Drawn in by the name, I suggest this route to Saverio, without considering that the madness of a serpent might turn out to be a brutal crack pitch of pure jamming. I start off, carried by the good vibes I had felt at Balma Nolesca, and immediately the ogre punishes me. The first pitch is rough, pure survival climbing. I reach the belay after placing more cams than I throw punches into jams. A proper beating was exactly what I needed to celebrate my birthday! The rest of the route goes more smoothly, including a beautiful speleological chimney with a mysterious mining iron wedge stuck in it (which Saverio uses as protection). I get drawn into a conversation between Saverio and two lost climbers trying to repeat Nautilus, who have somehow decided to traverse across the mountain instead of going up the chimney. Now two harder crack pitches await us, much tougher than the VII- of Luna Nascente, graded VI+ and VI- respectively. Then comes the traverse, and Saverio—driven by the desire not to get smashed against a small pillar just below the belay—ends up climbing using his feet like hands. One more pitch and then we abseil down, with ropes tangled like a rattlesnake wrapped around a pole at a medieval fair: “Now untangle that, if you can!”