Camilloto Pellesier memorial route was climbed in 1967 by Mauro and Minuzzo and was probably the peak of the dead-end street taken by diretissima aid climbers on Tre Cime walls. With 340 bolts and about 50 pitons it is in fact more bolted “via ferrata” than a climbing route and runs in direct line from bottom to the end of the overhanging left part of Cima Grande north wall. But in summer of 2003 this route got new dimensions with Mauro Bole’s first free ascent. He graded his free climbing with 8b and inspired some of the best alpine free climbers. My friend and climbing partner Marko Lukić did second free ascent (in 2003) only few weeks after Bubo.
The weather in this summer was really poor and with only my weekends off I needed luck to find days with good conditions on the wall. The free repetition of this route has still quite alpine character, rock is loose and rotten, bolts are not in good shape anymore and sometimes you have to skip them while free climbing – it’s adventuress like most routes in Tree Cime. After two separate days of studying the route I taught I could redpoint it. But on my third visit the rock in the hardest pitch was completely wet. Water was dripping through thin cracks in overhangs and I didn’t succeed. On my fourth visit, on 6th of August, I lead the whole route without a fall. After twelve hours of climbing I stood happily on the summit of Cima Grande in the evening snowstorm with my wife Tanja who climbed and supported me in my project (she is the best wife on the planet!).
I think grades given by Bubo are too hard and my suggested grades for first six pitches are 7b+/c, 7c/c+, 8a/a+, 7c/c+, 7a, 7c+/8a. See also the topo - click below!
Written by Andrej Grmovšek, August 2005 | 
