Alpine Logistics

Donnas is a crag at the lower end of Valle d’Aosta, suspended above both the moterway and the highway which run the length of the valley. However despite its unfortunate position during the winter, spring and autumn months it’s always packed: people come from as far afield as Geneva for a morning’s climbing before returning to the office in the afternoon! So it must be a worthwhile place to go climbing in Italy.

There’s one 6a, one 6c and the rest is all in the 7a-7c range, with one 8a and an 8b+…and it’s overhanging. Being our local crag we now know most of the routes back to front but it hasn’t always been that way. When I first started climbing at Donnas 7a was my limit and overhangs weren’t my thing…I once told a non-climbing friend of mine that going climbing there was like going to work!

For some time I tried my best to avoid going but I soon realized that if I wanted to become a better climber I’d have to face my fears and improve on my weaknesses. One of the great things about climbing is that you never stop learning and although it wasn’t an easy task it’s given me a great deal of satisfaction to be able to gain new skills and strength through perseverence and maintaining a positive attitude.

I now happily spend a day a week at Donnas, often doing routes I’ve done many times before but I know it’s all good endurance training. There are still plenty of routes left for me to work on though so the challange isn’t over!