Climbing around Tuscany, Italy?

So my planned road trip to the rockies is still kind of up in the air due to my partner's rehab from some health issues...

I've been trying to figure out what to do, and then I was offered a job in Forte dei Marmi near Viareggio/Pisa on the coast. I'd be there from mid-July to end of August. I know this is the hottest time of year, but what is the climbing like? Moreover, what is the area like? Will I be able to get out of the city via bus? Will I be able to hook up w/ local climbers? I won't have a car but will have a flexible schedule and a descent budget for beer/gas in exchange for some local beta/partners.

I've been offered this job along side my wife, so that is obviously a plus for Italy. Add in the fact that all our expenses are paid (including flights) and that our bank account will go up by a few thousand pounds instead of down makes it kind of dumb to turn this opportunity down.

But I'm bumping the Rockies road trip in hopes that I'll be able to do a CA road trip in Sept-Nov. I want to be able to climb at least a little bit in Italy to stay in shape for that brilliant granite in CA.

Any info?

Thanks!

Go to the Dolomites...freaking unbelievable climbing! It's a bit of a drive from Tuscany but so worth it. I went with my wife, who is sort of into climbing but not obsessed. We had a blast. The via ferrata are wicked fun. We brought a rope, rack draws, etc, but we had so much fun doing the via ferrata routes that we didn't even break out the rope.

the via ferrata are all the fun of free-soloing (light pack, cover a lot of ground, chat with your partner as you climb a sweet rock face or ridge) and none of the stress.

then there's the coffee and beer at the refugios. I love america, but with the refugios, the dolomites are way better than the rockies.

We just got back from Arco. There are enough sport-o routes to keep you busy for a lifetime. You can walk to some of the crags from town. Single pitch sporto, multi pitch sporto....we even stopped by a local crag just outside of town that appeared to have multi pitch (10 - 14 pitches) trad routes.

The public transit system is pretty darn good. You can get just about anywhere via bus and train.

Thanks guys.

I'm pretty full of ideas about where to go for my week off in August (I live in Europe) but what I am really interested in are the local crags near Viareggio. Those are the areas that I'll be able to check out on my short breaks of a day or two.

The Dolomites are the obvious choice for the week off but I'm not into via feratta and while they are beautiful and very accessible, I've been told that the rock quality can quite poor compared to the stuff in Switzerland and France. Still worth checking out I guess... but maybe in early Sept after my work is done.

Anyone actually been to Tuscany?

Ryan Williams wrote:I'm pretty full of ideas about where to go for my week off in August (I live in Europe) but what I am really interested in are the local crags near Viareggio.

I see some crags and a book for the area here:

climb-europe.com/RockClimbi…

You're not too far from the Genova area and the crag of Muzzerone. Not been, but, I've looked at the guidebook a bit.

Finale Ligure is fantastic. A bit further up the coast, but, maybe in range for you for a day or two. Should be some shady stuff up high, or, to the northwest in the mountains too, although I think some of the main crags up high are south facing and would be very hot in July. Shade and some breeze might be doable, though.

Yea I'm going to try and find that book tomorrow.

There are two areas that look to be w/in miles of the town I'll be in... Candalla and Cannelot. On UKC it says both are climbable in summer as they are in a narrow valley/gorge. Looks promising...

Now does anyone know of the best way to find climbers in this area? I've sent a few emails out but am shooting in the dark.

Guess I'll find out when I get there...

Ryan Williams wrote:Now does anyone know of the best way to find climbers in this area?

Besides a shout out for partners at UKC, you might try popping an email to the CAI chapter that's active in this area. Or, find out where and when they meet, and go introduce yourself.

I ran into the local Finale Ligure chapter of the CAI when I was there last fall. Good source for partners, or, at least info on where to find some.

I can imagine there's some more local climbing websites for partners? Or, try the canyoning forums for that area. A lot of those folks climb too.

Yea I've already gotten two email responses from some guys I found today... thank God Google translates webpages! Came across CAI but didn't try contacting them yet... will do.

I've heard Finale is stacked w/ 5's and 6's but is super polished. How would it be for my wife? She climbs 6a ish when in shape but probably more like 5 or 5+ since she's been training for marathons.

Thanks for all the help!

Ryan Williams wrote:How would it be for my wife? She climbs 6a ish when in shape but probably more like 5 or 5+ since she's been training for marathons.

