Salto Angel

dizzying ascent, 979 meters of altitude difference in the Amazon jungle. «Above our heads rises the terrible wall, so overhanging that we are forced to twist our necks to see, up there, the orange turrets of the summit. The first three hundred meters dripping with water are not very attractive, but simply seem vertical. Higher up, formed by two enormous smooth areas of compact rock, a diagonal line of suspended dihedrals, intersected by roofs, suggests extreme passages. Yet it is the only weak area of this monstrous wall. […] The great Italian mountaineer Walter Bonatti, who approached the base in 1975, could not even imagine his ascent. But it was another era." No drama obscures this story which is all pervaded with delicacy, emotion and humour. Stéphanie Bodet's style becomes more incisive when it comes to evoking the tensions and dangers that threaten the small group of climbers.