You could call it Route 67: the solo feat of Hervé Barmasse on the Gran Sasso d’Italia. Like the sixty-seven kilometers of snow and rock, skis on his feet and crampons firmly in place. This is the extraordinary feat that saw Hervé Barmasse as the protagonist. The mountaineer from the Aosta Valley was the first to complete, alone and in the middle of winter, the integral concatenated crossing of the main peaks of the Gran Sasso, tackling a total difference in altitude of 7,200 meters between walls and crests.
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The Exploit
Starting on March 6 from Passo delle Capannelle, Barmasse climbed and descended, one after the other, the peaks of Monte Franco, Monte Jenca, Pizzo Camarda, Malecoste, Monte Corvo, Pizzo Intermesoli, Giovanni Paolo II, Pizzo Cefalone, Portella and finally Corno Grande, the highest peak. The latter was conquered and descended on skis at night, an unforgettable experience for the mountaineer:
“Concluding the first one like this was amazing,” explains the mountaineer from the Aosta Valley. “Up there, the wind was flapping my jacket, I was looking at the lights of the houses all the way to the Adriatic Sea, and I was happy. A magic and a great emotion, a memory that I will carry with me forever”
Hervé Barmasse
The following day, the crossing continued eastwards, across the peaks of Monte Aquila, Brancastello, Torri di Casanova, Monte Infornace, Monte Prena, Monte Camicia and Tremoggia. A route made even more challenging by the abundant snow, which often caused Barmasse to sink waist-deep among rock towers and canals:
“I expected it to be less tiring, but with the abundant snow, between rock towers and channels, I often sank up to my waist. But that’s how I imagined this trip. The adventure dimension comes from the intuition and creativity of the mountaineer and also from his honesty. Last year, for example, there was no snow and if I had tried, things would have been easier, but could I have talked about a winter ascent? The calendar no longer makes a difference today … Our ethics and our ideals do”
Hervé Barmasse
Waiting for him upon arrival were his friends from L’Aquila and a bottle of Passerina, a toast at the end of an epic undertaking.
“I became fond of these places thanks to the many people I met on the set of ‘Monte Corno – Pareva che io fossi in aria’, the film by Luca Coccoccetta and more generally on the Apennines during some of my conferences. From those experiences and those meetings I have always cultivated the idea of living an alpine experience in these areas. My most sincere gratitude goes to them”
Hervé Barmasse
Hervé Barmasse’s feat was also made possible thanks to the support of Montura, Scarpa, Vibram, Cervino Ski Paradise, Enervit, Julbo, Grivel, Kästle, ATK Bindings and Pinarello.
