Crag features

This crag page is a work in progress..

Vallone di Sea (pronounced seh-ah) is an unsung gem - a bastion of trad climbing in a region where so many routes are sport, and unjustifiably ignored compared to the more popular Valle dell'Orco only the next valley across. Along both sides of a wide valley, outcrops of gneiss up to 300m tall, with strong crack and corner lines at trad 6a to 7c. There are a few single pitch routes and bouldering, but to climb those is to miss the point. Some routes are yet to be freed, while others will probably remain on aid but plenty of potential for new routes too. All in a wild setting, 45min to 3 hours from the car depending on the buttress chosen.

Keep in mind that the "Trad" grades given here are almost always to be intended as "this routes requires trad gear", it does not mean "the route is clean". This is because of the tradition of the last 20 years or so in the region (Orco vally too) of bolting slabs, offwidths and anchors, or other questionably "un-protectable" sections, and leaving the cracks clean. Read the material needed for each route on the guidbook.

Once known only for it's ice lines, this stunning valley has been a forcing ground of climbers such as Stohr, Bonfanti, Meneghini, Manera, Trombetta and of course, local legends Giancarlo Grassi and Gian Piero Motti.

In two distinct aspects: the East side is to the right of the path; the West is approached by wading the torrent or continuing upstream to a rickety bridge and up the scree slopes.

Also the location of Motti's answer to the Kosterlitz crack.