Val Malvaglia

Rock climbing at Malvaglia, in the lower Val di Blenio in Ticino, in late March 2021. Southwest-facing orthogneiss above the village, spread over a handful of sectors in the chestnut woods.

Malvaglia, ~800 m / SW-facing

Single pitch, walls 8–60 m, ten sectors, around 100 routes (most 6a–6c) / orthogneiss

The crag sits at roughly 800 m on the slope above Malvaglia, on very rough orthogneiss that rewards friction and gives cracks, corners, chimneys and the odd overhang. It is split into about ten sectors, A to K, with walls from 8 to 60 m and around a hundred routes; the bulk of them sit in the 6a–6c range. Development started in 1989.

Everything faces southwest, so the sun lands on the rock in the afternoon — from roughly midday to four in winter. That, plus the low altitude, makes it a cold-season crag more than a summer one, which is what puts a March date on this one.

Logistics

Approach

From Malvaglia, a marked path climbs roughly 230 m to the sectors; 15 to 40 minutes depending on which one, graded T3.