arco rock

COLLANA LUOGHI VERTICALI

EDIZIONI VERSANTE SUD

First edition May 2010 ISBN 978-88-96634-01-1 Copyright Š 2010 VERSANTE SUD S.r.l. Milano via Longhi, 10, tel. 027490163 www.versantesud.it All translation, reproduction, adaptation and electronic registration, either totally or partially, by any methods, are rights reserved for all countries.

Cover image

Angelika Rainer on Io Dio, 7c, Bassilandia (photo by Marco Spataro)

Text

Antonella Cicogna, Mario Manica, Davide Negretti

Drawings and topos

Chiara Benedetto

Translation

Alexandra Ercolani, Kenny Stocker

Symbols

Iacopo Leardini

Layout

Carolina Quaresima

Printed by

Monotipia Cremonese (CR)

Note Climbing is a potentially dangerous sport, and those that partake do so at their own risk. All the descriptions in this guide have been based on information available at the time, but this should always be evaluated for yourself or by a qualified person before undertaking any cimb.

Antonella Cicogna Mario Manica Davide Negretti

ARCO Rock

106 suggestions Sarca Valley Trento Rovereto Giudicarie Valleys

EDIZIONI VERSANTE SUD

Introduction

The new edition: 106 suggested routes with more than 3700 pitches on overhangs and roofs, slabs and vertical walls to whet the appetite of every climber Your head is already on the walls, your hands instead of tightly gripping the steering wheel driving us here, are dipping into the chalk bag, already having a foretaste of the magic touch of limestone. Like a light shining in the darkness, Arco is the arrival point for us climbers.

Arco is the name we all know how to say no matter where we come from. At Arco it is possible to climb almost all year round, and the rock is a jewel. At Arco there is the Rock Master and the highest concentration of climbing shops in Europe, just as good if not better than Chamonix and maybe even Yosemite. And there is also the most spectacular ice cream a climber has ever tasted (to the envy of both Chamonix and Yosemite). But Arco is also the point of departure: the window opening up on to the Sarca Valley, our mother rock par excellence and all her sisters.

If crags like Nago and Massone remain indisputably in the top ten list of the greatest crags, the Sarca Valley over the past fifteen years has been experiencing an exorbitant vertical development.

From multipitch routes to single pitch crags those wishing to climb are spoilt for choice. And there is a continuous evolution. An osmotic evolution which has brought about the opening up of new crags also in the nearby valleys: in Val di Ladro and Tenno, in the Giudicarie, in Val di Gresta, in the Adige Valley (Rovereto-Trento).

So five years after our first guide, there is now the need to present a new edition of Falesie di Arco, brought up to date with 106 proposals instead of the previous 80, with over 3700 pitches on overhangs and roofs, slabs and vertical walls to whet the appetite of every climber.

Contrary to expectations, the job was not at all simple and not to be underestimated. More than ninety five per cent of the ‘old’ proposals required really hard work to revise and update. Also because at a distance of ‘only’ five years bolts are placed and removed, crags are born, grow,

loved, abandoned, sometimes sadly even closed.

And this made us realise that it is a thousand times easier to write about a brand new crag than to dig up details for one or other of the single new pitches on an already opened wall, and the name and telephone number of the opener to have confirmation of the difficulty…

Davide was vital in this respect, now living 24/24 hours in the Sarca Valley he managed to keep abreast of the new entries and the bolting initiatives underway, even the very last minute ones, before we went to press. And if in the previous guide he joined us while work was already underway, for this new edition right from the start, Davide was more than essential.

We were saying that the present guide offers 150 climbing proposals, about a third more than the previous edition. There are lots of new additions and we leave it to the climbers to discover what they are by going through these pages.

Several of the crags here have also been described in the pages on the History of the Sarca Valley. Certainly you will notice a wider coverage of the nearby Adige Valley, with Rovereto first, a town with a remarkable vertical tradition, where a large number of world famous alpinists come from. In this area, one of the most recent crags to be included in the guide is San Colombano, very close to Rovereto. It has an incredible number of 8b’s which have been equipped and then freed by Stefano Ghidini. We thought that by publishing it could increase the influx of people to this wonderful wall of high difficulty and with great potential. By increasing the numbers using it, our hope is that the Commune itself can extend the opening hours for access to the wall, since there are already pre-arranged times for access to the Hermitage of San Colombano.

Besides the crags which open or expand, there are also some that are closing down. Much of the question is based on their situation. Laghel has been inaccessible for two years as it is on private property. We hope that the Comune of Arco can reach an agreement, because it is one of the most beautiful walls in the whole Arco area, with access on foot from the historic centre. The same fate, as it is on private land, would seem to await

Binesino (Val di Gresta). We hope this rumour is unfounded.

Pannone was also closed by the Comune of Ronzo-Chienis as it was considered unsafe. To make a crag safe one hundred per cent is objectively impossible, and closing it remains the simplest solution to be rid of the responsibility.

