UKC

Hello,
Could somebody help me with these areas, please. We are looking to go there for Easter. Flying to Milan. Which areas/ crags specifically would you recommend if you have been. We are going with three adults and a couple of small kids 1 1/2 and almost 3, so which ones are childfriendly? Also, we have a bit of a grade range to consider some what to do do 4c- 5c and others 7a, any tips?
Last question, have you stayed at any campsites, can you recommend any.

Any other tips very welcome, too.
Thanks!!!

In reply to Heike: I have been with my family to Arco 5 times I think now. The climbing at Massone is first division (and polished) rather than premier league but its walking distance away with picnic tables a range of grades and a good base. I have tried a few other crags in the area but they dont compare to Massone. Chris the Tall may be along shortly to disagree. The municipal CampingArco site has pricey-but-worth-it timber bungalows. Book early. They have tennis courts, a beautiful open air swimming pool and a bouldering room. Arco town is lovely and walking sitance from the campsite. ZooCamping just down the road is a bit grungier but still OK.

Other advantages to Arco: You can hire bikes and there are bike paths. Via Ferrata near the campsite too but Ive not been up them with the kids as my wife wouldnt let me. And there is Lake Garda itself. And the ice cream.

Finale has the beach but the crags I went to weren't child friendly or that appealing though I may have missed a trick. Someone mentioned that 'Ultra Finale'? is really good.

In reply to Heike:

I think Finale and Oltrefinale guides have a pram symbol for crags you can take bairns to.

In reply to shark:

Well I wouldn't recommend Massone for the 4c to 5c range - polished horrors. But the crag opposite the campsite has some fairly good little routes on the boulders, and there are other good crags for those grades - particularly Marciaga, although thats a bit far south.

Actually it's so long since I've been to either that I can't really comment !

In reply to Chris the Tall:

Ahh, we'd like to avoid polished horrors!!! So, maybe Finale is better, then?

Also, as I said originally, one of us climbs in the lower grade range, the other two climb highr grades. Are there any crags that are good for mixed grade ranges?

Do we need to book the campsite for Easter or is it likely to be not too full?

Cheers
Heike

In reply to Heike:
We had a day at Belvedere(Arco) and really enjoyed it. There are some shortish climbs in the 4-5 range. They are covered in the latest Arco Rock guidebook

easy stuff at Belvedere
http://www.flickr.com/photos/andy_hudson/4979168585/in/set-7215762480753455...

I would recommend Finale/Oltrefinale. It may be warm enough for some beach days too. Both guide books have plenty of suggestions for campsites and other types of accomodation, restaurants, etc.

In reply to Heike:

There's far more to Arco than Massone and I'm pretty sure you'll find other, more suitable crags. Plus I suspect Finale has more than it's fair share of polished horrors.

Although I've been to the Finale area three times I've actually done very little climbing there - variety of reasons but one of them was that the crags were very spread about and wasn't the best place if you had limited time (or ability!). But it's a lovely area

To be honest, it I was going to Italy at Easter, I'd look at Sardinia and Cala Gonome - very good venue for combining climbing and playing on the beach

In reply to Heike:

I live just up the road from Arco so I might be biased, and I have only climbed at Finale once (but visited various times), but between the two I would say Arco was much better for your group makeup.
Personally I always found Liguria crowded and claustrophobic, while Arco is reasonably relaxed, with plenty of "normal" things to enjoy apart from rock climbing.
Easter is also fine - better than summer!

There are dozens and dozens of sport crags and hundreds of multi-pitch routes (as long as you like). True though, there is not such an abundance of "easy climbing" and so at the most popular crags these become polished. Massone is probably the worst example of this (San Sirio, too).
Good places that spring to mind: La Gola (Arcadialanda sector in particular), Baone (slabs), Muro dell Asino, La Cosina (small), Rupe Secca Sud, S. Paolo, Marmitte dei Giganti, the boulders below Colodri already mentioned (some bouldering and other small crags in this area too).
And loads more that don't spring to mind.
There are also my little crags around our village, but hardly worth driving up for.

