BENEATH THE NORTH FACE

Of the six classic north faces of the Alps, the Piz Badille is arguably the easiest. The Cassin Route - first ascent in 1937 - gives relatively safe climbing, usually free of rock-fall. It seemed a good place to start. Needless to say, it was perhaps a touch ambitious for my first climb in the Alps and we had a bit of an epic - though that is a tale for another time. I returned several times with similar aspirations only to find the face covered in early summer snow or hidden in the broiling clouds of electrical storms for which the region is infamous.

On the last of these trips, any hope of climbing dismissed upon arrival in the valley far below, a run beneath the face salvaged something…

…before moving on to The Dolomites. Not for the Cima Grande, but to suffer on some of the steepest hill runs I’ve ever enjoyed, before or since.