Muzzerone, Bunker Pillar, 'Reservation Mandatory

Muzzerone, Bunker Pillar, Reservation Mandatory, 2009

Roberto Vigiani - Luisa Siliani - February 2009

Development: 140 m - Difficulty: 5c/6a

Material needed: 15 quickdraws and helmet (recommended!)

Nailing: 10 mm stainless steel fixings with chains at belays

Access: As with 'Chi vuol essere lieto sia' (Who Wants to Be Happy Be It), descend the gully to the right of the Bunker to its end, a cairn indicates the point where you traverse to the left (looking at the sea) and an obvious track with a fixed rope will take you to the start of the route.

'Reservation required'

Sometimes you have to look at walls well and in detail to understand the possible routes; in '83 with Tino amore we climbed 'Chi vuol essere lieto sia'. what is now internationally recognised as the 'Pillar of the Bunker' route, the classic route of the Striated Wall, climbed by us, then much younger, on a beautiful, breezy July day. At the time, we were alone on this cliff overlooking the sea, and the same seagulls, which today soar undisturbed over the cliffs of Muzzerone, were perhaps a little astonished as they watched the first climbers climb this sheer wall.

Today, as I said above, a lot of time has passed and the Parete Striata with its routes has become a real 'must' for climbers-mountaineers who want to get the rust off their joints in winter.

Here the environment is guaranteed and the sun accompanies you until sunset, fading into the sea with unforgettable sunsets. In summer, however, even if on certain days the breeze on the slopes mitigates the heat, common sense takes us to higher and cooler crags and Muzzerone inevitably returns the

Only a few 'afecionados' continue to make use of the few shady areas and only the noise of the boats and ferries that pass uninterruptedly under the walls disturb the silence of this wild stretch of coastline.

It has taken Muzzerone 35 years to discover what was the easiest and most logical route to climb the Bunker Pillar. "Prenotazione Obbligatoria" is undoubtedly one of the routes that, due to its particular location, can be climbed even in the middle of summer, enjoying the shade until early afternoon and - a not insignificant detail - within the reach of many, given the abundant bolting and moderate difficulty. Anyone who knows how to dihedral climb 5c will enjoy these four pitches of beautiful, rough rock that will take you to the top of the Bunker Pillar. In order to bring this route to light, a lot of dirt and shrubs have been cleared away, so bear in mind that it will take some time and some rain to make the most of the beautiful climbing it offers. Any repeaters who complain that it is not perfectly clean and that a few stones have escaped our clearing, instead of criticising, can start from the top and lowering themselves with a good broom try to clean up even more what we have already done, in our opinion, in a more than satisfactory manner