Just a quick summary of our recent Arco trip. My orginal thread is locked.
We visited 5 different areas over the week, but we were also running in the Austrian and Italian alps and the mountains above Lake Garda. We visited Nago, Baone, Punta Corno di Bo, Marmitte dei Giganti, Muro Dell Asino. All the crags were well equipped, even the ones which the guide said the bolts should be checked.
Loads to do, great area with nice cafes, pretty cheap outside of the main touristy villages. There's quite a bit in the lower grades but we found these areas were VERY busy and VERY polished. Never seen such polish. The sectors with lots of lower grades, 5a and below were heaving. Probably because of the polish we found the grades a bit odd, in fact the easiest climb we did was probably a 5b, yet some of the 4's felt harder. You have to really look for the finer foot placements because the obvious ones were just glass.
Probably the best half day we had was at Baone, which was quite a bit quieter and is nice slabs. Some of them can be a bit run out for sport, 4m between bolts.
Good area, but I think Costa Blanca was better for the lower grades, mianly because of the polish and crowds. But there's a good range of activities available, windsurfing, beaches, biking, running, walking, climbing, and then the cafes. So a good spot to make a nice break with the family.
Loads more crags to visit in the area, we were based at Malcesine for a wedding so didn't want to be driving too far.