Fantastic. I didn't find the routes in those grades all that polished.

I think because Oltrefinale maybe has become more popular, that the standard classic Finale stuff isn't as crowded (?).

climb-europe.com/italy/Rock…

You could always head west/north too, for those newer areas.

So much rock. Some of the 4's and 5's we did were superb.

Ryan Williams wrote: I've heard Finale is stacked w/ 5's and 6's but is super polished. How would it be for my wife? She climbs 6a ish when in shape but probably more like 5 or 5+ since she's been training for marathons. Thanks for all the help!

I went to Finale a couple of years ago for a week and gotta say it's awesome. There's over 2000 routes in the region and it's not very crowded. As a result, routes aren't too polished (It is limestone after all).

If you do end up going climbin there PLEASE get a copy of the guidebook. I tryed to dirtbag it by using the online topo found on coronn.com. What a piece of shit that was. I'd get up this route that had pitons dating from the Davinci period and the anchor was the sketchiest sun-burnt thread I had seen. 40 feet to the left all the routes were bomber glue-ins. So basically, I couldn't tell from the online topo which routes were safe to climb on. The guidebook seemed really good...

Also, there was a free camping for climbers when I was there. I forget the names, but it was at the North facing cliff which would be good to climb on in the summer.

We climbed at one of the south facing walls and there were awesome 5, 6 pitches 5+ routes. I recall Rita beeing one of them.

If you do end up going there, make sure to stop in at the village of Finalborgo. It's a fortified village. Stay away from the cafe correto (a type of coffee) in the morning.

Hope this helps, enjoy Italy! ciao

Check out the Apuan Alps.
This will be in your back yard. I didn't have time to get into it for you, but there is some climbing in the area, I've been in the region and it's absolutely beautiful.
Alpinismo!

Also, near Forte Dei Marmi

Hey Ryan, Did you have some luck finding climbers in the area? I'm here in Forte de Marmi for the next two months, September and October - which is off-season, and I'm staring at this rock out of my window hoping to get on it. Do you have any connections in the area or some of the closest crags you enjoyed? I'd probably be climbing around the same grade as your wife. Thanks in advance!

It's been a few years now, and the guidebook “Toscana E Isola D’Elba” is out of print (and probably outdated). Does anyone have information on climbing in Tuscany, particularly in the area of Viareggio? Thank you sincerely!

I climbed at Candalla near Viareggio in the spring. It's an amazing overhanging sharp limestone crag, with routes up to 2 pitches. First pitch tends to be vertical technical 5.11, second pitch overhanging in the 12-13 range. You can find info at falesiaonline.it.

Caspar van Lissa wrote: It's been a few years now, and the guidebook “Toscana E Isola D’Elba” is out of print (and probably outdated). Does anyone have information on climbing in Tuscany, particularly in the area of Viareggio? Thank you sincerely!

you can find that book on amazon.it.. as far as I know it is not out of print

or head to toscoclimb.it or red climber.it for some great beta on multi pitch routes.
Send me a PM and when I come back home in Florence we can go climbing together!

Follow up on this question, does any one know of places to rent gear in tuscany? We will only be there for a short time for our honeymoon so it doesn't make a ton of sense to lug all our gear along if we can only go climbing for a day or two. We will be staying nearish Florence and Grossetto so really anywhere west-central Italy. Thanks so much for the input in advance!

Sarah Roux wrote: Follow up on this question, does any one know of places to rent gear in tuscany? We will only be there for a short time for our honeymoon so it doesn't make a ton of sense to lug all our gear along if we can only go climbing for a day or two. We will be staying nearish Florence and Grossetto so really anywhere west-central Italy. Thanks so much for the input in advance!

Hi there, I don't know of any store that rents gear in Tuscany but I'll ask up this question in a local FB climbing group.

What kind of gear you need?
I live in Florence, we might be able to do something together!

Niccolo Gallio wrote:

Hi there, I don't know of any store that rents gear in Tuscany but I'll ask up this question in a local FB climbing group.

What kind of gear you need?
I live in Florence, we might be able to do something together!

That would be great! Thank you. We would need a full set (rope, quickdraws, harness, ect. ) we typically only haul along our climbing shoes because we just do carry on and don't have a ton of space. And we always love meeting new people who know the area, we'll be there next May so I'll reach out as we get closer!