Switch from ice to rock faces at Regina del Lago

After four days of ice climbing and two days of snowboarding it was time to switch the mode from ice to rock. This time of the year is a perfect for longer rock climbing routes to we headed down to Sarca valley and Arco.

After the longer ice climbing routes we decided to start with shorter 110 meter routes at Regina del Lago. Regina's Prima Fascia sector has great 4-6 pitch long routes with quick approach and easy exit. And actually after climbing a longer route you have three good option, head to the sport sectors, continue longer lines at the Regina del Lago C-sector or just walk down and start the next route.

This is the second time at the Prima Fascia sector and today we climbed two 6a lines, Via Settimo Cielo and Via Messalina. Both routes were enjoyable to climb and the belay stations were relaxed with excellent view over the valley below and Lake Garda.

Prima Fascia sector has 20 know routes and we also found some fresh ones too. Majority of the routes are bolted during last 5 to 10 years. But be aware some of them have trad pitches in the middle and few of the routes are complete alpine graded. I was also surprised about the wide range of grades in the routes. Easiest ones start from 5b and most difficult ones go as high as 7b. A great range of difficulties for a one sector.

After the 2nd visit at this sector I'm convinced that this is the best part of the Regina del Lago crag.

See all photos:

Regina del Lago - multipitch routes, 23.3.2016

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Regina del Lago, great views over Valle di Ledro

Path to the crag starts from the mouth of the tunnel.

If you just want to see the photos then click here.

The old Ponale road leading to Pregasina is a well known mountainbiking trail up to the Punta dei Larici and back. For climbers the same road passes by one of the best medium level climbing crag, Regina del Lago. Regina del Lago offers total of 69 routes on four sectors from A to D. Grades of the routes starts from 4a and ends up to 7b. Majority of the routes are in the range of 5c to 6b.

So far the crags we have been visiting Regina del Lago offers the greatest view over the Lake Garda and  especially over the Valle di Ledro. The downside is that the approach is not the easiest one.

Aproach starts from the parking place just a bit after the tunnel ends. Car can be parked either to the right side of the road  SS240 just before the road on the left side to Pregasina. If the first parking is full there is the other convinient parking on the left side of the road, just after the turn to Pregasina. The third, but not recommended option, is to drive through the old tunnel mouth and park few hundred meters after the tunnel.

Parking is the easiest part of the approach. From the road side parking it takes about half an hour to reach the sectors. The crag is surrounded by steep woods and the last few hundred meters of the approach to sector B is 2c/3a climbing excercise. Heavy bags will add the difficulty factor considerably for the last part. See our photos from Picasa to get better understanding of the approach.

We visited at the sector B that is marked with few screws and a small rock on top of them? Maybe it is this or difficulty of the last hundred meters that the rock was one of the best quality (not polished) in the region. Bolting was well done and anchors were reliable as usual in the Garda region.

During the day we completed few 5c and 6a routes and as a conclusion we can recommend the crag, thou its not suitable for a families seeking for picnik type of a location.

Pregasina, Regina del Lago 17.6.2013

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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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