Lost among the “forgotten north faces” of the Alps, Punta Pioda has seen the opening of a new extreme route. From March 6 to 9, Roger Schäli, Silvan Schüpbach and Filippo Sala braved the cold and capricious granite to trace Luce e Tenebre, a 700-metre mixed, free and artificial route. A committed adventure in the heart of Switzerland’s Bregaglia massif.
The Sciora group is a small section of the Bergell (or Bregaglia, depending on whether you speak German or Italian in this part of the Swiss Alps where the two languages intersect). From March 6 to 9, Swiss climbers Filippo Sala, Roger Schäli and Silvan Schüpbach opened a difficult route on the north face of Punta Pioda.
The route is short, but stunning. It’s a group of four slender peaks located to the north-east of Piz Cengalo, itself a neighbor of Biz Badile, known to us because of the famous Cassin route on its north-east slope. The four Sciora peaks are, from north to south, Sciora Dafora (or Scinda di Fuori, 3169 m), Punta Pioda (also called Pioda di Sciora, 3237 m), Ago di Sciora (3205 m), Sciora Dadent, 3275 m).
© Roger Schäli (@rogerschaeli_alpinist), Silvan Schüpbach (@silvanschupbach) et Filippo Sala
© Roger Schäli (@rogerschaeli_alpinist), Silvan Schüpbach (@silvanschupbach) et Filippo Sala
a rock that doesn’t always live up to its reputation
Bregaglia’s marvellous granite
French mountaineers may (or may not?) remember that the west face of the first-named route was climbed by our Marseilles hero, Georges Livanos. The route was opened in 1960.
This wall was one of the “forgotten north faces” that Silvan had long since spotted, among those he considered among the wildest in the Alps. This was the first time that Filippo, Silvan and Roger had climbed all three together, but all three were motivated by this mysterious wall.
In fact, their roped party worked wonderfully well. And it was for the best : the adventure proved to be rather tough : rock not always living up to the reputation of the Bregaglia’s marvellous granite, freezing temperatures… It’s winter, and this part of the Alps, despite general warming, still enjoys a rough continental climate in winter. To top it all off, the difficulties were not insignificant.
© Roger Schäli (@rogerschaeli_alpinist), Silvan Schüpbach (@silvanschupbach) et Filippo Sala
© Roger Schäli (@rogerschaeli_alpinist), Silvan Schüpbach (@silvanschupbach) et Filippo Sala
they spent four days on the wall,
which says a lot for climbers of this calibre
All in all, they spent four days on the wall, which says a lot for climbers of this calibre, engaged in a 700-metre route. “Every pitch had to be hard won,” reports Filippo. The climbing was a complex cocktail of mixed, free and artificial.
They were able to return to the Sciora hut at the end of the first day, spend the night there and set off again a little fresher, completing the route in three days and two bivouacs. In the end, Luce e Tenebre (“Light and Darkness”) was up to M8, A3, with 70° ice. And they agree on one thing : they’ll remember it for a long time ! The granitic needles of the Sciora group are among the most spectacular in the world. And they can be fierce.