Recon of the North Face

The North Face of via San Vito Silvestro 82, in Varese, Italy, presents a classic problem, kind of like the one Clint Eastwood faced in The Eiger Sanction, where his normally emotive features were mostly hidden by a dorky climbing helmet.

From Base Camp at 281 meters, the classic route leads across the "balcony" cornice, a rappel down an 89 degree incline known as the "facade", then across the summit field to the 32 cm "Mirella Step" and into the Rosty e Frosty Pizza e Gelato shop.

Rumors of a "backdoor" route using the stairs or elevator from #4B would require a lengthy trak around the entire building and are to be considered impractical without a large team of native porters.