A Bavarian-Italian team of Paolo "Maldi" Dalmasso, Christian Gaab, Toni Lamprecht, Uli Strunz and Benno Wagner have put up a hard new rock route on the northeast face of the Corno Stella in the Italian sector of the Maritime Alps.

Corno Stella (3,050m) is one of the best known and most important mountains in the Southern Alps, boasting around 200 routes of all grades on largely excellent rock.

It is also the most difficult of any main peak: there is no easy route to the summit and the original, climbed in August 1903, is widely considered to have been way ahead of its time.

The 10-pitch de Cessole Route, named after the first ascensionist Baron Victor de Cessole from Nice (although all the hard climbing was done by one of his guides, Jean Plent), sports a crux variously rated today from IV+ to F5b (and now protected by pegs and bolts),

The 300m, slabby, southwest face has many popular quality routes on excellent gneiss, including the de Cessole, which climbs the right side.

In contrast, the austere and chilly 500m northeast face, which rises out of a classic ice couloir known as the Canalone di Lorousa and is now home to more than eight routes - some equipped, some not, is steep and rarely climbed.

The new German-Italian route, which fills a prominent gap towards the right side of the wall, lies between two older climbs, the Ellena (500m, V+ and A1, the first route on the wall, climbed in 1932) and the sustained Parola-Savio (450m, V+ and A1). It cuts through the former near the top.

Operating from the Varrone Bivouac Hut the German-Italian party spent a week alternating between opening the route and transporting supplies up from the valley.

After reaching the summit plateau, the team spent another two days cleaning and working the pitches until every one had been free climbed. But thunder storms prevented a continuous one-day ascent.

The 450m, 13-pitch line was named Come Animali nella Bolla dei Temporali (like animals in a thunder ball) and has its crux section towards the top. The last three pitches are 7c, 6b and 7b+, with obligatory moves of 6c.

Although bolted, a set of nuts and some Friends are still required for protection

Within a week Dalmasso was back with friends Luigi Gustavino and Cege Ravaschietto to make the second ascent, and all three were full of praise for the line.
 

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