The California Pizzeria below Cima Colodri is the climbers nosh stop, and the Conti D'arco bar in the main squre of Arco town is a popular climber place.
However, bear in mind that the further you go up the valley away from Lake Garda (beyond Sarca village) the nicer the valley gets and the cheaper the food is (and camping).

In reply to Erstwhile:

Thank you very much, Erstwhile! And aren't you a lucky one to live in a spot like that! I seem to be more tempted now to go to Arco then I was before I posted this thread. We might try it out for a few days and see how it goes. Will bear in mind the campsites up the valley, too, Italian campsites seem to very steep anyways.

Thanks very much everyone else and if you have any other suggestions, please let me know. Also, if anyone wants to sell me their guidebooks, that would be great, too.

In reply to Heike:

Hello Heike,

I've never been to Finale, so I can't comment on that.

Now, if you go to Arco and get a day to climb without children, I would recommend getting the guidebook to multi-pitch climbs in the Sarca Valley:

http://www.stadler-markus.de/files/buch/kletterfuehrer_sarcatal.htm

I have had two of my best ever adventures with the help of this book! (You can see the two climbs I mean in my photos.)

I've stayed at both campsites in Arco, which are next to each other underneath the Colodri, within walking distance of the two centre. I wouldn't say that either of them compares to, say, Glenbrittle or Bosherston, but for family campsites with warm water I found them OK, and the prices were just typical Italian. That early in the season you may even find some grass to pitch your tent on. At least one of them also has a nice swimming pool.

The town of Arco is great for family trips too. The restaurants are good, the cafe on the square does delicious coffee, and you can eat an ice cream while wandering through those narrow Italian streets. It also has almost as many climbing shops per mile as Ambleside! I would guess that this is down to the fact that Italian prices used to be lower than German prices, and so the thousands of your countrymen for whose exclusive benefit Arco seems to be run, at least outside the Italian summer holiday season, used to stock up when on a trip down there. Rope bags from Red Point, the biggest climbing shop in Arco, used to be a fairly common site at the wall in Munich. I don't think that this price difference exists any more, however.

Alex

In reply to alex_th:
>

Great, will check it out!!
>...and so the thousands of your countrymen for whose exclusive benefit Arco seems to be run, at least outside the Italian summer holiday season, used to stock up when on a trip down there.

Hahahaha, I thought it might be a tad Germanistic down there!! Well, at least an opportunity for hubby and the wee man to practice their German!

Thank you!
Heike

In reply to shark: whats the weather like in june/july. Wife insists we go somewhere warm.....(dolomites/alps are too cold in summer for her)

In reply to AG:
Could be very hot! Good for wife, less good for climbing possibly??? I just checked the climate for Arco, average temp. 26 degrees C in June and 29 in July.

In reply to Heike:

I have been to both several times and always preferred Finale, less crowds, more varied climbing with less polish, plus the seaside. Never been with kids mind.


Chris

In reply to AG:
I've been to Arco in July and it was certainly warm, but most crags face either east or west so you could climb in either the morning or afternoon/evening. Most lunchtimes were spent in the pool and most evenings concluded with ice-cream !

In reply to AG:

June is hot. July is usually boiling and busy (August too).
Best months: Sep. Oct. (Nov.?) - March, April, May.

You can also climb Dec. to February whenever the sun shines (very often) - but risky to book holiday time then. This winter was unusually grim until February.

As Alex said above - the multi-pitch climbing is really fantastic (hard and often knarly) and until recently was greatly underestimated in favour of the (admittedly very good) sports crags.

I've been to Arco several times and had a great time climbing 4 & 5 at Belvedere & Muro del Asino. Also did a couple of the via ferratas that were excellent fun. We found apartments cost about the same as camping Arco for a family once all the 'extras' are added on. Kids with our group had a good time climbing on the bolted boulders (10m high) opposite the campsite.
Haven't found the polish a problem anywhere we've been & certainly no worse than Stoney Middleton.