Carlo Traversi

Carlo Traversi Instagram – Spent the better part of April and May on the Western Slope of Colorado climbing at a rarely visited cliff called The Fortress of Solitude. I’ve spent many days at this cliff over the years, having climbed Kryptonite 5.14c/d in 2015, made the First Ascent of Mask Off 5.14b/c in 2017 and bolted a new mega line with @jon_cardwell in the winter of 2016. For the amount of days I’ve spent up there, sends are rare due to the difficulty of the climbing and the taxing nature of the approach. I knew going into the trip that focusing on keeping a learning mentality would be the best approach. Absorb, endure, and enjoy the process. My main goal was to try @tommycaldwell ‘s Flex Luther, which he established as the first 5.15 in America in 2003. I tried the route a few days in 2015 and was impressed with the difficulty of the climbing and also the style, which is particularly slow, technical and engaging throughout its entire 100ft. It was a style that I wasn’t accustomed to and still not good at, and I love that fact. I showed up this year in the best route climbing shape of my life and waged war along with @honngy (pictured here) and on a mini trax when I didn’t have a belayer. Progress was slow at first with a lot of seeping holds but about 3 weeks into the trip I had a big breakthrough and climbed from about 6 moves in (just below the low crux) and fell on the last hard move. It felt like a send was imminent but a mixture of warm weather and a lack of belayers in my final week(s) proved to be an insurmountable barrier with my limited time left. So it goes. Overall I really enjoyed my time up at the cliff this Spring, tapping into the limestone sport climbing game after a couple year hiatus. I’ll certainly be back when the weather is prime again! Many thanks to @marymeck for the many belays and to my sponsors for their continued support @blackdiamond @fiveten_official @frictionlabs @theboulderfield | Posted on 31/May/2021 02:47:21