{"id":27266,"date":"2024-10-15T10:01:41","date_gmt":"2024-10-15T13:01:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/geartips.club\/blog\/via-maria-nebula-20-years-later\/"},"modified":"2025-07-07T18:53:58","modified_gmt":"2025-07-07T21:53:58","slug":"via-maria-nebula-20-years-later","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/geartips.club\/blog\/en\/via-maria-nebula-20-years-later\/","title":{"rendered":"Via Maria Nebulosa \u2013 20 Years Later"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some routes take more work than others… For me, an example was the Dedo de Deus, which I first tried to climb in 1996 and only reached the summit in 2002. It took about six attempts until everything finally worked out. Everything happened: rain at the base, lightning, a partner who felt sick, and even a monstrous landslide that destroyed the old trail \u2014 which I only discovered upon arrival. Anyway, one day it works out and since 2002 I\u2019ve already summited Dedo a few times.<\/p>\n

With Maria Nebulosa, a giant route on the beautiful Maria Comprida, I went through the same thing \u2014 it only worked out on the fourth attempt.<\/p>\n

\"Maria
\nPhoto: Hugo de Castro<\/span> <\/p>\n

If I\u2019m not mistaken, it\u2019s a route established in 2002, and at that time I was working with climbing. As soon as I heard there was a route over a thousand meters near Rio, I immediately planned an attempt with a friend. This must have been around 2004 and back then there was no Waze, YouTube, none of these tools that help a lot today \u2014 it was just trip reports and texts I got from the FEMERJ discussion list and Hang On. Yep… those were the discussion\/information forums for climbing back then and only those who chewed Banda candy and ate Mirabel at break time at school will remember this.<\/p>\n

Days picked, we booked a guesthouse in Secret\u00e1rio (a neighborhood in Petr\u00f3polis where Maria Comprida is located), set off to scout the base \u2014 and no luck finding it. That\u2019s right, we didn\u2019t even reach the end of the road where the trail to the base should start.<\/p>\n

Another attempt in 2008 with the same strategy: guesthouse and an early wake-up to reach the base, this time with more information, and… rain! Storm in the morning and an early return home. No giving up, and over the years I knew I\u2019d be back.<\/p>\n

I returned in 2018! And the strategy was different this time. I went one morning with my partner just to locate the base, planning to return the following week without wasting time, and this time it worked. Using tips from Escaladas Cl\u00e1ssicas<\/a> by Mauro Chiara \u2014 this guy is a true “walking Google” \u2014 we reached the end of the road where you park and hop over the gate, accessed the trail, and in about an hour we were at the base. Mission accomplished! Now it was just a matter of coming back the following week, easy right?! Wrong! Just a few days after reaching the base, life hit me with one of those blows you think you\u2019ll never get up from, so I stepped away from climbing for about two years and stopped thinking about Maria Comprida, Nebulosa, or anything… I took a vacation from life for a while.<\/p>\n

Surely you\u2019ve heard this clich\u00e9 phrase: “This too shall pass”… And believe me, it\u2019s true. Everything passes \u2014 and it did. I recovered and little by little I picked up projects that had been pushed to the back of my mind, until the time for Nebulosa came.<\/p>\n

In 2024 I invited my friend and partner Bruno Negreiros, who was super stoked and accepted the invitation immediately. We set the date and this time the strategy was different: we arrived in Secret\u00e1rio on Friday around 1 p.m., dropped our stuff at the guesthouse and headed to the base with the goal not only to scout but also to leave two fixed pitches on the wall. Everything worked out!!! With tips from Alex Tch\u00ea (one of the route\u2019s first ascensionists) and Felipe Lombardi (Drone Aventura), we reached the base without major issues, climbed up to P2 and left the ropes fixed. Around 6 p.m. we were back at the guesthouse to rest and focus on the climb the next day, which started exactly at 6 a.m. on Saturday.<\/p>\n

\"Cordas
\nFixed ropes, ready to start.<\/span> <\/p>\n

Leaving the first two pitches fixed helped a lot \u2014 after all, it\u2019s a 1040-meter route with 20 pitches. The weather was perfect: cloudy and pleasant temperature. We reached the summit at noon, an excellent time, so we could enjoy a snack and start the descent calmly, knowing we still had hours of daylight ahead. We touched solid ground (what a dramatic phrase, huh?! I like it…) at 6:50 p.m. and by 8 p.m. we were at a bakery, exhausted and happy.<\/p>\n

\"Perfect
\nPerfect weather for a long climb like Maria Nebulosa<\/span> <\/p>\n

\"Summit
\nPhoto at the summit<\/span> <\/p>\n

Done! Maria Nebulosa, 20 years later. Mission accomplished!<\/p>\n

The Maria Nebulosa Route<\/h2>\n

The route was recently re-bolted and no one better than Tch\u00ea to talk about it \u2014 it\u2019s worth watching this video published by Alta Montanha:<\/p>\n

\n