Super Cirill, Ticino
Repeating a perfect route – redpoint and clean
Photos by Thomas Senf – The 9 pitch route, Super Cirill, on Parete di Sonlerto is the hardest free climbing multi- pitch route in Tessin. Graded 8a/8a+, many of the cracks are interrupted by dihedrals and exposed traverses make for a technically challenging climbing experience. (200m, 7a+, 7a+, 7b+, 7c+/8a, 8a/8a+, 6c+, 6c, 6a+)
Super Cirill is one of the most beautiful routes I have ever climbed.Ines Papert
A personal history
A double crack, like a hard splinter of bone, grins at me. Many years ago, fascinated with the rough granite and clean structures of this kind of climbing, I attempted this route with Stephan Siegrist. Disappointed then by the abundance of bolts, and disappointed that I wasn’t successful, I returned in May 2010, pleased to see that the past few years had seen changes: 6 bolts in the first 6 pitches, for intermediate belays where trad gear would be unsafe. Perfectly placed, perfect for me to try again.
With my new partner, world champion climber Liv Sanzos, we check out that grin. We met as competitors during the 2001 ice climbing world cup. Now, where we are as a team, ready to take on a high rock face. Terrific.
First ascent on this route goes to Cameroni, Moretti and Ferrari in 1985. Fascinated by the valley, the remoteness and the short approach of only two minutes, we invest all of our energy and will power to send the crux pitch, that grin of 8a/8a+.
Tropical temperatures hover at 27 °Celsius, thunderstorms and much humidity beg the question: Give up? Not an option!
Forced to sleep until noon when the longed for shadow begins to creep across the face, after two weeks, Liv and I finally surrender to a free ascent in cooler fall weather. We can’t predict that something else will come up – an expedition to Kirgistan.Liv’s comment on Facebook
„Ines Papert and I have been talking for while about how we’d like to share more climbing and adventures together. Recently, she suggested the “Super Cirill” route in Ticino. The crux pitch is a fingery crack (8a/8a+) on pitch # 6. The other pitches are either cracks or technical face climbing.The second hard pitch (7c+/8a) is a face climb, quite demanding, technical, not even vertical but really interesting to climb once you get the right betas. Given the fact that I had never free climbed a hard trad pitch, I was immediately stoked. Sharing this route with Ines will be awesome as she’s a true friend and a solid climber. Plus it was a good opportunity to improve my experience with trad climbing. Unfortunately, we did not make it. We had to deal with the rain, very hot weather and then rain again…We tried to work the crux pitch despite those conditions but humid fingers sliding into the crack and slippery feet were not that fun. Neither Ines nor I are the type of person who gives up easily. But, evetually we had to leave. We are definitely planning on coming back together this fall.”
New developments
Having learned my lesson, this time I head to Tessin in April, one month earlier than my last attempt.Liv is still climbing in the US, but being a mum and organizing the Basecamp Festival (www.basecamp-festival.de) that is due to start in a few days, my time management gives no further leeway to this project. Liv wishes me the best of luck; I still hope that she will come and join me!
Charly Fritzer, carinthian showbag, is my partner.Extremely motivated and a strong climber, he is also much fun to hang out with. We are the perfect team.
Five days in, Charly finally redpoints the route.His comment: “I’m not going home until you’ve done the same.”
Over and over he motivates me.New inspirations, more encouragement, but I just can’t find the right sequence of moves for my body height. Slowly but surely, my faith dwindles. And then I find my solution. I know I can send this route.
26 April 2011
Without another rest day we start. Everything is smooth – I redpoint all pitches on first try… until the crux length, where I fall and curse my stupid-power-saving-tactics. I finish the pitch and clean it again.
This time I am even more comitted. I give everything and totally focus on the double dyno to the left and my fingers jammed perfectly. Reassured and calm, I place the 0.3 Cam, climb on up to the roof, accurately place my feet on the tiny flake and pray that the shoe will somehow stick. It does! My intermediate goal is the hand jam just under the roof, increasingly painful with all the sores on the back of my hand. Another placement for a 0.4 Cam, a heel hook and I make this one too. The remaining pitches I hardly remember – exiting the route never felt so easy. To be totally immersed in the here and now is a state of mind that I experience most intensely when climbing. To reach the belay and to know, this was the perfect GO is better than any meditation.
With Charly cheering, I come back to reality.The final pitches are not that great. Mossy, slopey and an nice off width.
I finish. My perfect redpoint.
Thanks a million, Charly!
