Vinatzer on the Third Sella Tower: busy, and a lot of waiting
A very good route, mostly clean protection — and two very slow Englishmen ahead of us, who turned out to be good company.
Machine-translated from the German original. The German version is the one I actually wrote.
Two parties ahead of us, two behind. On the Sella towers in August that’s normal, but it changes the character of a day considerably.
Ahead of us were two Englishmen, moving very slowly. We waited a lot as a result — and had a good chat while we did, which made it far more bearable. You can be annoyed by slow parties or you can talk to them; the second is more productive.
The route itself is very good and mostly protected on gear. Which means you’re slower, you think more, and in return you get a route that feels like something.
The descent took forever again — two and a half hours, a lot of rappelling and then down the spiral ledge. A great route regardless.