Versante Sud Valli Bresciane climbing guide

Versante Sud Valli Bresciane is a climbing guide dedicated to the province of Brescia, which has an endless mountainous territory: the Adamello with its large granite masses, the southern-central limestone and dolomitic areas, three lakes, four valleys with an infinity of small and large suspended walls here and there on the slopes.

Yet – whether due to the vastness of the territory, which has complicated explorations, or the reluctance of the Bresciani to talk about themselves – little is known today about the heritage of climbing crags present in the Camune, Triumpline, Valsabbine, and Gardesane mountains. And, despite the fact that in the 1980s Brescia was one of the territories from which the revolution of free climbing in Italy started (on Mount Maddalena and at the Cava di Virle there are some of the first 8a routes freed in our country), many walls in the province are frequented almost exclusively by locals.

The exception of the Opol Valley, on Lake Iseo, a destination for climbers from all over Europe, confirms the rule: many other sites, interesting, valuable, and in magnificent environments, remain solitary playgrounds for lizards, dormice, kestrels, and occasional local climbers.

This guide – unfortunately still not comprehensive – is an invitation to explore the Brescian mountains and its walls and to discover – hidden behind the cumbersome yet insubstantial curtain of industrial infrastructure in the valley floor – the beauty of a humble and magnificent nature, which has much to offer to both beginners and advanced climbers.