Dolomitic limestone at Molveno

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Our journey to find shady crags good quality rock to climb carries on. So far we have been lucky with our picks and most of the carefully selected crags have been enjoyable. Today's pick was Molveno S. Antonio nearby the Brenta Dolomites a crag that is dedicated to the memory of local alpinist Luca Sartori.

Molveno is an east facing crag taking 50 minutes from Arco by car. It is located at a high altitude of a
900 meters above sea level so it is well climbable during hot summer days. It is one of the alpinist style of crags like Coltura and Croz de la Niere. You can almost taste the golden age of alpinism at Molveno where Brenta Dolomites are dominating the skyline.

When it comes to the climbing Molveno the limestone is more compact and Dolomite's style here. Crag looks good on paper. Total of 47 lines starting from 4 and going up to 7c and most of the lines are more than 20 meters long.

Rock face looks actually good and the styles of the line have definitely some character. But then the downside. It looks like that all the local climbers and growing young alpinists have been training a lot here. Many lines were polished from the beginning thou there were also better quality lines. And at the same time bolting was distant in most of the lines. Distant bolting on a slippery rock makes the 1st few clips hard on some of the routes.

Not an easy crag due the distant bolting and polished rock. Sad because crag has great potential to be interesting challenge. It is not a must place to visit but if you happen to be nearby or just want to get a shady crag then you may want to check it out.

Crag grade: 3/5
Rock quality: 3/5
Bolting: 3/5
Surroundings: 5/5
Approach: 4/5

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Molveno S. Antonio, 28.6.2015

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More fresh rock from Tione

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Hunt for the fresh rock goes on. Results of the hunt are astonishing and yet another hidden gem has been found. This time our climbing picnic headed to the small city Tione that is located halfway between Madonna di Campiglio and Arco.

Some may think that Tione's  climbing crag is a bit too far from Arco and thus won't bother to visit there. But long distance is only half of the truth. It is true that driving there takes 45 minutes and 41 kilometers from Arco but once car has been parked you are only 3-5 minutes away from the crag. So the total time to get there and climb is about 50 minutes which is reasonable especially due the easy access.

Tione is a east facing wall located at 580 meters which makes it a good afternoon crag during hot summer days. It has total of 24 lines starting from 4a and ending up to one 7a route and most of the routes being at the range of 6. Grade range makes it perfect for beginner to medium level climbers. Lenght of the routes from 13 meters up to 20 meters making the lines long enough for hard continous lines.

Bolting is excellent but the best part is the rock quality that is practically untouched on most of the routes. Grip was amazing and the enjoyment to climb on fresh and unmarked limestone is rare. Styles of the routes varies from slabs to overhangs, arêtes and roofs. I was a bit surprised to see how such a small amount of routes can have such a different types of climbs.

Surroundings were well put together. Wooden steps, bench and nice green field makes this a perfect even for a family picnic. Well equipped!

Conclusion is clear. A definite place to visit if fresh 6 graded lines are your beef!

Crag grade: 5/5
Rock quality: 5/5
Bolting: 5/5
Surroundings: 4/5
Approach: 5/5


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Tione, 21.6.2015

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Escaping the rain to Trento and Muse

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One thing that has been different during this summer is the weather. Everyone who I have met in Arco agrees that they haven't seen a summer like this before. And this is the first time for us too that the weather has been so unpredictable over the last 12 summers at Lake Garda. Unpredictable rains, low temperatures and sudden weather changes are more than common. Cooler temperatures are fine for sports but heavy rain and storms makes almost all outdoor activities hard or hopeless.

Today constant rain changed again our plans and it was time to come up something else to do. After few ideas we decided to head towards Trento. Initial idea was to see the city or some museums. As a city Trento is an interesting mix of the Italian and German cultures. That shows up on the street level clearly on the architecture that changes dramatically between city blocks. But hanging around the city in the rain is not too much fun for long. Luckily we heard a tip from the local climbers at Arco that Trento has a new and impressive museum MUSE - Science Museum so we decided to head down there.

