Versante Sud Pennavalley Climbing guide in Italian* Crag|Crag And Sport Climbing Guidebooks

Versante Sud Pennavalley Climbing is a climbing guide in Italian that will take you to discover the crags between the hinterland of Albenga and the lower Cuneo area: val Neva and val Pennavaire!

In the hinterland of Albenga, a short distance from Finale Ligure, there is a still uncontaminated valley, full of cherry trees, olive groves, mushrooms and truffles: a biological richness which is due to the presence of the Pennavaire, the luxuriant stream which crosses it between an exuberant and wild green. A dense network of paths connects the various hamlets in a setting of woods, medieval villages and bridges from other eras.

If you’re tired of crowded crags and full car parks, this is the place for you! Here the few inhabitants see climbing as a possibility of development, and the welcome is magnificent. Here it is possible to get lost in the greenery without seeing a soul, bathe naked in a stream and discover that only a roe deer is spying on you.

The cliffs are splendid. The climb is modern, made up of long and sustained pitches, well protected according to modern concepts of safety, given the rather recent discovery of the place in a vertical key. They range from the first crags in the closest area of Castelbianco, including Terminale and Erboristeria, to the new jewels in the upper valley, which are based in the hamlet of Alto.

It is here, dulcis in fundo, that the high difficulty of Liguria is developing: this is the place where it is easier to find the champions who climb on the grades impossible for mere mortals.

The author is Matteo Gambaro, a very strong climber, route planner and bolter who, since 2015, after moving to Cisano sul Neva, has begun a real vertical revolution in Val Pennavaire. He bolted over 300 routes from 8a to 9a + and enriched the valley with many high-level routes that were previously missing.