Via Ferrata Monte Albano is open again

Via Ferratas offers a quick and nice way to enjoy great views and heights without too much of a hassle. Instead of a multipitch climbing we decided to take a break from the normal routines and head to the Via Ferrata Monte Albano - Ottorini Marangoni. 

Monte Albano's ferrata has a respectable reputation but it has been closed since 2011. Luckily the
long maintenance project has been finally completed and route has been re-opened recently. We have been actually waiting several years to get there and now finally we got the long waited opportunity in our hands.

Route has been told to be the hardest outside higher Dolomite mountains by offering lots of open air. Route's grade is the hardest even it is only 350 meters long. Highest altitude at the end of the route is around 600 meters and the estimated time to complete the route is 4-5 hours including ascent and exit.

It seems that the route has been improved a lot during the maintenance and some of the old route
descriptions are not valid anymore. At the same time the surroundings have been improved too and there is an excellent boulder park with picnic tables and a public toilet just a few hundred meters before the ferrata.

For me it looked like that the beginning the route has been secured better than before as well are the airy traverses. Overall safety of the route is now in an good level. That may have turn the route slightly easier than before but we are not speaking about a Sunday walk here!

Route has splendid and exposed traverses what it has been known for. Lots and lots of open air around while traversing over the city of Mori makes this legend worthwhile to be experienced. And this route is not for a first timers. Having a good head for exposed rock walls and heights and some stamina is required.

We completed the route in about four hours and it could be completed even faster if you don't spend too much time for taking photos like we did. Recommended definitely!

Ferrata grade: 5/5
Route quality: 5/5
Security: 4/5
Surroundings/views: 5/5
Approach: 5/5
Exit: 5/5


See all photos:

Monte Albano - Ottorini Marangoni, 25.6.2015

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Back to the old, good and solid

If you just want to see photos then click here 

Just the next day after our arrival it was time to head back to the rock walls. Three days by car takes its toll and expectations weren't high for the  1st climbing day. Goal was to climb long and beautiful 6 graded routes in a nice environment. Perfect target for the first day was one of our favorite crags, Regina Del Lago at the Ledro Valley.

Approach to the Regina can be hard in a hot summer day due the long and steep path to the crag. 
Luckily our expectations were wrong, the weather was perfect 24 Celsius degrees. Over recent years we have got used to the hot summer days that are exhausting for bikers and climbers and can drain all the energy before the actual activity. But this summer seems to be different. Based on the local's knowledge the whole summer has been more or less colder than usual. Of course 'colder' is not 'cold' in terms of Finns and the temperature is actually perfect for outdoor sports.

Maybe one reason for the cooler weather is the number of Finns around here. For the first time we actually heard a spoken Finnish at the crag, 2 fellow climbers Tero and Viivi from Jyväskylä. They were visiting Lake Garda for the very first time and Tero was getting ready to his RCI (Rock Climbing Instructor) training at the Dolomite mountains. That was a perfect coincidence, we got a RCI candidate to teach rock climbing for our soon to be arriving guests Juha and Niina. Great!

For the 2nd climbing day at 20th of June we headed to the L'Orto that us just at the backyard of Arco. But backyard doesn't mean that the approach is a walk in a park to a picnic camp. Actually it was the opposite. It took about 50 minutes by feet from our apartment at Arco up to L'Orto.

The crag has short to medium length routes with nice and challenging moves. Overall grading of the routes is solid but the routes have started to polish since the last visit. L'Orto used to be known from fresh rock, which it still has, but popular routes have started to polish and the roughness of the rock is permanently lost from few 6 graded routes. Still a good crag to visit!

See all photos:

Arco, L'Orto-Regina, 19.-20.6.2014

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Great views over Garda at Fausto Susatti Ferrata

View down to Riva and Arco from Cima Capi.

Trail starts from via Ponale.

As a last adventure for this summer we decided to summit Cima Capi (907 meters) by climbing F. Susatti Ferrata. Our day started slightly late and because of that the temperature was already around 34 celcius degrees, which is hot for a long ascent.

Actual route starts from Riva and goes along via Ponale. The first half an hour goes exactly at the same road that we pedaled to the secret spot to Punta dei Larici. While walking the old road it is easy to spot fortresses, tunnels and barrack on the sides. Old Ponale road has a long history. It been built already 1860 to protect the lake, Garda, the road and the Sperone aqueduct supplying Riva.

Sign at the Ponale road pointing
towards Cima Capi.

After the 30 minutes walk at the old war road we arrived to the point where the path number 405 heads towads via ferrata and Cima Capi. From this point forward the road gets more steep and is covered with loose rock. It takes a bit over an hour to get to the starting point of the ferrata from the crossroads.