MUSE-museum is located in a fresh and modern building and exhibition covers all the main aspects of the science from biology to electronics. Majority of the exhibition area was dedicated to the massive nature and animals collection from past to present. For outdoor people
the exhibition was impressive, especially the replicas of huge dinosaur skeletons. Modern part of the exhibition is designed around personal experiences, you can lay on a spike mat, test your balance or see a 3D printer in action. That suites well for fellows and families who are not that much into traditional museum tours.

Climber's skeleton.

Among other things alpinism was covered too and of course we saw climbing fashion and gear from 30's to present, oh I miss the lost feeling of the real mountain adventurers. I would be rather
outside in the nature but MUSE was still worthwhile to visit, especially when it rains too much for outdoor activities.

 



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Trento, Muse, 8.7.2014

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Deep water solo climbing at Riva del Garda

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Just a few days a go our first climbing instructor and mountain guide Stefano Angelini / Mountime Group invited us to visit the Millet's Garda Climbing Challenge 2014 event to the Arco Climbing Stadium. An excellent opportunity to see top notch Millet Team International climbers and enjoy a casual evening with local fellows. Millet's two day event included climbing competition, relaxed evening  party and deep water solo climbing day at Riva del Garda for the 2nd day.

After the relaxed evening at the climbing arena we decided to participate for the next day's deep water solo climbing event. The great opportunity came with a price of an early wake-up. Our alarm clocks rang at 6:45 for the misty and cold morning. After sleepy and slow morning we decided to carry on with the initial plan and head towards the climbing arena where the climbing crew gathered. Once all eyes were finally open we headed to Riva where pedal boats were waiting for eager climbers.

Weather wasn't too promising when we arrived to Riva del Garda. But it doesn't matter when you have the right spirit and enthusiast climbers with one goal, get up to the wall as high as possible.

In  just about 15 minutes from Riva del Garda all the climbers had their pedaling boats at the climbing wall that is located just below the old via Ponale road. Once first accents were on their way the unexpected happened, as a surprise the sky became clear and sun started to shine. That was the final thing needed for a perfect deep water solo climbing morning.


The only limiting factor for the schedule was the midday when Péler winds turn to the more stronger Ora wind. Ora is great for windsurfers but too strong for pedal boats heading back to Riva. Still the return wasn't that bad because the perfect morning. On top of that Millet invited all of us for the final gathering lunch and social event back to Arco Climbing Arena.

Great and definitely a different day with the Millet Team International climbers, this time extended by the amateur Finns for the very first time;) The rock was hard and the water was cold!

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Riva del Garda, Deep water solo, 25.6.2014

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Visiting at the Balter winery in Rovereto

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After the midday visit at the museum our day at Rovereto continued with a visit to the Balter winery. Winery is located in an old castle dating back to the 16th century. The former castle has been serving as Balter family winery since 1872 for four generations. All the grapes of the Balter wines and spumantes are also grown in the surrounding 10 hectares. Balter is relatively small but quality winery, producing a bit more than 70 000 bottles a year, main product being Trento DOC spumante.


We were lucky with our our visit because we didn't organized the exhibition upfront.  Actually we just found the winery from the recommended Trento wineries and walked in to see if they can give us a tour. We got an excellent welcoming, staff welcomed us friendly and gave us an a great overview of their winery and wines. And of course they let us see the whole process and the undergound winery facilities. Balter winery facilities were underground so that the original castle and surroundings would stay intact.

And as usual they let us taste and experience their high quality Trento DOC Spumante and other wines. We are more than grateful for the Balter winery for letting us visit without a notice. A definitely place to visit if you appreciate professional wine makers and artisan skills. And the the Balter's spumante is definitely excellent quality as the Trento DOC spumantes are. Recommended!

