The Dolomites are a destination that somehow always got away. I did visit a few crags here, always making a one-day visit and continuing somewhere else. I find it strange because the Dolomites are packed with rock, and it is not an obscure place that nobody knows about.
This spring, my friend Andrea Polo invited me to climb in a place called Laggio Laboratorio, which he had talked about many years ago, as I was making a slideshow in a town nearby. It was a perfect excuse to finally check it out! ✊ The crag was so much higher and so much better than I could ever imagine! I made an irrational warm-up in sandbagged 8a called One Love (it was dirty, hard, but amazing!). Then I went to try the route that impressed me the most as I arrived at the crag - an imposing project called Big Twin, a line bolted by local climber Icio dall'Omo and tried by Luca Zardini. Despite a few chipped holds, I was blown away by the quality of the line and especially how fun it was to climb on it. 
Visiting Laboratorio in April was perfect, as I knew it was a perfect side-project besides training for the lead World Cups and a perfect fitness check. Gaining endurance after bouldering for the whole autumn and winter wasn't particularly easy. Besides, I knew that this could be a perfect laboratory for high-end climbing, as the hardest lines have not even been bolted yet. A 3-hour drive from Arco is not exactly close, but it is a good option for climbing. In those days, it was too hot to climb in Arco.
Laboratorio is a special crag that has actually existed for more than 40 years. Local climber Icio dall'Omo established the first 8a called Amadeus in the early 80s, but a lack of information and the tricky style of easier climbs definitely kept the crowds away. Nevertheless, some of the 7c's and 8a's are just amazing, you just have to accept that they are really demanding, long with poor feet and grades are not exactly easy. On the other hand, the harder lines like Space 8b or Scarspace 8c+ would have been total classics anywhere else, with modern steep style and pumpy character. And the problem was that nobody really knew about these gems!
We have just added Laboratorio into The Topo app for all of you to enjoy as I do! Topo is doing their best to collab with local climbers and also guidebook publishers. If the local climbers' community doesn't wish to get a crag published on Topo, it will not appear.
On the 3rd day of trying Big Twin, I managed to make the first ascent of this 50m line, having a proper fight and lactic acid bursting out of my forearms. Despite thinking initially it could be 9b, I found some better betas, and I think 9a+ could be a good grade. But this is just beginning for this crag - it's time to bolt something harder!
Photos by Crimp Films.
