David Bacci and Giacomo Mauri had long had a dream: to climb the north face of the Grand Dru, the epic peak of the Mont Blanc massif. Between nights spent in the car and sinking into rotten snow, the two climbers completed the feat in a long, liberating embrace.
The Voie Lesueur, established by the Lesueur brothers in 1952, has become a benchmark for all modern mixed climbing enthusiasts. The route, which offers difficulties ranging from M7+ to 6B over 900 meters, reaches the summit of the Grand Dru at 3,754 meters, the highest point of the Aiguille du Dru, consisting of two nearby but distinct peaks, called Grand and Petit Dru (3,733 meters above sea level) on the north face of the Mont Blanc massif.
This is the historical background, and now let's get to the facts. On February 20th, Giacomo Mauri received a call from David Bacci inviting him to climb in the Mont Blanc massif. David had long dreamed of climbing the North Face of the Dru in winter using piolet traction . Despite his limited knowledge of the area, Giacomo, no stranger to the difficulties of north faces, accepted the offer. His resume speaks for itself: in March 2022, together with his climbing partner Federico Secchi, he climbed the North Face of the Eiger via the historic Heckmair route; in October 2021, he repeated, together with David Bacci, the Bonatti route on the North Face of the Matterhorn, another historic and highly challenging ascent.
A couple, a team.
The two climbers, already climbing partners in Canada, decided to meet in the afternoon, sleep in their car in Chamonix, and then take the first chairlift up the Grands Montets slopes to Bochard in the morning. From there, they would abseil down to the Mer de Glace and then ascend to the base of the Dru.
"Between the heavy backpack, the altitude, and a 'small' problem with my mountaineering skis, I reached the base of the route feeling really tired, so much so that I was quite unsure whether it made sense to even begin," Giacomo explains. "But David is a really tough guy, and between his motivation and a bit of reverence, I was convinced it was the right thing to do." The two climbers set off at 1 p.m., aware that it wasn't exactly the right time to attack a face like this, but the goal was to climb as many meters as possible and bivy where possible.
Energy to be conserved in the face of the imposing massif.
The two set off quickly for the first pitches, then the terrain becomes more complex and the pace slows: "From here the real route begins. David leads while I, a little more tired, follows him," Giacomo comments. "At eight in the evening, by the light of our headlamps, we manage to dig out a 'comfortable' bivy site where we spend the night," Giacomo recalls, and early the next morning the two set off again.
Yosemite's ice-clogged cracks require all the tricks of the trade: like the previous day, David goes up first, and Giacomo follows, cursing as he tries to remove his cams. Conditions are so good that climbing the wall is a pleasure.
"At noon we reached the North Couloir. From there, it would be easy to continue up the ice ribbon, but we decided to leave it nearby and continue along the original line, aiming for the Gran Dru." At this point, Giacomo relieved David as lead climber and climbed two more difficult mixed pitches that led to a beautiful snow ramp that led them to the summit! At 2:00 PM, the two Lecco Spiders reached the summit: "Extremely happy and satisfied, but also aware that we would need to rely on our energy for the return journey," Giacomo emphasized.
It ain't over until it's over.
The descent is relatively simple, albeit quite long. Back at the base of the Dru, the two grab a quick bite to eat and begin the ski descent that takes them back to the base of the couloir they now have to ascend. Here, a bit of tension returns: the snow is rotten, knee-deep in the snow, and the two are quite tired but alert enough to reemerge onto the slopes. A small shout of joy and the happiness of being on much calmer terrain: "We hug each other tightly before skis back down the slopes," Giacomo smiles as he recounts. But it's not over yet: a hamburger and a night in the car await them. The next morning, they return home, and in the silence of the journey, their thoughts are already turning to the next summit.