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Rovereto, Balter winery, 25.6.2014

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Castello di Rovereto - Museo Storico Italiano della Guerra

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Weather has been a bit more unpredictable during this summer than usually. Forecasts have been showing rain and thunderstorms and colder for the whole week which is uncommon. Luckily most of the forecasts have been wrong and only small occasional rains haven't  prevented us from outdoor activities. But today was different, the rain started in the early morning and it was clear that we should come up something else to do than outdoor sports.

Luckily we had got Guest Card Trentino from our apartment. The guest card offers free entries to museums, nature parks and castles and free public transportation in the Trento province. It was obvious choice, we decided to see one of the museums and winery nearby and we decided to visit Castello di Rovereto.

The castle is located in Rovereto about 25 kilometers from Riva del Garda. Castello di Rovereto is built in medieval times and upgraded later during renaissance era. At that time it was turned into an alpine fortress by Venetians. Nowadays the castle houses Italian Historical War Museum - Museo Storico Italiano della Guerra. The war museum has been founded just after the great war in 1921 and it focuses on the Great War. On top of the WWI the exhibitions museum has also impressive collection of medieval, renaissance and Napoleonic era's arms and military gear.

Majority of the museum still focus on the World War I and pre-WWI era. Exhibitions gives a great overview of the Austro-Hungarian empire's and Italy's activities over the WWI in the region. The Great War had a strong impact to the region and some of the excellent mountain trails of the region are from that era.  Lot of the trekking and mountain biking itineraries in the province are made just in the pre-WWI or during WWI era by the the Austro-Hungarian and Italian armies, like the infamous via Ponale and King Tremalzo's war roads.  And on top of that majority of the via ferratas were initially designed for helping soldiers to move safely at the mountains. The Great War and major fights happened just 100 years ago which is not that long time a go, a good reminder for all of us of the dark days human nature and the value of peace.

Castello di Rovereto was only the first half of the day. Second half was more relaxed in a local Balter winery at Rovereto. More about that in the next article.

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Rovereto, Castello di Rovereto, 25.6.2014

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Multipitch at Parete Zebrata

Mika's lead at the Parete Zebrata, Zo Le Man.

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Parete Zebrata has a long history in alpine climbing. Wall is pretty easy to recognize on the left (west) side of the road (S45bis) from Arco to Pietramurata. From a distance it looks like a massive slab but it offers a varying set of routes.


The wall was explored by Heinz Steinkotter in 1969 who created the first route 46¤ parallelo. From those days the wall has evolved and nowadays it includes three different sectors with routes from 70 meters up to 500 meters. Bolting has changed the nature of the wall from traditional alpine climbing wall to a bolted multipitch sport wall. Still the routes are alpine style and the bolting varies between routes. Most recent routes have been bolted 2012.

Our choise for the second multipitch day was a newly built 120 meters route Zo Le Man, 5b. Route has good bolting but not necessary in the terms of sport climbing. Route was a good choise for a quick and enjoyable climb. The approach, climb and decent took only 3 hours and 45 minutes from parking to top and back to parking. So it was a quick drive-in and climb experience.

Approaching.

Wall is completely surrounded by loose rocks, so wearing a helmet is a necceccity and its also a good idea to go before other groups or clearly late after majority of the climbers are already gone.

We chose to climb in the evening at 5 pm when the wall was completely in the shadow. That was a good choice because at that time other climbers had left the wall already and we didn't need to worry too much about falling rocks. Early evening option works nicely when the day is long enough, but it might be harder to do during late summer days or on early spring.


Parete Zebrata offers a quick access multipitch. It was a good next step after the Corno di Bo' training day and offered a great opportunity to enjoy the surrounding views.  Again I can recommend Zebrata's 80 to 120 meters routes if you are seeking for a nice warmup multipitch. But remember that longer routes take more time and dedication.

After this the next multipitch will be 250 meters of pure rock in Sarche at Piccolo Dain, routes Amazonia and Orizzonti Dolomitici.

Jarkko at the 1st pitch.

View from the top.

Mika and ropes on the top.

Heta climbing behind the leader.

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Parete Zebrata, 4.7.2013

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