Chasing a blast of sunshine on a generally showery coast, we blasted back to Oltre Finale, which seems to enjoy a great microclimate. Sector Telematica has generally easier routes, nothing […]

Grotti is a small village about 100 km north of Rome. A mixture of conglomerate and pockety limestone, the climbing bears similarly to Buoux and Margalef  (according to reports on […]

Heading down into Umbria, we’ve been for a trip down memory lane. We first  (and last) visited Ferentillo more than 20 years ago on our “little big trip”. At that […]

We’re not great culture vultures – our only previous visit to Tuscany saw us taking in the sites of both Pisa and Florence on the same day  (and they’re a […]

We had a couple of days climbing on the impressive crags high above the famous showcave at Toraino. It really is an awesome place, with a real mountain feel to […]

Perched further up the Val  Pennavaire is the pretty village of Colleta and a collection of crags high up the side of the valley. Colloseo, Euskal and Basura. There’s a […]

We’re on the road again, heading for Sicily  (via Rome, of course). It’s a couple of thousand miles to San Vito lo Capo near Palermo in Sicily, where we’re meeting […]

Another overcast day and another trip to an excellent south facing crag. I Gumbi (not to be confused with the Yorkshire crag of Eh by Gumbi 🙂 ) is lower […]

Some welcome cloud cover brings the prospect of exploring some of the sunny crags above the village of Toirano in the Valle del Vero. Paretone is the middle crag in […]

In the next valley to the east  – Val Varatella above the village of Toirano, we head for sector La Cava. This is another unlikely venue, approached through old quarry […]

In need of a rest day we decided to explore the crags in Finale “proper”, though taking the gear just in case we got inspired. Another scorching day meant seeking […]

The mists have cleared and we’re into full blown heatwave. Big blue skies and temperatures in the high 20s mean we’re seeking shade. A quick perusal of the guide suggested […]

Sector Bausu above the village of Varevo has a mix of steep grey slabs and crimpy orange walls, with some fine arêtes and grooves for good measure. Of the dozen […]

Speeding through mist across the “thigh” of Italy, we rejoin the coast at Genoa and then head onwards for Finale. Rather than the famous and historic crags of Finale Ligure […]

Another well established Italian crag, this one is just north of Verona. It occupies a lofty position above the town, with great views somewhat marred by a large gravel shunting […]

Just south of Padua is the “Italian Boux” or so the guidebook would have you believe. Lumignano is a pretty and rather prosperous little town surrounded by pockety limestone crags. […]