Soon after the start the path heads towards a steep and open mountain meadows that were extremely hot during our ascent and only few parts ware nicely in the shadow. For us the ascent was one of the hottest that we have completed during the years that we have spent at Lake Garda. Having enough water and some snack was essential. Personally I reserved four liters of water for the day.

Steep ascent.

Exhausted traveller.

Views towards the lake and nearby peaks are magnificent and were getting even better after every step. The price for views is the demanding approach walk up to the starting point of the ferrata. Once we arrived to the ferrata luckily the wind was starting to cool the air and we didn't felt tired anymore.

The ferrata itself is easy and suitable for all who can walk to the starting point. It is not exposed so climbing should be easy for anyone. Ferrata is also split into several parts and it continues even for the descent path towards Bastione.

From the peak the ascent path is obvious to follow. But the ferrata, ascent and the route is not yet over. Soon after the peak descent is partially exposed at the ridge. Then after that ascent has several ferrata parts traversing on the edge of the mountain. Trail back to Riva follows first the path number 405 and then the path number 404 which goest via Bastione at the end. For us the ascent took about 2 and half hours so it was a good idea to have some additional water for the ascent. Our total time for the ascent, ferrata and descent was about 5 and half hours (including the time we spent for photographing).

At ferrata.

Summit.

Yet again we got a great adventure but sadly it was our last for this year. I'm still happy that I had the opportunity to do most of the planned activities. For this year we had to skip the more demanding via ferrata Ottorino Marangoni at Monte Albano that seemed to be closed for some reason. We also had to skip few of our planned alpine multipitch routes and we missed the local freerider's weekly ride at the Skull route. But three weeks is only three weeks. I gues that we have to come back again next year. We'll see.

Heading down.

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Rainy day at L'orto

After redpointing succesfully at Calvario's classic walls we decided to continue to a relatively new crag L'orto. Crag is so fresh that it is not even listed at the Arcowall.com pages so the expectations were high for the quality of the rock. L'orto has also one exceptional feature, it is pointing to north east which makes it a pleasant place to climb even on a hot summer days.

Approach took about half an hour by foot from our hotel to the crag. Road is narrow and covered with stones so it might be slightly difficult to drive towards Santa Marie di Laghel which is the recommended parking place. From there the approach follows the 408 path through olive groves. Crag is nearby the spot where 408 path separates left  from the main road towards the Salt de la Cavra. From there path to the crag heads to left and the last 5 minutes of the approach are on a steep and loose upward traversing path. Path was ok to walk up to the crag but it looked that the descending down will slippery on a loose sand and rock. Once we got to the wall it became clear that it is not a populat place. At the crag we saw only two pairs climbing.

Overhanging part of the 5c - Zigole.

Wall has two parts. On the left part of the wall grades of the routes are between 5a to 6b+. On the right part of the wall routes are more demanding and grades varies from 6a to to 7c+ and on average routes were about 15 meters tall.  Surprisingly L'orto is the one of the rare places where even 5 graded route might have an overhanging parts.

Picking up a suitable route from an empty wall is a pleasure. Plan was to start from couple 5 graded warmups and then continue with 6a:s. I started with an easy 5a (19. Lampascioni) that has an overhanging crux immediately at the start. It was on of the best 5a routes that I have climbed here. Next one was 5c (17. Zigole) that had also an overhanging start and a great end on a vertical wall.

As soon as I started to descent down from the second warmup it started to rain heavily. It became soon clear that I had to forget my 6a targets (15. Rapa and 16. Spinaci) and instead pack all the climbing gear as fast as possible.

Our climbing day was short when it comes to the number of  ascents but routes were good. Sadly it looks like that we do not have other opportunity to get back to L'orto during our holiday. Hopefully next year we can return to the wall and test the routes from the right. Still, we had a nice day and a good enough reason for having more gelato.

More photos coming up later...

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King Tremalzo

Our transportation arrived to Tremalzo.

If I would have to ride only one mountainbike trail at Lake Garda it would be Tremalzo trail down to Riva. Ride starts from top of the Tremalzo at 1800 meters and descends down to 80 meters. Length of the route varies slightly between different paths but it is around 30 kilometers long.

Bike shuttle started from Torbole at 10:00 and arrived to Tremalzo 50 minutes later. The trip wasn't boring because shuttle driver had prepared a karaoke session for passengers. Definitely a right attitude for the day. Karaoke song was Litfiba's Tex. I didn't understood too much of the lyrics, but the main message was clear, lonely cowboy riding alone in the desert. That fits pretty well for the day's theme. And of course our shuttle driver was the loudest singer, bravo Luca!

