In reply to UKC News:
I would be very interested to hear Ueli Steck's perspective on this. IIRC, he tried and lead the bottom part to the Hinterstoisser traverse somewhen in 2014/2015. Most likely, the fixed rope that is mentioned in the report was his. For his next try (and thus similar as the team here), Steck decided to avoid the lower part, as he perceived it being too dangerous. I guess he stated that most of the pitons he placed fell out by themselves until he returned for the next try.
Steck then (together with Nicolas Hojac) tried to repeat the upper part of Metanoia in fall 2015. He did the slab pitch leading away from the Hinterstoisser on an ice smear and dismissed it as impossible in dry conditions. Further up the wall, the team encountered some problems in identifying the correct line of Metanoia. When they chose to follow what seemed the logical line, they often found themselves on or at least close to the Japanese route. But still, it was an ascent that led them to the summit.
Don't want to takes sides on whether what is reported here is a second or third ascent of Metanoia. But still, it would be very interesting to find out about the differences, and to hear the opinion of either party on what the other did.