Alpine Logistics

This area is famous throughout Europe for Pizzo Badile and Melloblocco but it has a great deal more to offer besides, as we discovered on short trip last week.

In the early afternoon we arrived at San Martino, a small alpine village north of Lecco. We were haeding for Val di Zocca; one of 16 valleys covered by the new, 369-page guide book to the area ‘Solo Granito’ (Only Granite). With a four hour approach ahead of us we had opted to sleep at Rifugio Allievi Bonacossa instead of hauling up tent, sleeping bags and a stove in addition to our climbing gear.

At three o’clock we set off under the blazing heat of the sun across Val di Mello. It really is as idyllic as people say…a wide, clear blue river winds its way across flat grassy fields dotted here and there by huge boulders. Hanging above both sides of the valley are 600m-high slabs of granite, although it’s too hot to climb this low down in mid-summer.

I gazed longingly at the people playing in the river but our path soon disappeared north-wards up a steep-looking side valley. Infinite zigzags climbed up through a pretty pine forest, occasionally crossing steep rivers which had carved their way into the hard granite bedrock and were tumbling impatiently to the valley floor.

After some time we emerged above the tree line and into cooler, high mountain air. Val di Zocca began to open out ahead of us until finally we reached the base of the amphitheatre which forms the head of the valley. What a sight! A multitude of huge granite spires towered above us and the rock looked perfect on every one…enough for months and months of climbing! It reminded me a lot of the Wind River Range in Wyoming. We couldn’t resist getting out our map and guide book to identify some of the peaks and decide which we’d like to climb first.

Some lucky horses were grazing in the beautiful meadow in which we stood, where there must once have been a lake. 100m further up we could see the refuge still basking in the evening sun, beckoning us on. On our arrival we were greeted by a couple of walkers who were half-way through the five-day long-distance walk ‘Sentiero Roma’ which crosses the area. We shared a table at dinner and they told us all about their adventures.

Our objective for the following day was a classic 450m route ‘Lady-D’ on the south face of Punta Rasica (3305m). After an short 45 minute approach from the hut we were at its base looking up. Eleven pitches of slab climbing awaited us…a style that neither of us is very used to but which turned out to be very rewarding. On occasions I wondered what on earth was keeping me up! No holds for hands or feet on near vertical rock…grip must have some limits I thought.

Clouds came and went but the temperature was almost ideal throughout the day. Ten abseils to descend the route and we were back at the hut in time for dinner.

The next day we had the prospect of the 1500m descent back to the valley floor from the hut so we opted for a shorter route called ‘Gelato al Bonacossa’ on an east facing buttress nearby. By midday we were back at the base enjoying our sandwiches and taking in the spectacular view. I tried to imagine how the first climbers to reach the valley must have felt. From the valley floor you would never imagine finding such a vast Mecca of granite hidden away up here…and this is just a small part of what there is.

The valley floor seemed a long way down but eventually we made it to the long-awaited dip in the river running across Val di Mello and then an ice cream in San Martino. “This is the life!� I thought.