Preparation for the ride started with coffee at the Rifugio Garda at 1686 meters. During the final check we noticed that Jarkko's bike wasn't in a proper shape. Several spokes were badly loose and because of that the whole rim was risky for a long ride. Luckily Sami had a proper tool to fix the rim. After half an hour Sami managed to tighten the spokes and to rebalance the rim. It seems that bike rentals do not check the rims at all between customers.

Starting tunnel at Tremalzo on 1800 meters.

At twelve we finally started to head towards the starting point of the trail. Approach took about 15 minutes from the reataurant and we had to climb additional 120 meters up to 1800 meters. The fun part starts just after the tunnel. Initial part of the Tremalzo trail  goes on an old World War I road. Story tells that prisoners of the war built the road during World War I.

Rocky road is easy to ride and for us that meant a high speed. Still we had to use breaks a lot on the steep curves to avoid sliding and falling out of the way. The road is mostly covered with loose rock and is thus demanding to ride fast on tight curves.

Old war road ended to the Passo Nota at 1205 meters and first part of the trail was completed. From Passo Nota we headed towards Bocca dei Fortini (1243 meters) by following the trail number 421. Here some pedaling was required to ride few steep uphills. Next we headed to Passo Guil (1209 meters) by following again the trail number 421. From Passo Guil we continued to Passo Rocchetta (1159 meters) switching to the trail number 422.

Trail map.

At Passo Rocchetta we continued on the 422 wich is long, fast and enjoyable to ride. There is also more technical alternative 422bis. I have done it once. Still I wouldn't recommend it. It is great for experienced and technical trail riders but 422bis is it's own kind of a "fun" and majority of the riders do not enjoy it.

After the trail ended to a rock road we had a small planning break for the rest of the day. During the recent years I have chosen the rocky and dry riverbed that is crossing the 422bis pedaling route (see our trip to the secret spot). It is enjoyable and fast trail that crosses the 422bis few times until it joins to the main route 422bis.

Freeriding path 422 nearby Passo Rocchetta.

This year was different. We chose the 422 trail that ends nearby Pregasina. It is more demanding  and steeper than the earlier part. This trail requires good control on a loose rock, on steep turns and on sudden drops. Final part of the trail runs on a very loose rock road. From that part forward the path continues to on an asphalt road and then via old Ponale road down to Riva.

Tremalzo trail has shown it's greatness again. It is a nice combination of easy scenery roads, technical trails and demanding and steep descents. We had a great reason to enjoy ice cream at  Riva!

Videos will be available afterwards once we get a better Internet access.

See our photos from the Tremalzo trail.

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Denied multipitch and evening at the Muro dell'asino

We had a solid plan to climb a short multipitch early in the morning and then head to the Muro dell'asino to climb some sport routes. Weather was great in the morning and we headed towards Monte Colodri's south face in time. Once we arrived we saw a warning note that the whole south face has been closed since 2008. Idea for the route came from Sarca Walls book that has been printed 2007, but we didn't checked the latest access information, what a bummer. A lesson learned, from now on we check the access upfront from the Arcowall.com web site and we do not trust on old books that lists the routes.

Best part of the failed multipitch was the beautiful sunrise.

Santa Maria di Laghel and trail 431.

That left us then only one option, to wait until early evening to let the temperature calm down a bit. At 17:00 we decided finally to head towards Muro dell'asino that is located almost on our back yard. "Almost" means that the approach took an hour and a half. We followed the instruction provided on the Arco Rock topo book. First part of the approach went well but once we turned right to instruction became confusing. But eventually we found the crack.

Heta clips a quickdraw.

To avoid similiar confusing experiences I'll try to write briefly how to navigate the last part of the approach correctly. I expect that readers can find Santa Maria di Laghel where from my instructions starts. From church Santa Maria di Laghel turn right and follow the trail number 431. Same path is used as an exit trail from the via ferrata. Follow the main trail up to 310 meters from sea level. From time to time the approach is rocky and relatively steep. It takes about 15 to 20 minutes to get up there from Santa Maria di Laghel . Then the trail splits into two, take the left and follow it for a slow descent until you can see wooden steps which lead up to La Placca sector.

We were quite happy once we got there. Routes were high, between 15 to 30 meters and on the highest routes a 70 meter rope is recommended. Topping the routes was also great, because the view was rewarding. Grades of the routes varies between 4c up to 7b. Majority of the routes are between 5b to 6b. Because of our late schedule we only climbed between 2 to 4 routes per person but the late day temperature was definitely a pleaseant experience.

