Here I am, on my way to Verdon. This time, for a very special project. I’m meeting my friend Lola del Nevo to try to climb a route with her. She is in a wheelchair since 10 years, after she suffered a spinal cord injury. We have met only once. I was extremely touched by her story and went to talk to her after our panel discussion. We connected straight away and she told me that Verdon is a good place for her to climb thanks to short approaches. Being around Lola is a powerful reminder that I have been so lucky when I fell in Marmolada South Face 5 years ago. I could have suffered a spinal cord injury too. I’m excited to learn how to help her in her day-to-day tasks.
We meet in Manosque and start cycling. The ride goes smooth, Lola is incredible on her hand-bike. I enjoy cycling right behind her because I get to see the faces of the cars we cross. People can’t believe their eyes when they see this strong and beautiful woman on her hand-bike with her wheelchair attached behind. Lola is the queen of the road.
That same evening, Gibe and Paolo arrive in their van. Carla and Thomas arrive by bike the day after. They are here to film us during this adventure and produce a movie. When the light gets nice, we take our bikes and start producing some content. The fact that the production team is also on bikes makes it all a bit more punk and complicated, but the vibe is awesome. It makes all of us act like a team because if we don’t, production becomes absolutely impossible.
Right in time for the aperitivo, everybody is back at the campground. We start planning the next day while the Italians prepare delicious pasta. Lola and Gibe explain me the technique Lola uses to climb. She uses a static rope, a tag line, a pulley, a micro-traction, a blocker, a jumar, a hold bike handlebar customized with tape, a paragliding harness, a climbing harness and drugs to handle the pain. Wow. Nobody said it was going to be easy but this is complicated. We take the time to make sure everyone in the team understands what we are going to do and come up with a protocol:
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The leader climbs with a tagline and double ropes
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Once at the belay, he/she hauls the static rope and the haul bag and fixes it
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The tagline is thrown back
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Lola installs her set up with our help
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Lola starts climbing on the static rope while the leader pulls the ropes
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The second climbers start climbing
At sunrise, Lola, Carla, Thomas and I start cycling. It’s really cold so I’m wearing my heavy down and my gloves. The first 2km are slightly downhill and I see that Lola is wearing no gloves. After 20 minutes on the bike, we start going uphill but Lola needs to stop. Her hands are numb and she’s not feeling good. I’ve rarely felt so stupid than in this moment. Lola tries to smile but I can see something is going on. She starts feeling dizzy and needs to lay down on the floor. I sit next to her and tell her to take her time, we have all day long and there’s no rush. It’s 7am and she’s already on her limit. 10 minutes later, she starts feeling better and she’s soon back on her bike.
We meet the boys at the Belvedère de la Carelle. They have already installed a 150m static rope in the rappels of Les dalles grises. Gibe carries Lola to the rappels. We’ve chosen to climb the route Démon (7a+, 150m) because of how close the rappels are and because it is steep enough for Lola to not destroy her knees. She still needs to use pads to protect her legs. I’m stressed. Lola is also stressed. She hasn’t climbed since 2018, apart from a short training she did before coming. We start lowering her on the static rope. I feel responsible for her, as if she was my little sister, even if she’s more than 10 years older than me.
I see how much she’s struggling. The rappels are not steep at all so she constantly needs to push herself from the wall and her legs get stuck. After 50 meters of descent, we can’t hear her anymore and we can’t see her either. I quickly fix my rope on the belay and rappel down as fast as I can to meet her. My heartbeat is extremely accelerated. I find her stuck in a tree and I make sure she doesn’t see that I’m stressed as well. I suggest I take her on my back until the end of the rappels. I take Lola on my back and down we go, indicating how slow to lower. But I feel good again. Because we are together.
After we secure the trail with hand lines, Gibe carries Lola to the foot of our route and we start applying our climbing protocol. It’s amazing to watch Lola climb up the static rope. Every-time she does a pull up, she climbs approximately 15cm and our route is 150m long so she’s going to have to do around 1000 pull ups. Often she has to use one hand to stay away from the wall. It looks extremely hard. Yet, Lola climbs. Slowly but surely. It takes us approximately one hour per pitch. The atmosphere on the wall is great. We are focused and working hard but also laughing a lot. Sometimes, I get to climb top-rope next to Lola. It is so special. Her eyes shine with a mix of joy and exhaustion. In this exact moment, nothing in the world could make me happier than witnessing the stars in her tired eyes. Bravo, Lola.
50 meters before the top, we are all reunited at the last belay. As the wall turns into a low-angle slab, it becomes almost impossible for Lola to climb because her legs rub against the wall. Her arms are exhausted. We come up with a solution together: I’ll be her climbing arms while she uses hers to push away from the wall. I grab her handle bar and start pulling her up. Soon, our two bodies are acting as one, perfectly synchronised. Alone we are limited, together we are unstoppable.
Eventually, we make it to the top. We fall into each other’s arms and scream “Siamo Tutti Antifascisti!”. Today is the 25th of April, anniversary of Italy’s liberation. If we can climb Demon with Lola ecopoint style and organize a production only with bikes, we can figure out how to form a society based on peace, environmental justice and prosperity for all beings.
A few moments later, a vulture flies right next to us and I break down in tears. I’m thinking about my grandfather and of what my uncle wrote about him: “He would always find a compromise. He climbed for others”.
While I cry in Lola’s arms, I am overwhelmed by gratefulness, pride, joy and exhaustion. Climbing filled my tank of faith in humanity today. This moment will stay in my heart forever.
No matter how tired Lola is, she’s back on her bike and we are cycling down to La Palud to celebrate. The view from La Route des Crêtes is stunning. I break down in tears again. I decided to become a professional climber to share these stories — the ones that fill us with meaning, faith and love. This one ends, as it should, with pasta and Italian wine.
