New WI5 in Italy Looks Like a Classic
With nearly perfect conditions for steep ice climbing in Italy’s Lasa Valley in South Tyrol, Simon Messner and Philipp Prünster have made the first ascent of a 300-metre WI5 called 4Matic.
The approach to the base of the route, found on Laaser Ferner Wand, took the experienced ice and mixed climbers four hours. They climbed two WI5 pitches to a snow slope which led to a final steep pitch.
“We abseiled down using Abalakov ice threads and started the long way back,” Messner said on Planet Mountain. “We reached the car just as it was getting dark; what a day in a truly breathtaking setting! What makes this beautiful for me is that all these routes are not far from home. Which makes this first ascent something very special for me.”
Messner and Prünster have teamed up for several first ascents over the years. In 2021, they made the first ascent of a 550-metre 5.11 called Sinnfresser in the Dolomites. “Thanks Philipp for this and many more adventures we had together in the past,” said Messner in 2021, “and hopefully in the future too.”
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