Top view was great when the sun was setting behind the opposite mountain

Jarkko holding on an x-position.

Muro dell'asino is also one of the rare places that has a dedicated sector for kids or true beginners. Baby Wood sector has routes where altitudes varies between 8 to 10 meters and grades starts from 2c and end up to 4a. Environment is pleasant and I can imagine that this is a suitable crack for a whole family. Still approach might be hard for the youngest climbers.

Additional notes:
We noticed that on La Placca sector routes number 29 "Testo Finito" - 5c and number 32 "Lo Spazzacamino" - 6a had loose bolts. We noticed one bolt on both routes that was moving slightly sideways (few millimeters). Be cautious out there.

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Anaconda freeride run

GPS map of the day.

It was time for a good trail run. Having a good trail means also a long ascent with a lot of pedaling. Target trail for the day was Anaconda that is one of the most enjoyable rides that I have rode at the Lake Garda region. Trail starts from a village Santa Barbara at 1170 meters. To get there we had to pedal uphill around 1100 meters via road SP88 that eventually ends up to Santa Barbara.

For some reason we started the day slighly later than usually. We left from Villa Nicole at noon at the hottest moment of the day. For our luck the temperature was only 34 celcius degrees and there was actually a good propability for a rain.

Having a break.

Our pedaling part took about 2 hours and 20 minutes. During the climb we had our first break in a shadow after the first 300 vertical meters. It was essential to choose a shadowed spot for the breaks, otherwise we would have run out our water supplies too early. After the first stop we had a break after every 200 meters of pedaling. This may sound lousy for a street biker but for a trail biker with a heavy bike to pedal and to carry all the essential protective gear it is decent uphill. 

Start of the trail.

Once the pedaling part was completed up to, the Santa Barbara, we found the trail by turning right to a dirt road just before the center of the village. Actual trail found soon after that on the right side of the dirt road. Anaconda trail is starting a trekking path number 637 and the beginning point was easy to find.

Trail starts with a smooth part with good nature banks that allows to ride fast. Regular cross country riders can enjoy the same trail just with less speed. There were few small upphills at the trail, but overall it was a smooth and enjoyable ride. First part continues to Malga Fiavei. From there the trail follows the dirt road for some time. Soon after Malga Fiavei there was a bike path separating to the left side form the dirt road. Spot can be racognized easily, there are log steps covered with some sand for trekkers. Anaconda follows that path down to Nago. This part of the trail was more demanding and I would recommend cross country riders to continue on the dirt road to Arco instead of the bike trail. From this point further Anaconda shows it's true nature.

Altitude and speed chart of the day.

Last parts of the trail was quite demanding even for a Garda veteran. Lots and lots of loose stones and sharp rock on endless paths. Trail is definitely ridable but on some parts I felt that I should have known better what is coming up. I bet that it pays to ride this part few times in a row to learn all the best lines and turns on the most difficult spots.

Finally we arrived to Nago where everyone of us ran out of water. That left us only one option: to ride a nice and easy dirt road towards Arco. Great day, total of 5 hours and 30 minutes of good riding. For me a hard biking day means that I'm obligated to eat ice cream as much I can swallow! Not a bad deal.

Freeriding at the Anaconda trail.

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Via Ferrata Rio Salagoni

Ferrata started nearby the parking.

It was time for the second ferrata. For today we selected relatively easy via ferrata Rio Salogni. Exceptional route is traversing in a cave like environment surrounded by a rich and a beautiful nature. The ferrata starts from outside the city of Dro and ends up nearby to the old castle of Drena.

Ferrata starts 600 meters from the parking at the road SP84. Starting point of the ferrata was like an entry point to a fantasy land that lies between smooth rock walls and a small rivulet at the bottom.

Finding the start of the ferrata was easy.

This ferrata is completely different from the others because it is traversing most of the time on a wall of a limestone rock valley. Temperature on the ferrata is almost 10 degrees less than at the surraunding countryside, wich makes it even more enjoyable.

Start of the ferrata.

Ferrata follows the rock walls by traversing slowly upwards. After about 20 minutes the first part of the ferrata ended into an outstanding green valley. The valley looks like a lost world because of the distant sunlight and smooth colors of green and brown. One of the most exciting locations that I have seen during the summers that I have spent at Lake Garda. From here the ferrata continued through a bridge built out of three iron cables. Via ferrata continues then after the bridge and climbs towards the castle of Drena.

Finally we ended up to the spot where guides usually take hteir groups towards the path that leads to the castle. That traditional path turns left over a small wooden bridge. But today we chose a different trail. We continued our adventure by travelling further the valley.

