Rätikon - Lanciamira (6c 2 p.a.)

Already last year in 2021 I received the news from Marcel about the conclusion of Lanciamira - his latest big wall project at Drusenfluh in Rätikon. Together with his teenage daughter Larina they had put up 17 pitches over the course of 7 days spread over 5 seasons - chapeau to their commitment and endurance! Anybody who has ever bolted anything knows how much effort goes into establishing a route, in particular on this scale.

Summary
Long alpine outing with many rewarding sections, fully bolted (***/xxx). However, due to it's great length it can not avoid to cross several sections of choss and dubious rock. Grading tends to be softer in the easier pitches (5c-6b) while the cruxes (6b+/6c) are quite demanding. Even though the great roof will mostly need to be aided, it certainly adds an interesting air of exposition to the endeavour. Thanks Marcel & Larina for the great work!

Report
It was only in November 2022 that Dave and I finally realized our long promised quality time together in Rätikon ;) and while we had initially flirted with Mangold rumour had it that Lanciamira was more worthwile than the long time classic so we changed plans eventually.

The short days forced us to leave early (7:15am at the Melkplatz) and we followed the advice to cut short through the steep meadows after the first sharp turn of the gravel road. The hike up the meadows is quite efficient, only at one point we had to negotiate some bushes when crossing the big runnel (probably we should have crossed earlier). Instead of approaching the Drusenfluh face from the right we aimed straight for the base where you can scramble up a dry creek, which seemed quite efficient.

After not quite 1 hour we stumbled across a belay labled "Lanciamira" in red ink. At this point we had not yet realized that we were already at the end of the first pitch (5a)...a confusion we would resolve only a bit later^^

Grades in paranthesis indicate the grades as I perceived them on that day.

L1 5a ** (?)
Looked nice from the rappel later.

L2 5c *** (5b)
After a slightly rustical start the line seeks the compact and blank low-angle slabs.

L3 6b *** (6a)
A steep bulge (which tends to be wet) with few holds in the desired orientation...spreading helps. A few opposition moves in the corner lead to a compact section.

L4 5c ** (5b+)
The route tries to avoid the grass as much as possible and finds a good compromise in the slabs to the left.

L5 6c **** (6c)
The entrance to the compact and steep slab is negotiated with some moderate laybacking moves, but soon you hit a distinct crux with small crimpers and sidepulls which are mainly spiced up by the absence of feet. Protection is good, though. Once you pull (smear) that off, two more obligatory but moderate mantle moves pave the way to the belay. The crux felt like solid 6c.

L6 6a ** (5c+)
Rustical start and even the first part of the face hosts a bunch of blocks and flakes that call for attention. Nice steep finish on (solid) jugs.

L7 6a+ **** (6a)
Nicest pitch so far: compact, homogeneous climbing - quite entertaining! It makes sense to improve the slightly spaced protection with cams #0.3 and #0.5 on this pitch.

L8 4a ** (5a)
Nice start on a compact slab (bolts) leads into the mandatory choss ledge. Keep hard right, the belay that you can see higher up is a rappel anchor.

L9 6a ** (5c/+)
Funny bulge which is climbed (avoided?) by the right hand side at the risk of a pendulum. Compact slab section to another choss ledge, don't miss the (very) last bolt for the follower, as the belay is located further to the right.

L10 6b **** (6b)
The start of this section looks intimidatingly steep, but it climbs really cool on decent underclings & sidepulls. Potentially a bit morpho, but options are available for the shorter, too. Continues with a few more entertaining slab moves before the line pushes for the compact water grooves which are gained more easily on a ramp. Lastly, the pitch concludes with a 10m runout in 5a/b terrain.

L11 6b *** (6b)
While the start is tricky on shallow water grooves the majority of this pitch leads through plaisir water grooves.

L12 6b ** / **** (6b)
Not very delightful overture on brittle and flaky rock. Don't go straight up, but rather take a detour left around the arete unless you want to pull 7a moves in questionable rock. However, after you get out of this first section you are rewarded with a steep dream sequence on the sweetest jugs you could wish for...heavenly!

L13 6b+ **** (6b+)
Quite a non-obvious pitch. Starts on decent edges & slots before testing your imagination on some slopy holds for the first time. The easiest path somewhat meanders through the face and culminates in a steep corner which requires good tactile skills to find the holds hidden around the arete. Glorious finish on drop holes.

L14 6c **** (6c)
This pitch is likely the crux of the route, if you don't count the 7b+ roof in the next pitch. A sustained section with crimpy but non-obvious sidepulls will test endurance and smearing skills - and a bit of commitment. The bolts are not placed particularly far apart, but at the same time not much closer than necessary either. The hardest moves might be slightly morpho if you don't want to step up high on smears. On a few resting jugs follows an interesting opposition sequence on side/underclings. Lastly, some balancy moves on really slick/sintered rock top it off.

L15 6c 2 p.a. / 7b+ *** (6c 2 p.a.)
The ominous roof pitch - looks easier than imagined and the holds are also much better than anticipated. Totally doable - if it wasn't a dead horizontal affair X) But even the start is non-trivial and begs some caution with respect to a tempting but loose jug. When you inspect the roof you will notice multiple decent to good underclings and options for toe-hooks. However, I felt a bit uneasy to pull hard on some of the underclings...well, they held up (this time) and allowed me to reach the distinct blade jug at the lip of the roof. But fully stretched out I couldn't release the toe-hook properly and ended up in mid-air with a big swing. Quite spectacular position! As a follower it helps to know how to prusik your way up unless you want to enjoy the exposition a bit longer. 

L16 6b ** (6b)
The topo says: sought and bold passage on the left, easier to the right (5b). Well, we decided to go right, clip the bolt, lower 5m and climb then...otherwise it's simply dangerous because the climbing above the ledge is quite non-obvious. And once you reach the bolt, the difficulties are over and you could just skip it anyway and continue to walk up the choss.

L17 6b+ **** (6b+)
A last long pitch on rewarding water grooves. Mostly low angle, a distinct (avoidable and morpho) crux seeks a steep and shallow water groove. A conciliable finish!

We reached the summit after 7 hours of climbing which seems to be average. 

As the north side was covered in snow we had to rappel which is really time consuming (2 hours). In particular as we had to climb back L8 because we somehow missed to get to the separate rappel anchor and ended up at the end of L9 which was is not equipped for rappel.

Drusenfluh Peak illuminated by the rising moon.