But it still means that this beautiful wall, rarely frequented, will thus remain out of bounds for climbers.

It must be said that, if lack of education and lack of respect are not the only arguments in favour of the closure of a crag, they can certainly play a fundamental role. And it is up to us climbers to behave in an educated and respectful way, regardless of the crag being on private or public land. The same goes for car parks, often limited or non-existent. We should always make sure not to block roads, and if by leaving the car even further from the crag we can cause less disturbance and damage, then let’s do it!

With one third more proposals compared to our first guide, and without ever forgetting that the work of bolting, cleaning, maintenance, rebolting of the crags has more than ever the face and hands of a few, tenacious enthusiasts, our wish remains unchanged : that Falesie di Arco may contribute to your enjoyment! May it make you go back home with new dreams, new plans, a new wish to return here to put your hands and feet on all the jewels of the Sarca Valley and her sisters, introduced to you in these pages.

Antonella Cicogna, Mario Manica, Davide Negretti

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We would like to dedicate this guide book to two friends in particular, two tireless and passionate bolters, even if one is very different from the other. Danilo Bonvecchio is a philosophy professor and mountain guide; Fabio Leoni is a climber-alpinist, owner of the Vertical Sport shops.

Fabio and Danilo have bolted hundreds of pitches in the Sarca Valley and the Valle dei Laghi. Half of the crags in the whole area: crags discovered and completely bolted, or else re-bolted from scratch, very often at their own expense. Without their healthy madness this guide book would never have been written, nor would these fantastic pitches have been born - already known or about to be discovered in this guide - summoning climbers from every corner of our vertical universe.

Likewise, a special thank-you goes to the over seventy friends listed below – climbers, bolters, enthusiasts – who made themselves available regardless, giving their time and sharing their knowledge of the crags, helping us to enrich the guide book not only with very precious pitches and climbing areas but also with photographs.

Thanks therefore go to: Fabrizio Agosti, Fabio Albertoni, Renzo Angelini, Simone Banal, Mauro Bertolasi, Fabio Bertoni, Mauro Bianchi, Andreas Bindhammer, Edy Boldrin, Danilo Bonvecchio, Mirko Bosetti, Cristian Brenna, Tiziano Buccella, Michele

Cagol, Luciano Calderan, Paolo Calzà, Roberto Capucciati, Franco Cavallaro, Lino Celva, Oswald Celva, Eugenio Cigalotti, Marco Curti, Carletto Dalbosco, Gianguido Dalfovo, Alberto Damioli, Anderson De Morais, Daniela Izzo, Marta Dionisi, Sandro Donati, Simone Elmi, Simonetta Facchini (APT Comano), Donato Falcone, Massimo Faletti, Nicolas Favresse, Ivan Feller, Michele Feller, Diego Filippi, Rudi Filippi, Roland Galvagni, Lorenzo Garavaglia, Michele Ghezzi, Stefano Ghidini, Mauro Girardi, Luca Giupponi, Armando Grisenti, Cristoforo Groaz, Guardia di Finanza Soccorso Alpino Tione, Rolando Larcher, Giovanni Leonardi, Fabio Leoni, Damiano Levati, Daniele Lira, Paolo Malesardi, Sabrina Malfer, Devid Mambrini, Giuseppe Mantovani, Loris Manzana, Remo Marchi, Silvano Matassoni, Ilaria Mattevi, Sauro Merighi, Marco Molinari, Andrea Mutti, Giorgio Nicolodi, Luca Ondertoller, Luca Onorevoli, Elio Orlandi, Davide Ortolani, Andrea Pandini, Alberto Postinghel, Giorgio Potrich, Bruno Quaresima, Angelika Rainer, Florian Riegler, Massimiliano Santi, Franco Scandolari, Marco Scolaris, Gianni Scrinzi, Marco Spataro, Nicola Tarolli, Maja Vidmar, Ulla Walder, Andrea Zanetti, Maurizio Zanolla.

All the crags published in this guide book have the approval of all those who discovered them and bolted them.

Information

GENERAL INFORMATION The crags proposed in this guide concern the areas of: The Sarca Valley (Valle del Sarca), the Giudicarie Valleys (Valli Giudicarie), Rovereto and Trento.

The Sarca Valley It is a well known fact: The Sarca Valley is unique.

Lake Garda keeps this area mild for 350 days of the year and lets us climb even when the rest of Italy is shivering with cold. But apart from climbing there are lots of opportunities for outdoor sports here. Plenty of mountain bike itineraries and hiking trails. Base jumping, paragliding, canyoning, windsurfing and sailing stimulated by the morning Pelèr or the afternoon Ora (winds).

And in the snowy months, great skiing at no more than 20/30 kilometres or so from Arco, on Monte Bondone, Monte Stivo, and in the Dolomites. With skins and cross country skis too.

