Conceiving of and realizing big climbing projects, at least for me, requires an obsessive mindset. I’ve spent many late nights in the last decade diving down internet rabbit holes in search of the world’s most unusual rock formations. When I came across the slender tower of Brazil’s Pico do Itabira in 2016, with only a handful of established routes, I knew I’d found a gem.

Climbing out of that rabbit hole and to the top of Pico do Itabira was a long journey. It took seven years to piece together the logistics, a team, and the free time to climb the peak. In June 2023, I finally met up with Brazilian climber Neni Gabbardo and Brazilian filmmaker Murilo Vargas in Rio de Janeiro, and we traveled about 400km northeast to Cachoeiro do Itapemirim, the town below Pico do Itabira, in the state of Espírito Santo.

Pico do Itabira is on private land, so we needed to arrange permission to climb. After several calls to a number in the climbing guidebook, and after hanging outside of a bicycle shop for most of a day, we managed to connect with one of the local landowners, Ezequiel Vieira. He was wary of our intentions, but after I tried some “Port-añol”—my attempt at Portuguese despite only knowing Spanish—Ezequiel welcomed us to his home and shared in-depth knowledge of Pico do Itabira. He explained how to access the base, where the existing lines went, and which face stayed shady. Access to the peak is guarded by thick jungle and stretches of nearly featureless slab, but Ezequiel had installed a via ferrata in 2020, saving us days of effort shuttling loads. [This via ferrata to the summit of Pico do Itabira was controversial among many climbers, leading to a formal statement of opposition from the Espírito Santo climbing association.]

We climbed another via ferrata to the top of a peak opposite Pico do Itabira to select a potential line. Heeding Ezequiel’s advice about shade, we identified what appeared to be the only possible line on the northeast face, a thin, direct crack system to the left of the Northeast Face route, climbed in 1999 by Luciano Bender, Marcel Leoni, Magno dos Santos, and Leandro Siqueira.

The tower itself was first climbed from June 7–22, 1947, by Reinaldo Behnken, Júlio Maria de Freitas, Índio do Brasil Luz, Sílvio Joaquim Mendes, and Reinaldo Santos. Their ascent was part engineering project, part rock climb. They used fixed ropes, drills, and sledgehammers; installed iron rungs and homemade bolts called “crow’s feet” (they did not have pitons); and made ample use of a portable, three-meter iron ladder. Their route began on the north face and midway up the tower crossed onto the northwest aspect.

Our plan for working on the new route was to fix ropes to our high point each day before finally committing to the wall, using a portaledge, once we were several pitches up.

I took the first lead, following an obvious crack system past a death block (since removed) and through the treeline to a small ledge. Though the climbing was only 5.10d, the protection was dubious, made up mostly of cams positioned between the rock and a tree that had melded into the crack. Neni took the next pitch, a perfect hand crack that ended in a corner and forced him onto 5.12 face climbing, for which he added some protection bolts before stopping at a hanging belay.

Over the next few days, we alternated leads, adding bolts when necessary. By pitch six, the crack system that we had observed from the neighboring peak had disappeared, and we opted to go directly up the face to avoid crossing onto the Northeast Face route. The face climbing was technical and thin, offering pitch after pitch of sustained 5.12. Pitch seven was the hardest we freed, at 5.13a. We did not completely free the 50m eighth pitch; at present, it comes in at 5.13c A2, with 20 bolts. The final 15–20m of the route joined the Northeast Face to the summit. So as not to modify that route, I kept with the first ascensionists’ style and hooked my way up, which led to very long runouts. We topped out Pico do Itabira on June 16.

We named our route Ao Ao (305m, 9 pitches, 5.13c A2), after the indigenous Tupi-Guarani god of hills and mountains, in a gesture of thanks to the wonderful locals who made this dream possible.

— Gareth “Gaz” Leah, U.K.

Ao Ao (5.13c A2), Northeast Face of Pico do Itabira

P1: 25m. Corner with tree. 1 bolt, 5.10d.

P2: 30m. Crack to arching faint corner. 9 bolts,  5.12a.

P3: 35m. Steep climbing on thin flakes. 14 bolts, 5.12a.

P4: 40m Corner cracks to thin flake with hard traverse back left on face holds. 12 bolts, 5.11d.

P5: 35m. Good crack to blank face. Hit the edges and follow the thin path below the nose, then head right to the anchor. 12 bolts, 5.12b.

P6: 40m. Traverse right on leaning corner and up face. Thin. 22 bolts, 5.12+.

P7: 35m. Thin face climbing. 11bolts, 5.13a.

P8: 50m. Hard, thin overhanging face to 25m of hooks. 20 bolts, 5.13c A2.

P9: 15m. Easy slab to below roof leads to a walkway. 5.4.

Hike 130m to the summit. There is a logbook hidden under a rock.

Descent: Rappel the route.