 Wednesday, January 07, 2009 |
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Free Climbing in Elba IslandDiscovering the cliffs of ElbaText by Renato Bardi -
Climbing The Island The western side of the island Madonna del Monte - S. Andrea - Monte San Bartolomeo and Fetovaia Let’s take
a trip round the island to visit all
the cliffs and, maybe, even stop off
for a quick swim on the way. Leaving from Portoferraio, the island's capital, we make our way to Marciana, taking a trail that leads from the Pisan Fortress to the Madonna del Monte sanctuary (approximately 25 minutes). Along the way there are little shrines symbolising the stations of the Cross. The trail ends with a short flight of steps. Before reaching the steps, on the right, is a granite rock in the form of an eagle.
Continuing past the Sanctuary, keeping
to the right, you come to the cliffs. There are many shady areas so that it is cool enough to climb up here in the summer too; behind the sanctuary is the Teatro della Fontana (1698) where there is fresh spring water to drink even in August. The level of difficulty ranges from IV to 6B; the routes were marked out with pitons by two Alpine guides in the Spring of 1997. Continuing our journey, we arrive at S. Andrea, known as an island within an island. From the beach we take the route that leads to the whale rock overlooking the inlet, which consists of two slightly overhanging parallel walls, resting against each other. At the present time, only a few routes have been marked out, but others are planned on the rock face. The rock is granite and unfortunately the part overhanging the sea gets covered with a layer of sand, making it difficult to cling to. Level of difficulty: from 6b to 7b+. Now the road presents us with a superb spectacle. Travelling around the western sector of the island you will discover the area’s natural beauty with its coves and pale sandy beaches. From here you can see the island of Pianosa and, on clear days, Corsica. Mt. San Bartolomeo and Fetovaia On arrival at Chiessi,
Mt. San Bartolomeo immediately stands
out and can be reached after a 40 minute
walk. Here too, the climbing routes have
been set up by the same guides who worked
on Madonna del Monte: Giorgio Peretti
from Cortina and Aldo Leviti from Predazzo,
with the help of Fabrizio Galeazzi of
Elba. Here there are tracks for all levels of
skill, from V to 7+, although they are
invariably on gently sloping rock faces,
with technical passes where this fantastic
granite provides shallow footholds and
tiny steps. The area faces south and in the winter months, when there is no wind, it is warm enough to wear only a t-shirt and to climb happily from morning until sundown. Here the tracks are equipped with resin-coated stakes. The yellowish granite is very solid. Access to all routes is from the top and the bottom is reached via a short path. When we first discovered this cliff, we used to leave our chains there; regrettably, however, these pieces of chain were destined to disappear (I only hope the culprits were not climbers), so that now, for our downward climbs, we use ropes which we can easily recover on our way. The tracks are 2 or 3 minutes away from the car-park. South side: Ginepro - Remaiolo >> |
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The
rocky massif is situated at an approximate
height of 500 metres; a safety ropes and
steel cables have been fixed to the stretch
of rock that starts near the remains of
a mediaeval church. Granite predominates
in this area of Elba, as in the Fetovaia
cliff, just a few kilometres from Chiessi.