Within the Valley there are numerous man-made creations not to be missed. Arco with its castle, parks, gardens and its Liberty-style villas and Renaissance mansions. Dro,a medieval village, with winding alleys and fine portals. The castIes of Drena, Madruzzo, Tenno and Toblino, too (now a restaurant, but in a fantastic position); the Rocca and the Bastion of Riva (Bastione di Riva).

Then there are the places created by nature.

Because the Sarca Valley is the living result of Quaternary glaciation, when the great Atesino glacier flowed down as far as 1700 metres. The lakes are witness to this, concentrated in a very small space (so much so that the upper part of the valley is also called Valley of the Lakes): Cavedine, Toblino, S. Massenza, Lagolo, Lamar and Terlago, which, as well as Lake Garda are real jewels of nature and often keep us company on our climbs. And it is still the Atesino glacier which is the father of various phenomena in the valley, amongst these marmitte dei giganti and frane delle marocche (landslides) fell where the towns of Pietramurata and Drò are today, they are defined in terms of size and grandeur (187 milion cubic metres) the most important phenomenon of this type in the whole of the Alps. The river Sarca runs through this wild and stony landscape, whose source is in the Gola del Limarò, between

the Dain Picol and the Dain Grande, and flows over the central and lower valley before ending up in Lake Garda. And the Sarca Valley is still the biggest doline in the Alps. The small Làghel valley begins amongst olive trees and vineyards, woods dotted with black pines, just beyond the little church of S. Maria di Laghel, after passing the crags of the same name in the direction of the Muro dell’Asino crag. When the rain is heavy and frequent, a lake forms here at the centre of the small valley and then disappears, its water is absorbed and swallowed up, most probably to feed an underground spring.

Man and nature are as one in this territory, living side by side. Along the plain which stretches the length of the river Sarca as far as the banks of Lake Garda, the community grows grapes, apples, kiwis and plums. On the terraced slopes with their splendid dry stone dykes, they take care of the olives, perpetuating the gestures and secrets of an ancient culture. There is also industry, the development of commerce and tourism, which has partly changed the face of the valley.

But as soon as we leave the provincial roads, the rhythm seems to slow down and helps us forget the daily grind, the stress of work and the city.

The sun is warm on our backs on the rock faces until late afternoon and we absorb the fragrance of the shrubs, flowers and rocks, invading our dreams to the extent that we are forced to return, here, once again.

The Giudicarie valleys The crags described in the guide are situated within the outer and central Giudicarie valleys.

The rock is every bit as good as in the Sarca Valley, with the advantage that in summer it offers the cool climate of the Brenta Dolomites. Man and nature have known how to permeate this variegated territory in the best possible way and the places to visit are numerous. In the outer Giudicarie valley, the waters of the Terme di Comano have been famous since Roman times for their curative properties, while the Castle of Stenico is now the seat of the Provincial Museum of Art. In the central Giudicarie, beside Coltura, the village of Iron, deserted after the plague of 1630, has remained unchanged in its urban

and architectural structure, while the Natural Park Adamello Brenta (Parco Naturale Adamello Brenta) acts as background to the crags in this part of the Giudicarie.

Trento and Rovereto Very close to the Sarca Valley, Trento and Rovereto have wonderful historic centres and museums.

For these please refer to their Tourist Office sites (Aziende di promozione turistica - Apt) under the chapter “Information�.

ACCESS BY ROAD AND POINTS OF DEPARTURE According to the area described, we have indicated points of departure in common and from these we calculated the distances. The information was updated in May 2010, but we cannot guarantee that road conditions will remain unchanged in the future. The choice of parking was based as far as possible on respect for private property and the state of the roads.

The point of departure for almost all the crags in this area is Sarche, at the junction for Madonna di Campiglio.

Coming from the A22 Modena-Brennero motorway: exit at Rovereto Sud - Lago di Garda Nord.

Follow directions for Lago di Garda. After Nago turn right at the roundabout following signposts for Arco and at the next roundabout turn right towards Trento (along the Sarco Valley) as far as Sarche. Approx. 38 km.

Coming from the A22 Brennero-Modena motorway: exit at Trento centro. Follow the signposts for the state road SS 45 Bis Gardesana Arco-Riva del Garda until you reach Sarche. Approx. 19 km.

The point of departure for the Nembia crags, Lago Nembia, Molveno, Cavedago, Spormaggiore and Vigo Di Ton, is the San Michele-Mezzocorona exit from the A22 motorway ModenaBrennero (Brennero-Modena).

Sarca Valley Arco is the point of departure by car for all the crags in the Sarca Valley, in particular the bridge over the river Sarca where there is a large car park which can be easily spotted. Coming from the motorway A22 Modena-Brennero: exit at Rovereto Sud - Lago di Garda Nord. Follow directions for Lago di Garda. After Nago at the roundabout to the right follow directions for Arco. Approx. 22 km.

