Cristian Brenna’s autumn, between Czech Republic and Sardinia.

Photo Jana Kuchejda©

What happened to Cristian Brenna? After his baptism of fire on his first-ever expedition to Pakistan with the Trip One Karakorum 2005 UP project, the Italian spent the autumn climbing around. This report is not meant to be a summary of performances, but also a suggestion for your next climbing trips. Two targets: the legendary sandstone of the Czech Republic (with its styles and special laws) and climbing in Sardinia, with the sun and the see. Top sends included repeats of Rolando Larcher's "Sapientino" (8c) and "Anime Salve" (8b+) (equipped by Giuseppe Garippa) in just five attempts, and onsights of "XL" 8a/a+, "Raoni" 8a and "Totem" 8a at Cala Fuili, and "Manifesto" 8a at Jerzu.
Vinicio Stefanello

Autumn 2005, after Pakistan
Two months spent in Pakistan is an experience that leaves its traces, to live in contact with a completely different culture leaves a cultural luggage that is definitely worth being achieved. But two months staying above 4,000 meters elevation leave also traces at the physical level, and when you come back home the athletic condition isn’t the best, further, if also an intestinal virus contributes to send you KO, to return to acceptable levels become even harder. Finally, with the arrival of autumn, also a not too bad physical shape has returned, therefore I started thinking about climbing.
In October I spent a week in the Czech Republic and despite unfavorable weather I managed to climb for three days at Decín, located on the border with ex-East Germany, close to Dresden. It's better known as the Elbsandstein Gebirge, it is here that free climbing came to light at the start of the 18th century and the air you breath here is very different from the one at our crags. Routes are equipped from the ground-up only and protection is in the form of large rings or knotted threads of different sizes, wedged into the cracks. Camming devices are outlawed as the sandstone is too soft and chalk is forbidden.
In the area which belongs to the Czech Republic the local climbers have created some crags dedicated to sport climbing: routes are equipped from below but apart from the large rings there are also some glue-in bolts and chalk is allowed. Even though it's a sport climbing area the run-outs are always long and six quickdraws almost always suffice to climb a 40m pitch. If you manage to overcome this first, above all psychological, hurdle then you immerse yourself into an exciting style of climbing, on incredible rock up completely pure lines.
These routes of rare beauty follow corners and aretes, cracks and slabs with shallow pockets. During those three days I tried to climb as much as possible and it was a shame that rain showers hampered play. Even if I climbed routes up to Xb (roughly equivalent to 7c: the climbing scale in the Elbsandsteingebirge cannot easily be compared to other grading systems), I enjoyed myself more than I have done so in ages. During the last October week I went to Sardinia and climbed for three weeks on its rocks. The climate here was more similar to summer than autumn, and for all three weeks, after climbing, we could swim in the see. In Cala Fuili I managed to repeat with five tries “Sapientino” 8c, the last creation of Rolando Larcher, and the more famous “Anime Salve” 8b+, equipped by Giuseppe Garippa and become well known after the repeat of Grazia Fenu. The first one is a long pitch that follows the incredible roof of the children’s cave, and after a first 7b section offers a dozen really intense and complex moves. The second, on the contrary, is harder and more intense at the beginning, and afterwards it requires stamina until the chain. Both, anyway, are five-star routes, the grades are may be a little soft.
Regarding the on-sight performances, nothing spectacular, compared with the ones we are used to… "XL" 8a/a+, "Raoni" 8a, "Totem" 8a at Cala Fuili, then the slab "Manifesto" 8a at Jerzu. My special thanks go to Gaetano and the guys of the box nr. 5 for the logistic and the transportation by see.
Cristian Brenna