Petzl Legend Tour Italy: Arco and the Sarca Valley, the cradle of Italian sport climbing

So where do we go this time? Our vertical journey across Italy could not fail to stop off in what is still considered the cradle of Italian sports climbing, Arco and the Sara Valley. And we could not fail to pay homage to its main players, starting with Roberto Bassi, the one who indicated the "way" and taught us marvel whenever we’re faced with the beauty of these rock faces that frame this enchanting valley.

Climbing in the Sarca Valley, on the white limestone crags dotted around Arco, is a unique experience, today just as it was forty years ago when the first-ever climbing guidebook to this area was written by Roberto Bassi. We tried to imagine and relive these crags in their early days, to see what it was like to explore all these virgin rock faces and the boundless territory.

This episode is marked by timeless passion, that goes beyond grades and difficulties, that we felt thanks to some of the main players behind the development of this area, Maurizio Zanolla Manolo, Rolando Larcher, Mauro Mabboni, Marco Curti "zio Tibia”. And also Angelo Seneci, because it was in Arco the the first climbing competitions came to life, with the legendary Rock Master and the idea of ​​training for competitions.

This is a story of discovery, the unearthing of the Italian Verdon, a sea of ​​rock that embraces Arco all the way to Lake Garda. And this is also a story of friendship and a story of passion that, even today, burns just as bright in the eyes of the main players as it did 40 years ago.

by Laura Giunta

Link: Petzl