Coming from the motorway A22 BrenneroModena: exit at Trento Centro. Follow signposts for the state road SS 45 Bis Gardesana Arco-Riva del Garda as far as Arco. Approx. 35 km.

Rovereto and surrounding area The point of departure for the crags in this area is the Rovereto Sud exit from the motorway A22 Modena-Brennero (Brennero-Modena).

Trento and surrounding area The point of departure for the crags in this area is the motorway exit for Trento Centro from the motorway A22 Modena-Brennero (BrenneroModena) Giudicarie Valleys

A short history of sports climbing in the Sarca Valley

History

1972. The Colodri East Face: the first step towards the revolution At the beginning of the thirties, the Sarca Valley’s vertical exploration begins on the rock faces of Monte Casale, Dain and Brento. For a few decades it will continue with itineraries typical of the Dolomites until in 1972 Ugo and Mario Ischia, Giuliano Emanuelli and Fabio Calzà, mountaineers from Arco, will notice the exceptional potential of the Colodri east face, putting up its first route that year: Umberta Bertamini.

Shortly other routes follow: Barbara, Katia, Agostina, Sommadossi, Renata Rossi… all have become classics on this east face, created by the Ischia brothers, Giuliano Stenghel, Franco Monte, Maurizio Giordani, Roberto Bassi, Luigi Giacomelli, Franco Zenatti, Giovanni Groaz…

1982. The first bolt: a revolution The East face’s three hundred metres of red-grey limestone will experience a new revolution for the Sarca valley. In 1982 in fact the first bolt will be placed. Heinz Mariacher and Roberto Bassi (they were among the climbers who opened Renata Rossi and White Crack) placed this first bolt, from above, expressly for sports climbing, they will achieve Specchio delle mie brame, a variant of Renata Rossi, 6b+.

No one can imagine yet that from this single gesture one of the most interesting sports climbing areas of the international spectrum will develop.

1982-1984. Heinz Mariacher’s intuition When there is only time in the alpinist’s mentality for long routes, Mariacher (author of many difficult ascents on the Marmolada often with his life-time companion Luisa Iovane, a very strong climber of extremely difficult routes at Karwendel and daring solos in the Dolomites) will be amongst the first to read in a few dozen metres of rock the possibility of bringing to life a difficult, enjoyable, adrenalin inducing, creative space of vertical confrontation.

An intuition rewarded by the Sarca Valley putting an infinite number of smooth slabs and vertical routes at his disposal to be cleaned and equipped.

10

Between 1982 and 1984, while on the faces of Colodri, Casale, Cima alle Coste or in Mandrea, multi pitch routes were being opened on the faces around Arco, Mariacher, Luisa Iovane, Maurizio Zanolla (Manolo), Roberto Bassi, Aldo Leviti, and later on Bruno Pederiva, became the pioneers of the valley’s sports climbing.

On the crag in front of Ceniga, Aldo Leviti and Renato Bernard opened the 6b route called Nuovi Orizzonti. At the Spiaggia delle Lucertole Roberto Bassi and Mauro De Gasperi bolted Honky Tonky 6b, the first totally bolted route which Mariacher will go on to climb solo. Nuovi Orizzonti, San Paolo, Swing Area, Spiaggia delle Lucertole, will become the first crags, while Bassi and Leviti (Diego Depretto and Luigi Colà will follow in their footsteps) will put their hands on the slabs and roofs of Marmitte dei Giganti.

The MaMaBo grading system Every route will be climbed with perfect footwork and every possibility of falling (unusual for those who started climbing on the imposing alpine walls), climbed from the ground up, without resting, ready to start again from the bottom in case of a fall, as required by the grading system imposed by MaMaBa (Manolo, Mariacher , Bassi).

And this is how the Sarca valley’s pioneers climbed and freed itineraries which still give you the shivers to this day: the 25 metres of Super Swing, a white wall of 7b+, friction and technique which are of difficult intuition; Tom Tom Club, which on its second pitch, with a difficult sequence of movements on a slab gains the grade of 7b; La signora degli appigli, 7c, Manolo’s historic masterpiece, with a single crux move which is still extremely difficult today; Dracurella, 7a for its first pitch and 7c+ on the second, an extremely technical slab; another Manolo masterpiece; Nisida’s twenty six metres of friction 7c and the 7c of Tom e Jerry the home of tiny holds, delicate movements on underclings. Two extremely technical routes which Luisa Iovane will redpoint in 1985.

1985. Drill and overhangs: the new turning point As time passes, the fame of the Valley’s rock will spread, calling new faces to come and confront themselves with its crags, opening and trying

new routes. Wolfgang Güllich, the Remy brothers, Jerry Moffat, Ron Fawcett and Patrick Edlinger will visit the Valley. The grades will consequently increase.

