On the First Sella Tower (Dolomites) a climb in memory of Etienne Bernard

Last autumn, the Val di Fassa mountain guide Renato Bernard and his wife Petra Bernard established a route called Etienne on the First Sella Tower in the Dolomites. The new multi-pitch climb is dedicated to their son Etienne Bernard—a ski instructor, mountain guide, and alpinist — who lost his life in an avalanche in January 2021.

Fully bolted, the route starts up the Schöber-Rossi, then trends left after 10 meters toward Delenda Carthago. The difficulties never exceed 7a, with mandatory 6c sections.

The Bernards repeated the route recently, and in an Instagram post, Renato reflected: "An intensely happy and sad, epic day. Try to imagine being in our shoes for just a moment — overwhelming emotions. We wouldn’t have backed down even if the world were collapsing around us. Now we’ve opened the route, freed it, and invite all climbers fit enough to come repeat it."