Number in series 70; Year of publication 1986 - Fell and Rock ...

ROCK CLIMBING IN NORTHERN ITALYAl ChurcherBormio, Christmas 1982 — just finished skiing for the day and entering thebookshop opposite the hotel for some postcards when something in the windowcatches my eye. Sandwiched between Italian translations of Harold Robbins,Alpine Floras, and How to Ski Like Franz Klammer in Three Days — a largeglossy bookjacket with a climber in extremis below the legend Cento NuoviMattini — Scalate breve e libere . Even if I can't understand a word, at less than£10 this Italian cousin of Hard Rock is obviously a bargain, so clutching it tomy chest I hobble back to my hotel.There is certainly something unique about Italy — the food, the wine, thewarmth and friendliness of the people, the many varied landscapes, the sense ofhistory. Add a book of a hundred climbs on granite, limestone, conglomerate,quartzite, etc, in situations as diverse as the sea cliffs near Rome and the highvalleys of Mello and Oreo, and it's no wonder that Jill and I returned home withour next summer trip already planned, and I started work on the language.So much for the start of my love affair with Italy and her climbing — all verynice, very romantic — but what's it offer you? So far I've only climbed in theNorth, (school holidays don't really fit in with trips to the even hotter, evensunnier South) but there's enough here to keep most people happy for theaverage lifetime. Very roughly speaking there are two main zones of interest tothe crag-rat rather than the alpinist. The first of these lies to the North ofMilano towards the Swiss border, and consists of the Lake Como area and theValtellina/Mello region. Lake Como is surrounded by a sea of limestone and thecliffs developed so far vary from ones close to the lake (reached in 15 minutesfrom the road), to others high in the surrounding hills which often necessitatethe use of rifugios. I've not climbed here yet, but many of the routes are said tobe very good, although some of the older classics have their share of loose rock.I'll find out for myself in the summer.The Mello valley is one of the most beautiful places I've visited — in August itbecomes a little busy with tourists but once away from the main camping areayou soon leave these behind, and the climbs are rarely crowded. There are goodshort and easily accessible routes — the classic being Nuovi Dimensione, Italy'sfirst Grade 7 — but two of the most worthwhile climbs are probably Kundalini(HVS/El), and Luna Nascente (E2). Each of these gives over a thousand feet ofmemorable climbing, and as one follows the other they could be combined toprovide quite a day. Mello itself is still remarkably underdeveloped by British orAmerican standards, but over the last two years bolts have begun to appearwhich should lead to the opening up of many of the untouched slabs and walls.The valley itself is full of boulders, and if that's your scene there's now a guideexclusively to the bouldering of Mello. But just outside the village of San285