La Gola di Toblino is discovered by Roberto Bassi at the end of 1984. Nuovi Orizzonti (which will then be shut down for climbers since it is on private land) will be frequented and developed by Diego Depretto. Massone will enter climber’s vocabulary at the end of 1985 thanks to Giovanni Groaz and Danny Zampiccoli and which Depretto will develop over the years by bolting other sectors.

With the advent of the drill and the new climbing technique used on overhangs, 1985 marks a further turning point in Sarca Valley’s sports climbing by opening its doors to new climbers: Rolando Larcher, Danilo Bonvecchio, Diego Mabboni, Giorgio Manica…together with the untiring Roberto Bassi who has become the king of slabs and will continue discovering, cleaning and restoring the Valley which by now has been abandoned by Mariacher, Iovane and Zanolla.

1986. The first 8a and 8a+ It is during 1986 that the first 8a and 8a+ enter the vertical history of the Valley. In September of that year, at San Paolo all’Eremo, Rolando Larcher bolts and frees two routes with chipped holds: Elefant Baby 8a and Gravity Games 8a+ (now 8b/8b+ because changed by François Legrand).

The next year, in 1987, he will free the first natural 8a at Passo San Giovanni: Fafifurni, twelve metres of endurance and precision on tiny crimps bolted

by Angelo Giovannetti. In the Gola Bassi will answer back, obviously on slab, by freeing Futura 8a+, an eighteen metre wall on tiny holds.

1987. The first Rock Master in history After two editions of Sport Roccia (in 1985 the first sports climbing competition is held on the Militi wall in Valle Stretta in Bardonecchia, suggested and sponsored by the Tuttosport journalist Emanuele Cassarà and by the alpinists Andrea Mellano and Alberto Risso, when Roberto Bassi wins the Italian Championship; in 1986 it is held in two parts: at Bardonecchia and at Arco on Colodri’s yellow wall when Patrick Edlinger is the winner) it will be the crag of the Castle of Arco to baptize the first Rock Master in the history of sports climbing (Lynn Hill and Stefan Glowacz will go on to win

the competition).

Late eighties, the first 8b and 8b+ However the Sarca valley is no longer the only queen for climbers. The Poppey route is opened in 1987 at Nomesino in Val di Gresta by Ermanno Dossi and Giuliano Dorigatti, and will further widen the horizons of vertical climbers who on this wall of impossible holds, of one and two finger pockets and slopers will find new challenges. Come sei cambiata Ugo 7c+, continuous in the upper section and with a starting crux on a one finger pocket will become one of the first difficult routes bolted by Giorgio Manica. The following year, Larcher will bolt a number of great pitches, among which is the first overhanging 8b (Energia=Mc2) (downgraded today to 8a/b).

Towards the end of the eighties the walls where the top climbers have been climbing will start to fall to the sound of 8b and 8b+. Mujado, 8b for who opened it and 8b+ to who repeats it, an ultra technical slab route, totally natural, which Roberto Bassi will go on to free in the Gola, which has by now become one of his second homes in the Valley. Larcher will free Maratona 8b, bolted by him at Massone (the first route in the Pueblo sector).

The birth of Nago In the meantime new crags will be born and developed. Thanks to the goodwill of Danilo Bonvecchio, Santa Massenza (discovered by Bassi), San Siro (discovered by Stefano Pegoretti, known as Pecos) will be equipped and will grow and his Terlago will come to life, home to vertical slabs of fantastic limestone, carved out by tiny holds and crimps on which finger strength and great foot work are paramount. On the rocks of Nago where the Austrians during the First World War had built their trenches to resist the Italians positioned on the opposite side of the valley, the untiring Diego Depretto will come on the scene and start bolting the crag, with the successive intervention of Luigi Colò in the upper section, to make it one of the most beautiful and well known crags in the valley together with Massone.

The Early Nineties The nineties witness a consolidation without change in the direction of sports climbing in the Valley. For the beauty and variety of its rock, for 11

Rotpunkt 14

UNDERGROUND ST. ANGER ZAUBER FEE MANGUSTA X-LARGE THIN ICE CLAUDIO CAFFÈ REINI’S VIBES PATAGONIA ADIDAS HALEBOOP AEREODROMO ATHENA LA PIETRA MURATA PKK GRAVITY GAMES (Larcher’s modified pitch) TAIFUN MUJADO FUEGO SUPER MARATONA MARATONA MIKE JORDAN TROPPO SCHWAR CAMPAÑERO COL BLU AMEN L’ALVARON L’ALLOCCO MADAME DOC STRUDEL BOY SOUL MAN UCCEL DI BOSCO VIA TIPO GERARDO MARCO GELATO AL CHIARO DI LUNA PRIMA O POI JENA CAMPESINOS TESTER PLUS LILLO FISCHIO CHE RISCHIO TROPPO BUONI CON LE DONNE

