Canyoning in the Alps. Simon Flower

Route 83 Lavarie

       Route 84 Tralba Inferiore

       Route 84a Alba

       Route 85 Simon Inferiore

       Route 85a Simon Superiore

       Route 86 Cuestis

       Route 87 Rio Nero Superiore

       Route 88 Rio Nero Inferiore

       Route 89 Brussine

       Route 90 Mlinarica

       Appendix A Canyon summary table

       Appendix B Further information and resources

       Appendix C Campsites

       Appendix D Tourist information offices

       Appendix E Glossary of technical terms

       Appendix F First descents

       Route Planner

      Aquatic and encased, Bares (Route 43 in the Como region) is a long, committing alpine descent

      PREFACE

      Offering a stunning selection of routes in the best areas, this guide to canyons in the Alps of northern Italy or Ticino is not an exhaustive one.

      Canyons of mediocre quality have been excluded, as have some better canyons in mediocre areas. The latter category includes Val Susa (west of Torino), Aosta and Lake Garda, all of which contain a number of fine canyons, but too few to justify a week away. If, having tried some of these routes, you find you wish to explore the Italian-speaking Alps in greater depth, there are a number of foreign-language guides available (listed in Appendix B).

      Remarkably, despite a firm following on the continent, canyoning remains a relatively unknown sport in the British Isles, even among the outdoor communities. Few people really know what the sport entails, believing it to be something akin to gorge walking or white-water rafting. Ignorance stems from the lack of opportunity to practise the sport. In these islands there are no canyons of comparable quality to the continental ones, and with a lack of English-language guidebooks on the market, few people venture abroad to try it. Those that do will often give it a go on ‘rest days’, in areas celebrated more for climbing or caving than canyoning, while others visit the more publicised canyons of southern Europe. The canyons in these sunnier climes are better known for beauty than for sport, and their ease ensures that many are overrun with private and professional groups alike.

      It is therefore hardly surprising that the smattering of British or Irish people who have tried canyoning have a fairly neutral view of it. The aim of this guide is to shake you out of that neutrality. If you get half as much enjoyment out of these canyons as I did, then it will have fulfilled its role.

      Simon Flower, October 2012

      Deep pools in Mondelli 2 mean that much can be jumped or tobogganed

      The delicate 50m pitch in Osogna Inferiore (Route 35 in the Ticino region)

      INTRODUCTION

      No room for error – a technical 100m pitch in Sponde (Route 18 in the Ticino region)

      Frequently hidden among a backdrop of lofty mountain peaks, the canyons of the Alps are wild and forbidding natural reserves, where rivers, waterfalls and clear-green pools nestle between towering walls of rock and vegetation. They are the awesome product of tremendous erosive forces, scored deeply into rock over millennia by the movement and melting of glaciers that have long since disappeared.

      Unlike the mountains around them, with their bold, universal appeal, the canyons attract a more select crowd, prepared to tackle a unique variety of hazards and challenges. Certainly, mountaineering ability will be called upon, but the fast-flowing alpine streams demand additional skills more familiar to white-water enthusiasts. At times the current can be an intimidating barrier to descent. Very often abseils are under the full flow of water or into plunge-pools seething with waves and undercurrents. Many waterfalls must be (or at least should be) jumped or tobogganed. Some control has to be abandoned to the river – a concept not everybody will be comfortable with. This makes canyoning in the Alps a serious mountain sport, but one punctuated by moments of child-like thrills.

      In this book you will find some of the best descents that the Alps (and the sport) have to offer. Many are long, technical and aquatic in nature, geared towards physically fit parties unfazed by white water, rope work and hard labour. While previous canyoning experience isn’t necessary, a background in other mountain sports (such as mountaineering, caving or climbing) is. A number of canyons are suited to people who have never canyoned before, provided they are in the company of more experienced team mates. It is fundamental that you develop your understanding of canyoning hazards and safety and its special descent techniques with experienced canyoners.

      The canyons are grouped into five Italian-speaking areas across northern Italy and Switzerland, outlined below. Sitting at their peripheries are the best canyons of Slovenia, Austria and the Valais Alps, which have been included as a bonus. Most are within easy reach of a single base (usually under an hour’s drive), making each area a perfect destination for a week or fortnight’s canyoning holiday. The book also contains practical information needed for organising your stay, including details of walking, climbing and via ferrata possibilities in each area (this is the Alps, after all). Finally, as this sport remains so little known in the UK, some advice regarding the precautions, equipment and techniques specific to the sport is also given.

      The 45m pitch of Lodrino Inferiore (Route 33 in the Ticino region)

      Val d’Ossola

      An area of wild alpine rivers carved into the gneiss and granite peaks west of Lake Maggiore, this region spans from the rugged terrain of Val Grande National Park to the towering giants along the Swiss border. Two canyons in the Swiss Valais region are also included.

      Ticino

      Switzerland’s sunniest canton is a canyoner’s paradise, famous for its lofty, theme-park-like canyons. The canyoning is only a stone’s throw east from Val d’Ossola, in two broad valleys snaking north from Lake Maggiore. With the canyons so closely huddled together, Ticino probably has the greatest concentration of superb descents anywhere in Europe.

      High water levels in Grigno (Route 54) meant that it was several years before the first successful full descent was made

      Lake Como

      The area around Lake Como offers a mishmash of different mountain ranges and canyoning styles. It encompasses the mighty Bernina and Lepontine Alps on the Swiss border, along with the Orobie Alps and limestone pre-Alps further south. Their differing geology affords the canyons very different characters, ranging