Via 'Spina' added to Monte Colodri at Arco (Valle del Sarca), Italy

El Colodri. I live right across from it and see the wall every day. The season always began with us repeating classic routes in order to prepare us fo the big climbs in the Dolomites. Back when I was still a "rookie," Italo Miori took me to repeat Via Rossi , and I don’t recall if it was with him or Roby Parisi that we climbed the high variant of the route that splits the wall with a massive crack.

That large crack had been opened a few years earlier by the Preti brothers and Angelo Seneci. We didn’t have Friends or other gear back then, and I remember climbing the entire pitch with bold run-outs, even running out of rope as my partner chased behind me.

Over the years, I kept staring at that variant, and logic called for a line that started from the ground and connected to that massive crack.

A few years ago, Omar Oprandi and I decided to open it. We began from the belay station of the first pitch of Via Rossi to stay centered under the big roof, expecting extreme difficulties - but instead, we cruised through the hardest section with ease. Then, one pitch higher, we called it a day.

Years later, I returned with Giuseppe Bagattoli and continued the climb, seeking simpler sections to maintain homogeneous difficulties with the rest of the route, eventually reaching the top of the wall.

Later, following Omar’s earlier suggestion to start the route from the base, my son Andrea and I started from the very bottom, crossed Via Somadossi and continued up to access the classic lines. More pitches added to the journey.

As for the name, we didn’t have to think much abou it. Having Mauro Giovanazzi’s nickname there was important to us—honoring his presence and the countless adventures we shared. In the heart of El Colodri’s wall, "Spina" (Thorn) felt right — a route we can revisit years later to remember him.

After the first ascent, we cleaned the route a bit more to make it feasible without too much gear — a tribute to us and everyone who knew him. Thank you, Mauro, for all you did.

By Giampaolo Calzà