9a Massone 8c+/9a L’Eremo 8c+ L’Eremo 8c Nago 8c Massone 8c Terlago 8c Terra promessa 8c Massone 8b/c Coel dela Val dela porta 8b+ Coel dela Val dela porta 8b+ Massone 8b+ Terra promessa 8b+ Massone 8b+ Massone 8b+ Bassilandia 8b/8b+ L’Eremo 8b/8b+ Massone 8b/8b+ La gola 8b Massone 8b Massone 8b Massone 8b Massone 8b Massone 8b Bassilandia 8b Climax 8b Coel dela Val dela porta 8b Terlago 8b Coltura 8b La gola 8b Nomesino 8b Nomesino 8b Ranzo 8b Terra promessa 8b Terra promessa 8b San Colombano 8b (L1+L2) San Colombano 8b San Colombano 8b San Colombano 8b San Colombano 8b San Colombano 8b San Colombano 8b San Colombano

Manfred Stuffer Andreas Bindhammer Christian Bindhammer Rolando Larcher Stefan Fürst Nicolas Favresse François Legrand François Legrand Rolando Larcher Riccardo Scarian Heinrich Pfostl François Legrand François Legrand Reinhold Scherer Gianguido Dalfovo François Legrand Roberto Bassi Oswald Celva Rolando Larcher Rolando Larcher François Legrand Heinrich Pfostl Gianguido Dalfovo Andrea Stenico Rolando Larcher Gianluigi Dalfovo Rolando Larcher Cristian Giovannini Martin Elser Stefan Fürst Danilo Bonvecchio François Legrand Gerhard Hörhager Stefano Ghidini Stefano Ghidini Stefano Ghidini Stefano Ghidini Stefano Ghidini Stefano Ghidini Stefano Ghidini Stefano Ghidini

2 2

3

Sanderland

4 4

N45 55.248 E10 53.381

Tenno

6

02

SW

650

N45 55.248 E10 53.381 GPS point car park Altitude

N45 56.690 E10 49.145

N45 56.690 E10 49.145 GPS point crag base

450

Exposure

Beauty Wonderful

Nice

Worthy

Equipment

Terrible Pay attention Good Perfect

Number of visitors

Low Medium High Overcrowding

Comfort

uncomfortable uneven comfortable

Parking

Difficult Sufficient Good Very good

Not exciting

Way of reading

02

23 6c 7a 7b 7c 8a ?

Beginners School

Climbing also with rain

Fit for family 15

Arco

ARCO 3 Placche di Baone 4 Bus de la Stria 5 Padaro 6 Salt de la cavra 7 L’orto 8 Calvario 9 Laghel 10 Muro dell’asino 11 Red point wall 12 Monte Colt 13 La cantina del Bibo 14 Massone 15 Terra promessa

32 36 40 42 46 50 52 54 58 64 66 70 86

16 Grottosauro 90 17 Piccola Dallas 94 18 Sport Roccia 86 98 19 Massi di Prabi 100 20 San Paolo 104 21 Swing Area 108 22 Diamante del BA.RO. 110 23 Eremo 114 24 Ceniga 118 25 Ottava meraviglia 120 26 La fattoria degli struzzi 124 27 La pizzeria 126

Padaro

Sport Roccia Il Calvario

Massi di Prabi

Monte Colt

Ottava meraviglia Ceniga

Diamante/Eremo 30

San Paolo Swing Area

Ballino

27

Dro 26

Ceniga 24 25 11 13 23

Lago di Tenno

12

Padaro

21 20

6

5

7 8

Tenno

3

16 15

22 17 14

10 19 9 18

Massone

4

Varignano

ARCO

Bolognano

Varone

Santa Barbara Riva del Garda Nago

Biacesa

Lago di Garda

Pannone

Torbole Passo S. Giovanni Loppio

31

03

57 3a 3b 3c 4a 4b 4c 5a 5b 5c 6a ?

3 3 2 3

2

1

3 5

7

Placche di Baone

Arco

11

03

Placche di Baone N45 55.450 E10 52.283

17

S 170

For who loves easy climbing on leaning slabs or for who wants to move their first steps on rock, the grey slabs of Baone are an ideal testing ground, formative and very accessible. The routes are multi pitch with maximum lengths of 100m, and difficulties from 3b to 6a. Keep in mind that the bolts are almost always spaced out, some even up to 7-8 metres apart; a slip while leading is really not recommended. The crag is divided in two sectors, the one to the left (Attimo Fuggente) is the easiest. Rope length: 60 metres.

Descent: abseil down the routes. Note: Ondulinas last pitch is not very interesting and coming out of the route is risky and can result dangerous for who crowds the base of the crag, often children, due to rock fall.

Sunny and immersed in the green olive groves, the crag is comfortable for families, with pic nica areas, bike racks, car park, WC. Do not leave anything in your car, thefts are frequent.

ACCESS By car from Arco towards Chiarano 3,5 km.

