Delicatessen (8b max) - Climbing in Corsica by Riccardo Scarian
Published on 26/06/2020
We have left the winter 2018/2019 and we feel the desire for rock and sea, an ideal combination. We do not want the usual place in vogue, we want something different and in an instant we get inspiration, Corsica!
Alessandro had been harboring the idea of this destination for a while and for both it would have been a new place, a beautiful island with so much rock to climb and with a Caribbean sea and finally with one of the most beautiful multipitches in the world "Delicatessen"; a route opened by A. Petit and Stephan Husson in '92 and subsequently freed in 2002.
No sooner said than done and in May of last year we embark.
Our goal is to both climb this beautiful route and if there is time to start a new one. As soon as we disembark on the island we are instantly caught by the beauty and particularity of the place but the best surprise will come two days later when we arrive in Bavella. As soon as we arrive we are truly amazed by so much beauty, a truly unique, wild place, with so much rock with the strangest shapes, a granite wonder with a red / orange color that the wind and water have carved over the millennia.
We really want to savor such wonder and the following day, like two wild boars, we climb the steep approach and after an hour and thirty minutes we reach the base of the wall where the route starts. Captivated by its beauty, we can't wait to climb and after a short break we start dancing.
The first pitch is also the most difficult one of the route and it has a unique and atypical particularity, a first physical part on big flats where it seems a bit like bouldering at Bleau, and then going out on a slab on really delicate butterfly wings, " Delicatessen ”precisely.
We will spend the first day on this fantastic pitch being able to understand all the secrets, so the sunset arrives and excitedly we go down to the valley. Our goal is to both lead climb the route so we are forced to plan the climb. The wall goes into the shade in the afternoon around 2pm, the time available for climbing is therefore little. We decide that Alessandro will start and I will follow him as second and once we climbed it all we will reverse the roles. On the third day Ale manages to climb all the way and happy on the top of Punta Corbu we hug in a happy embrace. We go down on the non-trivial rappel and then get to the camper in the dark and with some beer we celebrate its beautiful climb.
For two days we relax and enjoy the beautiful Corsican sea.
Now it's my turn and after another three days of trying I can climb all the 'Delicatessen' pitches too!
We are once again on the top of this fantastic granite point in the middle of the Mediterranean and this time doubly happy, we give each other a high five and we enjoy the sunset in silence surrounded by beautiful nature each wrapped in their own emotions.
We go down and in the dark we arrive at the "caliph" tired, hungry, but really satisfied! We open a couple of beers and toast to our two beautiful climbs, we move to the campsite and continue the party by telling ourselves anecdotes and emotions felt on this pearl route.
We now have a few days to go back so we no longer have the time to start a new route as we planned. We will do some more sea and then there we will move to the north of the island to have a last day at the crag but alas that night near the city of Calvì there will be an unpleasant surprise ...
At two in the morning while we were sleeping in the middle of nowhere, without bothering anyone, some (...) shot on the door of the camper van!! They literally shot us with a gun! Luckily for us we will come out only shocked …
Beyond this absurd far west scene Corsica is truly a beautiful island where there is still much to discover …
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Riccardo "Sky" Scarian
He started climbing at the age of 16 and hasn't stopped since then, every single day of his life he thinks about climbing and the mountains. Winner of 6 Italian climbing championships, he has numerous first ascents and important repetitions. Born in '68, he lives in Trentino surrounded by the Dolomites and when he does not climb he works in the mountain rescue of the Guardia di Finanza. He has been part of the Grivel team since 2019.
Favourite Grivel products: Trend Harness, Freedom 40 backpack.