Mika on the cable bridge at the lost valley.

Trail continued with iron steps but without the cable. Most of the time it was ok, but on same cases connecting the via ferrata kit to the iron ladders seemed to be a good idea. Path continued for about 15 minutes until it ended to Drena.

At Drena we decided to take a look to the old castle. Castle was nicely renowed and it was also possible to visit at the tower to see the nice view to the Sarca walley. After visiting the castle we headed towards our car by following a nice but rocky trail.

Once we ware at the car everyone felt that the via ferrata was definitely a worthwhile to climb. Recommended because of the great cave like environment and beatiful scenery.

See our photos from Flicker.

Heta and Sami at the tower of the old castle of Drena.

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Secret spot and a hidden trail - Punta dei Larici

Trail map from Riva to Punta dei Larici.

Short but still one of my favorite trails starts from the "secret spot" at Lake Garda. Punta dei Larici is located at 908 meters on a beautiful peak with a gorgeous view over the lake and down to Limone. There is still a price to pay to get up there. Reasonable climb of 800 meters sounds ok but the final 350 meters of the pedaling goes up on a steep dirt road. Biking uphill on a dirt road starts to feel an excercise when temperature rises up to 35 celcius degrees and the rider has a heavy trail bike.

Our trip started from Riva nearby the car tunnel on the western side of the city. Trail was closed around 2003 or 2004 because of heavy rains, but luckily it was re-opened and is now in use for trekking and mountainbiking purposes. This old trail is one of the most beautiful bike climbs at Lake Garda and during the early afternoon hours the road is usually full of tourists.

Heta, Jarkko, Sami and Mika posing at the secret spot.

After the scenery road ends the pedaling continues towards Pregasina. Road to Pregasina has good asphalt and is easy to pedal. Our trip's halfway hotel was at La Madonnina statue. From here the road continues towards Pregasina village that had the last spot to fill water reserves before Punta dei Larici. From Pregasina to the Punta dei Larici the road became more rough and steep.

Final spot Punta dei Larici found by turning left at the crossroads with trail 422bis. This secret spot offered a great place for relaxing and getting energy for the best part of the ride, trail down to Pregasina.

Our speeds and altitudes during the day.

Going down the main road would be a waste of effort in a place like this. Still most of the riders seems to go down to Pregasina via the main ascent trail 422bis. Over the years I have found a great alternative trail that crosses the main 422b few times and eventually ends up to the main road. This path is marked on some maps as a river or rivulet. To find the starting location we headed down via the 422bis but on a first steep right turn we headed down to woods. Starting point should be easy to find by keeping eye on the right side of the road. I'm not going explain more about the delails, let the video show the rest. Videos are still pending due our limited internet connection.

See photos from Flickr

Trail riding nearby Pregasina.

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Sport climbing at Beldevere

Top view from Beldevere towards Torbole, nice!

It is a time for the first sport climbing session at Lake Garda. Our goal was to find a crag to get more familiar with the local rock. Finding a spot for climbers who have been rock climbing less than a year is not an obvious task. For our team Beldevere was an excellent choice, because it has a lot of well bolted routes where you can pick any one of the lines without thinking too much about the grades.

So we packed our gear in the early in the morning to head towards Nago and Beldevere. Beldevere is easy to find, just head towards Arco from Nago by following the road SS240. There is a good parking on the left side of the road nearby the mast. Beldevere is the grey wall behind the woods on the opposite side of the parking slot.

Jarkko climbing route number 6 "Ale'Gher"  - 5a at Beldevere.

Once car was parked we headed to the crag by following a path that started on the other side of the road. Beldevere has two sectors, A and B. We headed to the sector A that has 20 routes from 3c to 6a. Length of the pitches varies between 8 to 12 meters.

It took about a 5 minutes to get to the crag and another 10 minutes to locate a free starting route. Beldevere seems to be relatively popular since at 9:30 half of the routes were reserved. Still it didn't felt too busy and switching the routes was easy and quick. Beldevere is mostly in shade so for the belayer it was a nice environment to belay. For the climber shade lasted up to 4 meters and after that climber became well exposed to the sun.

During the day we climbed between 6 to 9 routes per climber and everyone of us felt that Beldevere managed to fulfill our expectations.We can recommend the crag, if you want to climb 4-6 graded routes. But be aware, you are not going to be alone at the Beldevere during the August.

See photos from Flickr

Sami and Heta belaying routes 4 - "Fessa" (5a) and 6 - "Ale'Gher" (5a).

Parking on the left side of the road. Access via trail from the other side of the road.

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