New 1,200-metre Alpine Route in Dolomites
Martin Feistl and Simon Gietl spent two days establishing a technical mixed route up a limestone wall in Italy
Earlier this month, Martin Feistl and Simon Gietl made the first ascent of Aura, a 1,200-metre M6 AI5 up the northeast face of Langkofel near Val Gardena in the Dolomites.
They climbed the first few pitches of a summer route called Prinzessin im Herzen before following snow and ice for nearly 400 metres. They then climbed 200 metres up the Pichl Route, which was established in 1918, before stopping to bivy for the night. They found a small ledge to pitch their tent that was protected from the wind.
The following day saw them climbing another 15 pitches in variable weather to the summit at 3,181 metres. They climbed with their crampons on for the entire route. They descended in the afternoon of the second day.
“Aura was a great adventure,” Gietl said in a report here, “and I would like to thank Hubert Moroder for the info he gave us about the upper section of the route. I called him from the bivy to warn that the lights were ours and to prevent any calls to mountain rescue, but he already knew everything.”
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