From the bridge over the river Sarca (1) follow directions for the centre of Arco-Riva del Garda (2). Once you have crossed the centre of Arco, turn right towards Chiarano (3). Go by the hospital and at the height of the Casa di Cura Eremo (nursing home), turn right towards Chiarano (4) following sign posts for Padaro-S.Giovanni (or Baone). Once you enter the village of Chiarano, straight after passing by a vaulted arch on a house, continue along the junction to the left (Via al Monte) and follow sign posts for Placce di Baone/Falesie (5). Cross the olive groves and reach the car park below the crag (6). In a few minutes along tracks you reach the routes.

Note! Once you are inside Chiarano we recommend that camper vans or vans, park on the right straight after passing below the vaulted arch. Via al Monte is very narrow.

If you park here it will take you 15 minutes along the convenient cobble road, from Via al Monte, to reach the base of the crag.

ATTIMO FUGGENTE ONDULINA

In this crag it is forbidden to alter the existing routes or bolt new ones unless you have authorization from the Ufficio Tecnico del Comune di Arco (Technical Office of the Council of Arco).

1 N45 55.248 E10 53.381 2 N45 55.075 E10 52.930 3 N45 55.145 E10 52.859 4 N45 55.175 E10 52.246 5 N45 55.243 E10 52.247 6 N45 55.450 E10 52.283

Chiarano

Equipped: P. CalzĂ , D. Depretto , R. Galvagni, C. Mattei, others.

Laghel

Vigne

Riva del Garda 32

Arco

SECTOR Attimo fuggente 1 WITHOUT NAME ? 100m Dirty and uninteresting 2 VIA CIP 3b 110m Friction slab of little interest and a bit dirty 3 VIA MAR 3b 110m Friction climbing with spaced protection 4 VIA 01/01/2000 3b 110m Easy and enjoyable friction climbing 5 VIA C.G. 3c 90m Leaning slab, beautiful and compact 6 VIA D.B. 3b 100m Enjoyable slab 7 VIA BOTTONI BIANCHI 3b 100m Easy slab. Requires good footwork, very

good 8 VIA PAOLO 3c 100m Interesting friction climbing up the slab 9 WITHOUT NAME ? 100m Project, no belays

Sector Ondulina 10 WITHOUT NAME 6a 25m Precarious on a leaning slab 11 SOLARIUM 5b 50m Interesting. Somewhat overgrown 12 WITHOUT NAME 5c 25m Slab interrupted by a series of roofs with

undercut holds

PLACCHE DI BAONE ATTIMO FUGGENTE

3a ?

?

3a

3a 3b

3a

3b

?

3c

3b

3b ?

3b

3b 3b

3b 3b 3c

4a

?

3a

2

3b

3b

3b

3b

3b

3b

3a 1

3b

3a 3b

3 4

5

6

7

8

9

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Bolting and re-bolting in the Sarca Valley, often reflects the efforts of the same tenacious, passionate enthusiasts. People who devote their time, passion, finances and equipment, paid, more often than not, out of their own pocket, often without any possibility of recouping their investment. Danilo Bonvecchio is one of them. So is Fabio Leoni. Even if he says: «I bolt for passion but personally it can bring me advantages for my shops!». Often their hands have worked side by side, or separately, with the end result of having bolted, cleaned, re-bolted at least half of the existing crags in the Sarca Valley.

Babilonia and Piccola Dallas are some of the new crags born thanks to Fabio’s enthusiasm and willpower. He was born in the Sarca Valley (Pietramurata) and learned to climb there, exporting his vertical skill throughout the world from Patagonia to Alaska, passing by El Capitan.

How do you find the sites to bolt?

I often find myself literally exploring for whole afternoons, walking along rock bands which I consider suitable in offering interesting stuff. That is what happened in 2007 with Piccola Dallas, a crag with 27 pitches on excellent rock, in the shade all year round, a few steps from Arco’s centre. Bassilandia, almost entirely bolted by me, has the same kind of beautiful rock. Even Babilonia, is amazing: a wall with its personal aesthetics, very difficult, offering very technical, vertical climbing but with slight overhangs and both ‘fingery’ and balancing moves. I also dedicate my time to micro-sectors consisting of three or four pitches, these are certainly not destined for the wider public since they are small, but since they have a special allure on account of the beauty of their lines it is also worthwhile giving value to these small crags.

Which was the first sector you systematically bolted?

Giardino di Nato, fourteen years ago. By systematically I mean making the most of the rock face and trying all the lines from the easiest to the most difficult ones. It was also the first time that we fixed the base of the crag, taking care of the access and all of the area surrounding the wall. We made a real garden of it and that’s where the crag’s name comes from.

Awesome Fabio Leoni Interview 202

When does a line become beautiful?

