New Ice Climbing Route (Mello's Moon) Valle di Mello

On 16/01/2009 Fabio Salini and Manuel Panizza carried out the first ascent of Mello's Moon, a rare ice formation in Val di Mello, Val Masino Italy.

Woah, this thing seems way more difficult than 5+. Actually it looks downright scary. On the picture above I can see bits of rock protruding through the ice, indicating it's pretty thin and fragile... Chapeau for the climbers !

Mello’s Moon is one of those evanescent icefalls which you need to wait for and which, when they finally form, is never in condition to enable you to remain calm. You need to watch it carefully and choose just the right moment for the climb. This is exactly what Fabio Salini and Manuel Panizza did, placing 5 bolts to climb this 180m beautiful and frightful "crust" of ice which goes at III-5+. For a detailed recount of the climb see link.

(source: planetmountain.com, pics by: Fabio Salini)