Alpine Logistics

Ever got the feeling that ‘this just isn’t my style’ when every move on every climb at a crag requires a super-human effort? That was the case for me at Donnas…famous for being hard-core, pumpy and a place where few female climbers have done their best performances. This is ironic because ‘donna’ in Italian means woman!

Unfortunately for me this is the closest crag to home. I once described it to a non-climber friend of mine that climbing there, for me, is like going to work…more of a chore than anything else…strange for someone whose life normally revolves around rock climbing.

This year however the tables have turned; for the first time in 7 years climbing I’ve ‘trained’ for climbing. This winter I learnt to boulder, dyno, pull up weights and lunge my way up and down a campus board. The result?

This week-end, after a long period of avoidance, it was time to face my fears. We were tired of roaring up and down the motorway to the coast and in this season the mountain routes are still frigid; so, as we wanted to climb, we went to Donnas.

This crag has two warm ups, three 7a’s and all the rest are 7b or harder. The whole crag overhangs and the routes are characterised by long reaches, dynos and a very physical style of climbing; all of which have never been my forte.

Today however I managed to get to the end of the warm ups without feeling pumped and after a few tries bagged a 7b. Result! Now I can’t wait to go back and try out my new found muscles on the rest of the climbs.

Moral of the story…training’s hard work but it’s worth it!

In the space of a week we’ve gone from summer temperatures to snow! According to the forecast it should have been mainly sunny today, so we headed into Valsessera for a walk up to Asnass peak (2040m) in the Alpi Biellesi.

This area is far from main roads and has no mountain huts so it has remained relatively wild and unfrequented despite its proximity to the town of Biella.

We followed the Sessera river almost to its source, parts of it were still frozen. Although the water level is now low you can tell that in some years it carries powerful torrents from the smooth, sculpted masses along its bed. With a little imagination we managed to follow the footpath to the snowy summit, where far from sunshine it was snowing and the temperatures were below freezing…our hands were like blocks of ice even though we were wearing gloves. Just getting a drink from the thermos was a chore!

On the way down we spotted lots of wild deer and wished we were as agile as they are down the rugged slopes. Hot caffè latte and a shower were particularly welcome that afternoon!

Ever got bored of climbing in the same places all the time? During the last few seasons the local climbers of Finale Ligure have decided to do something about it. Despite having over 2000 routes to choose from in one of Italy’s best sport climbing centres, years of climbing on the local crags means you eventually reach the point where you’ve done everything within your grade.

The solution? A few kilometres from Finale, the beautiful valleys of Albenga have seen the discovery of some fantastic new limestone in the last few years. ‘Dinda’ has been without doubt the most active new bolter, giving birth to some of the best new sectors, including Terminal, Euskal and Alto.

To celebrate my 31st Birthday last week-end, we decided to make a trip to the coast and climb in some of these new sectors.

Terminal is a 400m-long band of limestone about 35m high. The rock is very varied; on the same climb you can encounter crimpy slabs, tufas and horizontal roofs. The grades go from 6a to 8a+, although the majority are in the 7s. J

ulia, Luca and I started the first day on a pleasant 6b+ warm up, Newark. After this we were attracted by a good-looking 7a, John Wayne, which gave us food for thought due to the difficulty of interpretation of the crux moves. Having warmed up we decided to try Nino Aquino, a 7b+ at the extreme left-end of the crag where most of the harder routes are found.

The climate at this time of year is great for climbing and Spring tints the valleys an array of bright colours as the fruit trees come into flower. These are cultivated on terraces perched on the hillsides and are often crossed by climbers to access the crags. It is important to respect the land both for the sake of the environment and to maintain peace with the local farmers.

Good company and climbing quickly bring the available day light to a close. The evening continues in the Bar Centrale of Finalborgo and then a dinner of pasta, roast chicken and red wine around a campfire to celebrate.

The next day we headed for two brand new sectors at Euskal: Basura and Colosseo. Here, overhangs are king; Basura also has an abundance of very attractive tufas. The climbs at the latter are around 20m high and span from 6b to 7c. We recommend: Melissa 6c+, Grimilde 7b, Brisen 7a, Nostradamus 7b and Aleppe 7a.

At Colosseo there are no tufas but the routes are slightly longer. Some of our favourites here include: Caracolla 6a+, Traiano 6c (very sustained), Seneca 7a, Nerone 7a and Augusto 7b (difficult crux near the top).

These new crags are set in sunny panoramic positions with views onto the limestone towers on the north side of the valley. Climbing there is forbidden due to the nesting of protected bird species.

At the end of the day we were suffering the usual symptoms of tired arms and empty stomachs. Our arms needed a rest but to cure our stomachs…pizza!

The new guide book is not yet out, so for anyone wishing to climb in the new sectors we will include the route grades…all the climbs are named at the base of the crag.