Climber Sends Famous 5.14 Crack in Italy
Marco Ghisio has known about Greenspit since when it was first climbed 20 years ago
Greenspit in Italy’s Valle dell’Orco is one of the most famous cracks in the world thanks to some green bolt hangers and a storied first ascent history. Italian climber Marco Ghisio, 36, has just repeated the test-piece.
It was bolted in the 1980s by Roberto Perucca, who climbed half of the pitch. Then in 2003, Swiss climber Didier Berthod redpointed the 12-metre route with preplaced gear, skipping the green bolts. He returned again in 2005 and climbed it on lead while placing all of his gear. He then chopped the bolts and graded it 5.14a, saying it’s “the most difficult crack in Europe.”
In 2006, a film called First Ascent was released featuring Berhod on the crack and the climb rose to international fame. The second ascent was by Nico Favresse and the third by Tom Randall. In 2009, Stevie Haston made the fourth ascent and said to UK Climbing, “I’d say it’s like a 5.12 crack to a V8 move. A bit on the powerful side, but nothing really that tricky.”
Another ascent in the past few years was by Babsi Zangerl, who said, “This is probably my proudest crack climb so far, what a line, what a place.”
Babsi Zangerl on Greenspit
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