainly the incredible experience of establishing and freeing a new route ground-up on a massive wall, the beautiful moments at base camp, the emotions lived to the fullest with my partners.

I was truly thrilled to have taken part in this expedition. I learned so much, and I believe this journey has helped me grow a lot and gain a greater awareness that will serve me in future projects.

I thank my partners endlessly for their patience, for all the lessons learned, and for sharing those magnificent days with me. A big thank you also to Camping Aladaglar and its owners Recep, Zeinep, and Pelin, for their great help and support!

- Alessandro Larcher, Mattarello, TN

THE WONDERFUL MOUNTAINS OF THE ALADAGLAR by Rolando Larcher
Twenty years ago I discovered the wonderful mountains of the Aladaglar massif. Together with Maurizio Oviglia and Michele Paissan, we opened our first route on the east face of Demirkazik: Üç Muz (Three Bananas…). Back then we also noticed the north side of this mountain but didn’t really consider it much, because there was a glacier at the base and streaks of water ran down the face from the hanging snowfields.

Last year, I passed below Demirkazik again, this time as a tourist, trekking with my daughter Anna. The wall was no longer the same! Completely dry, and the glacier has disappeared! Unfortunately, global warming spares no one, but selfishly, it has made climbing on the north face possible.

So last summer, I found myself once again at the foot of this great mountain, accompanied by two wonderful partners. Federica, a friend who had been flattering me for far too long, asking to open a route together. Alessandro, my son, who surprised me yet again by asking for what I could only dream of: sharing an expedition together. A privilege, an burst of energy and enthusiasm that made me forget that I'm 60.

It wasn’t easy to reach the summit. I will remember the day we were hit by that furious rockfall as the worst in 44 years of mountaineering. My desperate scramble for cover, not knowing where or how the others were. Then Fede reached me, crying and injured. She was in pain and cold, but nothing too bad, so my thoughts turned to Ale. 20 endless minutes of devastating uncertainty. Slowly, far too slowly, the rocks stopped falling, and with panic in my heart, I climbed back up the rope to find out. Luckily, Ale was still there: alive, unharmed, with his rucksack over his head!

While descending from basecamp with Federica on the horse, I thought the project was over. But after a quick check-up at Çamardi hospital, the indomitable Lioness recovered with surprising speed. Just 4 days after the accident, we were back at our camp; the next day we reached the summit; and finally, after a rest day, we crowned it all with a redpoint ascent after 12 hours of climbing.

Alessandro surprised me once again! Ever enthusiastic, he quickly learned the ropes of making a first ascent, and was by no means intimidated by his first big wall. I already knew about Federica’s amazing climbing skills, but this was an opportunity to get to know her better and appreciate her many talents: scrupulous organisation, efficiency, and even her cooking. Thanks guys, you were fantastic partners, it was a pleasure sharing this beautiful adventure with you! I'd also thank the wonderful Ince family: Recep, Zeinep, and Pelin. For our great friendship and your irreplaceable support!

Motivation, enthusiasm, teamwork, and luck: the magical alchemy that got us to the top. The route is named Close to Heaven, for obvious reasons…

- Rolando Larcher, Mattarello, TN

Sponsors
Federica thanks: La Sportiva, Petzl, So Food, Alba Optics, Sherpa Mountain Shop, Guma Factory
Alessandro thanks: La Sportiva, Petzl, Montura, Trentino Marketing
Rolando thanks: La Sportiva, Petzl, Montura, Totem Cam