Apuan Alps, South of Pizzo d'Uccello 'Fuori Soglia

I had been searching for a while for a free space on the south side of Pizzo d'Uccello to open a route on this slope as well, but my unforgettable friends Mauro and Fabrizio had been beating these walls far and wide for several years, occupying almost all the logical routes on the most beautiful slabs.

During various ascents as an Alpine Guide, however, I had noticed that on both the lower and upper buttresses there was perhaps still some space left to exploit and incredibly few routes.

So I proposed my idea to Jimmy (editor's note: Alpine Guide Scorpaniti) and he was immediately enthusiastic and was willing to go and verify my intuition.

In May 2022 we made a first attempt: in the first few metres we found three old pitons above plus nothing. We climbed the first buttress via dihedral cracks of beautiful rock protectable with friends and on the second buttress we found a free space to the left of Heidy which engaged us with a very overhanging but spectacular pitch. Unfortunately this pitch is obligatory in order to remain independent and is decidedly more difficult than the rest of the route, 'ruining' the homogeneity of the grades somewhat.

We did not return until October, due to various mutual commitments during the summer, and in one intense and beautiful day we set up the belays of the lower part, managing to free climb R.P. the 7b pitch of the upper part and open the last two pitches up to the summit ridge.

What can I say: it turned out to be a route even above expectations almost all to be protected with friends except for the belays which we did with fixes with a rappel ring. The rock is that of the south, solid and sunny some blocks are still to be verified but the climbing is satisfying.

The hard free pitch is physical with forced sections and we put in the only protection fix on the route to avoid carrying bigger friends. It could have been avoided but when you pass it we think you'll be glad it's there!

Ah... the name comes from the number of beats my (no longer very young) heart had reached during the RP ascent of the 7b pitch! Have fun! Vigio

REPORT:

First ascent: JIMMY SCORPANITI - ROBERTO VIGIANI

opening date: MAY and OCTOBER 2022

Prima rotpunktOCTOBER 2022 BY THE FIRST CLIMBERS

 Description: PIZZO D'UCCELLO - SOUTH PARTY

Wait a few days after heavy rain, the first part may be wet.

Difficulty: max7b Obligatory 6c Development 250 m + 60 m grassy ramp

Material: COMPLETE TOTEMCAM SERIES + COMPLETE C4 SERIES UP TO 3

60 m half rope + NDA

Accessfrom Vinca take the path leading to the Foce di Giovo just before the track to the access channel as for the heidy superstar route (approx. 1.30 h)

1° shootingfrom the top of the gully, tie off and climb a grassy ramp to the right that leads under the obvious dihedral (20 m easy) rope on the root. belay on 1 fix

2° shootingClimb the obvious yellow dihedral, finding three old, unsafe pitons at the start (left) but which can be supplemented with friends, and continue along it, sloping to the left to the belay under the grey dihedral crack. (30m) 6b sustained all to be protected with friends. Belay on 2 fixes .

3°shootingtake the crack above the belay and follow it to its apex enter a dihedral and at its end exit overhang to the left. (30m) 6b the crack and then 6a. all to be protected with friends. Belay on two bolts

4° shooting: above the belay keep on the slab where the rock is more beautiful and worked and after about 20mt continue along a steep grassy slope to the belay positioned on the rock at the beginning of the ascending ramp to the right. (40mt) 5a to protect. Belay 1 bolt + 1 piton

5° shooting: follow the easy grassy ramp to the ledge below the upper buttress (60m)

6° shot: attack a little to the left of Heidy's slab via a slightly lichenous crack and continue on the slab above with compulsory and spaced protections to the joint belay with Heidy. (30 m) 5c all to be protected with friends

7° shot: from the belay, traverse slightly downhill to the left a few metres until you reach a large jammed blade. Climb up to it and take the overhanging crack that runs from left to right in the roof above the belay for about 20 metres, taking care to lengthen the protections for the rope to slide. There are two fixed protections left in place (1 fix + a kevlar in jammed stone) the rest is all to be protected with friends- belay on two fixes.

8th round :climb above the belay to the right and follow the black dihedral until reaching the joint belay with Heidy. (30 m) 5c all to be protected with friends. Belay on two bolts

9th shot Heidy climbs straight up above the belay (spit) instead take the crack dihedral to the left and via slabs and blades climb about 30m to a dihedral leading to the belay just before the ridge on the right (40m) 6a all to be protected with friends. Belay on two bolts

Notes: good to very good rock with a few blocks still to be verified.

Descent: abseiling on the route by skipping belay 7 (55-metre rappel) and from belay 3 (60-metre rappel) to the base - The 60-metre grassy ramp connecting the two rocky buttresses can be easily descended on foot with care.

Good climbing,

Jimmy and Roberto