Anyone who automatically thinks of Yosemite or Indian Creek when they hear the term "crack climbing" should take a closer look: The Valle dell'Orco in northern Italy is known as the "European Yosemite" for good reason. And that's exactly where the GOAT himself, Adam Ondra, has ended up.
The European Yosemite
The valley in the Piedmont region of northern Italy offers an impressive array of crack climbing routes of varying difficulty and length – earning it the title of the European Yosemite. Particularly famous in the Valle dell'Orco is the legendary test piece »Greenspit«.
The route is a true classic among Europe's difficult crack climbs. It was established in the 1980s by Roberto Perucca with the eponymous green bolts. In 2003, the Swiss legend Didier berthod He made a trad ascent of "Pinkpoint"—meaning he had already placed protection in the rock face. He also removed the bolts. Two years later, he cleanly redpointed the route.
Trad-Testpiece Greenspit
The 12-meter-long Greenspit crack is very steep – you could almost call it a roof. Traversing along the crack requires an enormous amount of strength and core stability. Nevertheless, Ondra couldn't resist giving the line a good flash go – and he succeeded! He climbed the line on his first attempt after receiving some tips from his longtime friend Marcello Bombardi and discussing the beta with him.
Ondra is one of the most successful climbers in the world. He was the first to climb the route «Silence“(9c) which has not been repeated to this day, mastered”Soudain Seul» (V17) and achieved the second ascent of the «Dawn Wall» (5.14d, 32 pitches) on El Capitan. Adam Ondra It delivers one headline after another and regularly keeps the climbing scene on its toes, be it sport climbing, bouldering or flashing an 8b+ trad route.
For those who would like an even deeper insight into the Valle dell'Orco and Ondra's Flash-Go, the Czech climber provides a YouTube video about his ascent, which also features, among others, trad superstar [name missing]. Pete Whittaker He has his say. So it's worth watching!
You might be interested in:
- Adam Ondra climbed a 212a route for the 9th time
- Caroline Ciavaldini is the third woman to climb the crack testpiece Greenspit (8b/+)
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Credits: Cover image: Petr Chodura