Ginedryo, the new drytooling crag at Collepardo, Italy

The new drytooling crag Ginedryo at Collepardo, in the province of Frosinone, was inaugurated on Sunday, December 7th. This spot adds to an ever-growing group of drytooling crags in Central Italy.

As part of the event series called Respira Orizzonti Dry ("Breathe Horizontal Dry"), organised by the three associations Respira GranSasso, Orizzonti Verticali, and DryPride, the DryPride sports association inaugurated this new site, which however has an older history. In fact, the drytooling site is adjacent to an existing crag I bolted in the early 2000s, called Ginepraio.

The cave, having dusty and damp rock for most of the year and being particularly devoid of holds, was poorly suited for climbing, and from this came the idea to dedicate it to drytooling. After finishing the Mondo Perduto project in Guarcino (FR), I decided to pick up the drill again and dedicate my energy to this new spot. Bolstered also by the help of the ever-present Nicola Petricca, Alisa Boccanera, Cristiano Di Paolo, and Nicolas Carbonari, and the support of Climberstore Roma, I decided to begin bolting and cleaning the site.

The beauty of the valley of the Rio river, descending from the Ernici mountains, on which the cave sits, further strengthened my desire to bolt and climb these lines. The result is good quality, technical and physical routes ranging from D5+ to D13-.

The crag was inaugurated by Lele Bagnoli, who had already bolted and freed Friends of dry (D12/+) in the cave. For the occasion, he freed Chirone, a link-up of several routes, grading it D13-.

The presentation was also an opportunity to dedicate the cave to a dear friend, Damir Casinelli Mihalj, who loved these places so much and did so much to promote the value of these valleys.

A final recommendation to all drytoolers: let's respect climbing crags. Let's climb using drytooling techniques only at the dedicated crags.

Massimo Tofani, Frosinone, Italy