Two New Routes in Europe

Here are two routes that have made the headlines on Planet Mountain this week.

The Ring of Life, 5.14d/5.15a

Silvio Reffo made the first ascent of the 55 move route at Covolo, Italy. “The ring of life is a classic examples of seeming impossible: at first I could hardly do the single moves and I couldn’t link more than four moves, my fingers kept uncurled due to the difficulties and my forearms exploded. It’s really intense, a first 5.14+ section requires excellent body control is followed by a rest and the second section, stamina based, an 5.14- in its own right.”

Banana Sprint, WI4, IV, 650 m

François Cazzanelli and Roberto Ferraris made the first ascent of Banana Sprint up the SE Face of Grandes Murailles in the Pennine Alps in early March. The pair climbed the normal route up Punta Sella, an 1877 line climbed by G. Corona, J.B. Aymonod and C. Carrel, and then finished up a variation