UKC

Hey all!

Me and my fiancée are going to Val Di Mello for 10 days in the beginning of June. I was wondering if anybody here had some tips for traveling there!

We are staying north of Morbegno in a tiny town of Cevo. The AirBNB we rented has a bouldering pad, which is a relief! We do not have a car nor access to one. We boulder around at the f6A-f7A level in Finland.

Any tips or useful knowledge?

Specific boulders to look out for?

How are the grades there? Hard, soft?

Does any shop near our residence sell the Mello Boulder guise book? The shipping expenses are terribly expensive.

Any great suggestions for rest day activities?

Thank you all in advance!

We went there for trad and had an amazing time - so I can only answer some of your questions.

Getting there is straightforward - from Morbegno a bus runs into San Martino. When we were there, it was cash only. However, all the buses were getting card machines installed, so I'd bet on that having changed by now - let us know! 

There is a small climbing shop in Morbegno that is very well equipped and I'm certain would stock the guidebook, there is also a small guidebook in San Martino itself, which is well equipped and once again almost certainly stocks the guidebook. If all this fails, the excellent and friendly Bar Monica in San Martino has all the guidebooks there and they're happy for you to take photos of them. 

The area is beautiful and I'd highly recommend some hiking for a rest day. Just walking up the valley and having a nice swim in the river is great fun, or heading up to the Gianetti or Allievi Rifugios for a slice of cake (Rifugio Allievi in particular was the friendliest Rifugio I've ever been to, and the Guardian offered us his rope after we core shot ours on an abseil, and lent us a big cam as well after recommending us a route with an off-width section )although these walk ins are a little long perhaps to be a rest day!. 

It's one of my favourite places in the world, the quality of the climbing, and the general vibe is hard to beat. Have an ace time!

Thank you so much for your response! I'm sure to keep this all in mind.

Please take a rope/s. and some trad gear so you're not limited to bouldering.

Did 10 days in Val di Mello/Val Masino bouldering this March without a car. It's doable and a really great place. But I would recommend staying in either San Martino or Val Masino/Cataeggio if you can as the walking time from Cevo might be somewhat prohibitive. I stayed in San Martino, from where you can walk to all the main bouldering areas in 45 mins.

There are buses but when I was there they only run a couple of times per day. Maybe it's more in high season in the summer.

Grades are tough but fair. Not soft for sure, but not super sandbagged imo.

Recommended routes:

Totem 6b

Spalla 6c+

Diavolo 7a

Aryton Senna 7a

Zero in Condotta 7a+

Those were some of my highlights but there's so many boulders of incredible quality. Worth going to the boulders in Val Di Mello itself as it's crazy beautiful up there.

Guide book is sold in the climbing shop in San Martino, it's of good quality and fairly recent.

Go for a hike on rest day, it's one of the most beautiful places in the world.

I appreciate the concern, but bouldering is our main (and only) climbing discipline. We do not own the gear or knowledge to climb either sport nor trad.

Unfortunately we are locked into staying in Cevo, as we have already payed for our AirBNB.

I will be sure to try out most if not all of your recommendations for the boulders!

Thank you for your response!

Sorry, I hadn't realised that. Hope you enjoy the place for its own sake, then. 

No worries, will do!

I live not far away and go a few times a year, though usually a mix of bouldering, roped climbing and hiking. One thing I'd suggest for bouldering is to spend a day doing the Melloblocco 2016 yellow circuit (you can find the logbook ticklist on ukc). That will get you to most of the major bouldering areas and you'll tick some classics and you'll probably discover some harder ones you'd like to try. One thing to be aware of is that some of the Boulders have moss on them, particularly in the Bagni forest, so they may be unclimable if they're not popular and kept clean. That said, the bagni forest is a godsend if its hot weather - it's always shady and cool in there. The walk from San Martino is also nice (not sure where the bus drops you off).

You'll definitely be able to find a guidebook in Fiorelli sport in San Martino, and probably in Stile Alpino (think that's the name) in Morbegno. Pretty sure Fiorelli also rent out crash pads if you wanted more than your Airbnb will lend you. As mentioned above, if you get stuck just ask in Bar Monica and someone will point you at some good rocks.

At the lower end of your grade range I can recommend Idrojet and Tre Strapiombi dei Veronesi in the Mello Proprieta Privata area (not actually private property). Tendine dello yeti in the Visidio area is also a must do.

Not sure what the rock is like where you are but the Mello rock can be super rough and usually trashes my skin really quick, so be prepared for that if it could be an issue for you. 

Thank you so much for the detailed response! I will definetily look into the circuit! Also will gladly check your recommendations!

The bouldering in Finland is mostly granite, with some gneiss mixed in. All in all pretty rough, and thus I won't think that the rock quality will be a problem.