The beauty of a line coincides with how natural the movements are: when you find the holds exactly where you

would like to find them. When I bolt a line, be it easy or difficult, I look exactly for these characteristics. I wish I had bolted Titanic at Nago: spectacular! I am talking of a 7a, a grade which can now be climbed a few months after you first start climbing. It has everything in the right place. Therefore for me the beauty of a line does not depend on its difficulty or if I can climb the route. When I open a route which is too hard for me, for example 8a+, 8b, 8b+, if I see that the project is climbable, once I have bolted them I let someone stronger than me climb them, to confirm the grade since it will always be a project for me. This is what happened in Bassilandia. In this way I have proof that my routes can be freed respecting the natural movements of the line.

success is also thanks to those who bolt the routes. If there had been only the historic crags of Massone or Nago, even if they are amazing, climbers would have gone elsewhere: to Finale Ligure for example. People come today to Arco and the Valley to climb from all over the world because every two years a new guide book comes out, because new sectors are continuously bolted, because there is a huge amount of work undertaken to research, discover, clean and bolt crags, often by private individuals. All you have to do is to flick through a climbing guide book to see how many have contributed to the development of the Sarca Valley. It is an important amount of work which has contributed enormously to the economic development of the area, but which to this day is still not subsidised enough.

What do you NOT want from a crag?

In crags that have been carefully prepared I have found people stealing hangers, removing the carabiners on the anchors, not respecting the hard work undertaken. This really bugs me.

I hate when there is no respect for other peoples’ belongings this consumer society behaviour which can be seen around the crags. It should also be mentioned that many rock faces are situated on private property, and are often left in doubt thanks to the rudeness of many climbers. Usually there is a tacit accord on the part of the landowner who lets us climb if we respect the terrain which is home to the rock face. But when this does not happen the owners prohibit any type of access. It is therefore up to us not to reach this point.

How much does it cost to bolt a crag?

It is an expensive passion. One bolt costs roughly one euro fifty.

If you calculate that there are about fifteen per pitch plus the anchor, the result is soon clear: thirty or so euro per line, and this is an average estimate. And how many single and multi pitch routes are there in the Valley? It is difficult for a private bolter to defray his expenses, nonetheless the Valley is bolted by the majority of them. I think that bolters could be subsidised by the local administration, which already intervenes on the upkeep and protection of some areas.

The typical climber in the Sarca valley?

He is varied, continuously moving. A high percentage looks for new areas to climb, on un-polished routes, to enjoy the crags which we periodically bolt. Then there is a segment of top climbers who come to repeat the hard pitches in the valley, even if there are very few compared to the current evolution of climbing. There is a continuous increase in foreign climbers: not only German, who are the main visitors, but Polish, Slovenian, Czech, American and British have joined the trend.

Is there a demand for a type of climbing which the Valley cannot satisfy?

Today there is an extremely high request for easy routes, I dare say a total of sixty percent. Many families would like to climb on medium difficulty crags, even if at Arco it is not easy to fully satisfy this request due to the rock: usually compact, almost always vertical, with small holds. For an easy crag our rock tends to be difficult to bolt. There are easy sectors, some have been enhanced, we really need many more. The search for easy crags would bring further development in the sport of climbing; it should also be mentioned that for this type of wall the process of cleaning is enormous.

Apart from Arco, I can think of San Giovanni, on the boulders, where entire families can visit the crag: an itinerary with holds has been set up by the local council and is very popular.

Much of the merit of what Arco is today is due to who has bolted the routes, but you still remain relatively unknown…

When I bolt a crag I do not look for praise. We mainly bolt for passion. We enjoy bolting to then climb “our” routes, “keep” them for a year or two, then make them public, make them known to other climbers and let them try them. Arco’s large

What should a bolting partner be like?

To tell you the truth, bolting is something which does not necessarily have to be shared: at the beginning you are almost jealous of the areas discovered. If I find a small crag where I can bolt on my own I do not share it with others. Obviously if I find larger areas I call other friends, otherwise the work becomes enormous. And in my case the person I have bolted most routes with has been Danilo Bonvecchio, extremely strong on slabs and who has bolted half of the Sarca Valley.

What kind of equipment do you use?

We still use zinc hangers and zinc bolts. Resin can cause structural problems, therefore expansion bolts are still the best solution.

Stainless steel should nonetheless still be used since it is a good guarantee against corrosion through time.

On this subject I should like to suggest to anyone who frequents the crags in the Sarca Valley to point out to the climbing shops any problems found in the crags. If they notice something unusual while climbing - on an anchor, on a carabiner, a hanger that moves - mention it to the mountain shops since they are the most active in this context. Except for the crags which are managed by the communal administrations there is no real institution which works to protect and upkeep the climbing walls. Personally we try to do whatever is possible, but it is a large area!

Of all the crags you have opened which is your favourite?

Bassilandia. I was the first person to have the courage to pull down the first tree!

How do you choose the names of the routes?

Sometimes randomly, other times depending on the rock, or the type of crux moves. In Piccola Dallas, the route Fatima was called that because there is a very long section without a bolt… and we saw the Virgin Mary. And Braveheart, because clipping in takes a lot of courage…to climb that section you need to have a really brave heart!

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