Filip Babicz: New Speed Record on South Ridge of Aiguille Noire de Peuterey
Polish-Italian alpinist Filip Babicz has set a blazing new record on the South Ridge of Aiguille Noire de Peuterey of 1 hour 30 minutes 14 seconds.
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Polish-Italian alpinist Filip Babicz has set a blazing new record on the South Ridge of Aiguille Noire de Peuterey of 1 hour 30 minutes 14 seconds.
Less than a month ago Babicz became the first person to solo “the longest alpine ridge,” Integralissima de Peuterey, in 17 hours. His was only the second ascent overall. He also sent the famous Central Pillar of Frêney in 16 hours in a single push, starting from Veny Valley (with Denis Trento).
At the end of this month, Babicz turned his attention to the South Ridge of Aiguille Noire de Peuterey. An efficient team needs about 12 to 14 hours to climb it.
[Also Read 82 and Done – Ueli Steck Completes Alps Mission in 61 Days]
The South Ridge of Aiguille Noire de Peuterey is one of the most beautiful and the most famous alpine ridges in Europe. Back in 1980, there was an early fad of ascending routes in the fastest time possible, and the ridge was a touchstone, like the Nose on El Capitan. Taking under consideration the lesser accuracy of measurement and the tendency to determine the approximate time versus the exact time, the record—about 2 hours 45 minutes— was held by four different alpinists: Renato Casarotto (August 30, 1981), Yves Astier and Marc Boucesand (July 11, 1982, and August 15, 1983), and Jean Marc Boivin (July 27, 1983).
Before this year, Babicz had sent the route once prior in 2017. Two months ago he started gathering beta, repeating it another five times.
On August 27, at 4 pm, he started his solo climb and one and a half hours later he reached the summit of Aiguille Noire (3773m), beating the previous record by 1 hour 15 minutes.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call Filip Babicz the “Polish Machine,” considering the achievement in juxtaposition to Ueli Steck’s own time on the route. The famous Swiss alpinist sent the South Ridge of Aigulle Noire in an impressive time of 3 hours 20 minutes while establishing his speed record on the Integrale de Peuterey ridge back in 2017.
