Watch Free-Solo of “Europe’s Separate Reality” Legoland 5.12
The two-pitch granite crack is one of Italy's most famous at the grade and learn about Separate Reality
Legoland is a splitter roof crack in Valle dell’Orco that has been dubbed the little sister of Yosemite’s famous Separate Reality, both being around 5.11+/5.12-.
It was first climbed in 1984 by Bruno Balma and Daniele Caneparo and later freed by Roberto Perucca. Giacomo Meliffi recently free-soloed the steep crack and took a video from the belay of the send.
In contrast to Seperate Reality, you can’t run Legoland out on lead because you’re constantly climbing only a few metres above the rock below.
Legoland Free-Solo
Separate Reality
Separate Reality is a 20-metre crack famous for its exposed crux and six-metre-long crack in its roof. You have to climb 200 metres above the Merced River to access the base.
The name is from the 1971 novel A Separate Reality: Further Conversations with Don Juan from Carlos Castaneda and was first climbed by Ron Kauk in 1978 and graded 5.12a.
In 1986, Heinz Zak took a now-classic photo of the late Wolfgang Gullich on the first free-solo of Separate Reality 5.12a. In the short film below, Austrian climber Zak succeeds in making the second free-solo in 2005.
“I suddenly had an impression that it was not a game of gambling with my life,” Zak said. “It was not subjectively dangerous. It is the thought of death that teaches us to value life.” To prepare for the free-solo, Zak built a wooden model in his garage.
In summer 2006, the late Dean Potter became the third climber to free-solo Separate Reality. Since then, other climbers, including Alex Honnold and Canadian Will Stanhope have free-soloed it.
Check out this photo from 2014 by Stanhope of Canadian Mike Doyle hanging from the lip and watch Zak’s film below.
Zak in Yosemite
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