Madri dei Camosci – Peters – Deye

We left home already on Monday evening. Only the pumps are still working. There, we also bought some wafers; for the "tough" moments on the wall :). We parked in Saisera, set up our sleeping bags, and fell asleep under the open sky with a billion stars and a thick, bright moon. Majestic! It would have been even more majestic if I had slept on a slightly flatter surface and hadn’t woken up in between. Nevertheless, I woke up early in the morning feeling satisfied…

As always, the approach to Pellarinio feels long; although still shorter than the way back. Just below the hut, we meet the caretaker, who is heading down to the valley. Otherwise, there’s not a soul in sight. At the hut, we refill water and continue under the tower. We anchor ourselves below two boulders. We pack the gear into one backpack and climb up last year’s snow to the ledge that leads to the start of the route.
So, this is where it will begin, what I’ve been watching for a few years now. But I never thought I’d ever climb this route. I’ve always had great respect for it. I gladly let Bogdan take the initial pitch. It’s cold. I’m blowing on my fingers again, trying to keep them warm. In the detail of the first pitch, on the traverse, I don’t feel the holds very well. That’s why I climb tensely. The continuation to the first belay is quite fun, as a chimney appears in front of me, where a fierce battle takes place between it and my backpack.

The continuation of the route is fantastic. The rock is as solid as bone. The holds are so good that I’d love to save them for some future climbing spot. They’d come in very handy, say, in Hudičev stolp! The climbing proceeds without any special incidents, apart from praising the excellent rock.
After several easier but enjoyable pitches, we reach the crux of the route. As expected, we drop the backpack here, sit down properly, and enjoy our snack break. And the moments of infinity. At least it feels that way… Soon, it gets a bit colder again, so we continue on. But things come to a halt rather quickly. Actually, already at the first piton. The grade of VI+ seems a bit low for this, at least the lower part of the crux. After an A0 maneuver, we climb to the belay above the crux. From here, a steep slab follows (V+), but again with good rock and enjoyable climbing. Above this pitch comes the real treat. The climbing to the point where we unroped feels like a reward for the effort in the lower pitches. Here, we also reached the warm rays of the sun, but I still didn’t pack my sweater  into the backpack. Apparently, summer is saying goodbye and guiding us toward the southern walls.

As I sit, I think about life down there. From here, it seems like everything is perfectly fine. With people, with relationships between people, and especially with nature. But in reality, it’s not like that. I especially feel like we’re treating nature very poorly. As if we’re its last users. And it seems that nature is already repaying us for our bad deeds…
We descended via the Via Ferrata Jof Fuart – Gola Nordovest. The comfortable and short descent was more than welcome this time. All that followed was the hike back to the car in Saisera.
From there, it was off to a well-deserved beer at Grega's place.