Cerro Trinidad, Velebit. This route was fun, but not as hard as others in this region. Ivica Matkovic and I were in the area for only a short time in January, and began with six days of constant rain. Nearing the end of our time limit, we decided not to start working on a really big route, and found the north face of Cerro Trinidad. It was interesting enough and looked climbable in the time we had.

We started the route twice. On January 26 we climbed 150 meters and rappelled off in heavy rain. Returning from this attempt, Seb Grieve told us that it was dangerous to be on the face in the rain, especially in crack systems and chimneys, because these features quickly transform into waterfalls.

On January 31 we had better luck and climbed the route in one long day. Velebit (550m, V 6c+ [5.11c] A1), is mostly free with a short aid section in a chimney. We placed bolts at the belays and placed five more for protection on the route. The aid section, when a party has more time, will be possible to climb free.

Boris Cujic, Sveta Nedelja, Croatia Adapted from Alpinist magazine, www.alpinist.com