Clifton College First Ascensionists
On Tuesday 11 July, a group of six Clifton College pupils successfully established a ‘First Ascent’ on the Ago di Villaco (2040m) in the Julian Alps. The route has been named ‘Diedro Clifton College’, it is 145m high and six pitches long at grade 6a, topping out at an untouched satellite peak of the main spire.
On Friday 7th July at 00:30hrs the pupils met to embark on a life-changing adventure with the objective to bolt and climb a First Ascent rock route. Later that day we arrived, checked into our hotel and explored the beautiful Italian village of Venzone. That evening we ate as much Italian food as we could in preparation for the expedition.
The next morning, we travelled to Val Pesarina and hiked 1hr 30min up to the Fratelli De Gasperi hut (1767m), packed our climbing equipment and headed up to the Cretòn di Culzei mountain to develop our climbing skills and learn to place traditional gear. That evening we enjoyed another Italian meal with copious amounts of salami and cheese and had a restful night’s stay.
The next day’s objective was for the team to acquire the skills necessary for multi-pitch climbing and abseiling, as the main objective for the trip would be longer than a single rope length and therefore would have to be broken down into single pitches. This consisted of the pupils being guided up some shorter practice routes in multiple stages to mimic the larger walls they were yet to encounter. We then descended back to the valley and after having a good night’s sleep in the hotel we felt re-energised to begin our expedition’s objective.
The next morning, we travelled to Sella Nevea in the Julian Alps and reached the Malga Grantagar hut and artisan cheesemaker, here we looked up high and had our first glimpse of the Ago di Villaco (2040m) needle we hoped to establish our ‘First Ascent’ route on which was nerve wracking yet extremely exciting at the same time.
We split into four teams and hiked up steep terrain for an hour to the rock face, two teams including guides climbed two of the existing routes on Ago di Villaco, the ‘Spigolo Sud’ and ‘Asia’; whilst the other two teams set to work on climbing ground up new unexplored rock, drilling and bolting belays as they went. That evening the team excitedly discussed the day’s progress, played cards, and even milked one of the hut’s cows in preparation for breakfast the following day.
The next day began with a repeat of the previous day’s gruelling trudge up to the base of the spire. Here the team split again allowing those who had climbed existing routes the day before to set to work on the project, whilst the other team made their way further into the cirque to climb the 400m Spigolo Migliorini, a long-exposed ridge on the Campanile di Villaco.
For the team continuing to open the new route, the day consisted of using their Design Technology skills just as much as their climbing abilities; drilling and hammering in bolts, then climbing each pitch until finally reaching the summit!
After lots of abseiling, the team gathered at the bottom where they were met by the rest of the group who had completed their speedy ascent. Here they celebrated their success of the day and felt pleased with the whole team’s accomplishment, becoming ‘First Ascensionists’.
Finally, the team enjoyed a celebratory meal at the hut (again more cheese) where they established a name for the route (‘Diedro Clifton College’) and drew a climbing topo for future climbers to come and enjoy the route the team worked so hard to open. This has been a once in a lifetime climbing adventure that we will never forget!
